One of the characteristics of US Latina theology is its
understanding of the importance of lo
cotidiano—the spaces of the everyday—for theological reflection. It is in
such spaces that one sees both the evidence of sin as well as the experience of
grace come full circle. My last blog was meant to demonstrate how I do
Christology from the spaces of lo
cotidiano. I wanted to demonstrate an evangélica theological locus and method that I believe I model
in the classroom. In that sense, that reflection was very much related to the
question of pedagogy. Here I seek to explore explicitly the relationship
between lo cotidiano and
transnational pedagogy.
One of Palmer Theological Seminary’s faculty members, Dr. Al
Tizon, links the global with the local by using the term “glocal.” I believe
that we make a grave mistake to think that transnational or global only occurs
“out there.” The erasure of fixed borders, the economic collapse that has taken
place in so many geographical spaces, military incursions, colonialism, and
neocolonialism, together with the immigration laws of this country that have
more to do with xenophobia and economic greed than with legal concerns have led
to the formation of islands of the “global” in our local communities.
We have whole communities of people who live in the USA,
often without documentations required by federal immigration laws, in fear of
being violently deported. They do not speak English well or at all, nor
interact fluidly with US-dominant cultures. They tend to form isolated havens
where they maintain their linguistic, cultural, religious, and social
traditions. Their children live in porous spaces—seamlessly crossing the
borders between their parents’ territory and that of the US location they now
call home. These are the new “glocal” communities.
Many of them are not pastored by clergy from our Christian
churches because seminaries are too busy preparing ministerial leaders under
the old paradigms of either/or: either they serve in the US or they serve
overseas as “missionaries.” Theological education needs to begin to pay
attention to what is happening in lo
cotidiano and realize that there are new paradigms to which it must
respond. How can we better prepare our seminary students to become
transnational leaders who can effectively care for the international
communities that reside in our midst as well as overseas?
Lo cotidiano makes
me aware of another aspect of global pedagogy. It is one that cannot take place
simply as part of a curriculum that is attentive to the lesson plan of a given
professor in a given classroom space. Such an approach can isolate the “global”
into a reified and isolated space, reducing it to an “issue” that takes place
among a laundry list of other “issues,” such as racism and poverty. It can be
an overwhelming experience that leaves students feeling powerless.
By the time they graduate, many of these students, while
conscious of the issues, feel ultimately that they can do very little that is effective. It is akin to their experience of
learning about the Trinity—a formula they repeat, but not something that they
believe ultimately transforms their lives or their ministerial praxis. It seems
to me that to be effective, a pedagogical approach that engages a global and
transnational world must be more than a class, or a book list, or even just a
“mission trip.” It must be all of these, and more. It must engage students at
the level of lo cotidiano. The whole
of their seminary journey must be permeated with awareness of global realities,
much as we have made students aware of inclusive language: it must be done in a
way that changes not just how they think about the global and the local, but
how they live this out in the very fabric of their lives.
Such a pedagogical approach cannot be the purview of solely
one interested faculty member. It must be part of the commitment of the whole
institution; it must be in the institution’s DNA! Palmer’s motto has been “the
whole gospel for the whole world for whole persons.” The “whole world” part of
our motto has made the global part of our DNA. Students are made aware of
global issues not just in the classroom, but also in chapel worship services,
through special events that include sharing of meals, in mission trips, and in
special faculty presentations. A number of our faculty are from international
communities, and keep us abreast of particular events from their countries. Our
international students are also an important part of our community whose
conversations in our common dining area make “the global” part of our daily
lexicon/ nuestro hablar diario in lo cotidiano.
These then reinforce the shape of the overall curriculum
along with specific courses focused on global and contextual theologies. Some
entail trips—thus far to Nigeria, Israel, Palestine, Central and South
America—while others use film and documentaries. Students who enter Palmer
often graduate acutely aware of global concerns, and how those global concerns
impact the local and vice versa. A few have changed their concentration tracks
or upon graduation, adjusting their vocational goals to align with these global
concerns. As I watch my colleagues and hear our students, I am grateful that I
have learned from them as much as, or perhaps more, than I have taught. I
realize once again how much wisdom there is when one pays attention to the
spaces of lo cotidiano. It is in
those spaces that I have learned to reflect not only upon Christology, but also to be acutely aware of the global in the midst of
our local communities.
* Professor Loida I. Martell-Otero is Professor of
Constructive Theology at Palmer Theological Seminary, the Seminary of Eastern
University at Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, and is coeditor of Teologia en
Conjunto: A Collaborative Hispanic Protestant Theology with José
D. Rodriguez.
