Oh, how general education units bereaved me in my undergraduate years. “Why do I have to study this?” I would lament. My mother (who is currently doing undergraduate work for elementary teacher’s licensure) just recently commented to me on the eve of a physical science exam, “Why do I need to know how much energy it takes to melt a cube of ice?”
Gen-eds can, and often times do, put considerable wear into our GPA. But have we ever stopped and really considered their purpose- the method to the madness? Yes, yes, yes: so that we might be better well-rounded; to know a little of everything- yet to master nothing?
Where did this model of education come from? Greece. The Gymnasium was a place where students could receive instruction in the arts, sciences, theology, sporting, and the tactics of war; a place where athletes and philosophers alike gathered.
Today many institutions of higher education encourage this style of learning, perhaps even returning to the idea that specialization is for the bees. For example:
“An interdisciplinary approach to learning is a characteristic of the Chicago intellectual tradition. In the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations students are encouraged to participate in courses, seminars, and workshops where they, as well as the NELC faculty, interact with their counterparts in anthropology, art history, classics, comparative literature, history, law, linguistics, political science, and religious studies. NELC also has a joint degree program with the Department of Linguistics.”
-An excerpt from University of Chicago’s NELC Homepage
Tier-one schools follow this principle of cross-disciplinary masters programs, Inter-disciplinary Centers and even offering joint Ph.D. degrees. For example, Vanderbilt’s Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible offers additional focus in Ethics. Liberal Arts schools are following suite as well.
I believe this is a good tradition for schools to be proud of. Many of our greatest minds were disciplined in multiple fields, not just specializing in one area. Albert Einstein was involved in mathematics, physics, politics, philosophy, and humanitarian efforts. Mahatma Gandhi, non-violent civil rights leader, was educated as a lawyer who dedicated study to religions. Martin Luther King Jr. studied both Sociology and Systematic Theology. These are some of many examples of what can happen when two separate disciplines are combined, they are the true trail-blazers.
And this brings me to talk about what I want in an M.Div. (Master’s of Divinity) program:
- A strong focus in Hebrew Bible
- Integration of Ethics
- Excellent field education opportunities and programs (Christianity in Context)
- Incorporation of pastoral theology, liberation theologies, process theology, black theologies, feminist theologies, biblical economics, philosophy, and ecological implications for ministry. . .
- Focus of Religion in Society
- Addresses current issues of Pluralism
- Post-modern perspective
- Ecumenical, or at least non-sectarian
- Rigorous academics (especially in the Th.M. or M.S.T. programs in preparation for doctoral work)
- A diverse faculty and student body (ethnically, culturally, and religiously)
In the coming year I will be looking at seminaries, theological and divinity schools that embody these characteristics. The Ph.D., as it should, shall offer more to specialization.
–MLW
