Seminary education is designed to prepare individuals for leadership and service within religious communities, providing a deep and comprehensive understanding of foundational texts, theological doctrines, church history and contemporary social contexts. To achieve this, the use of archives and primary resources is invaluable. Archives provide direct access to the materials that shaped theological thought, allowing students to engage with the voices and perspectives of religious thinkings and leaders throughout history. By engaging with original documents, students are challenged to think critically and ask questions about authorship, context, and purpose. An understanding of historical and contemporary social issues, cultural diversity, and global perspectives is important to prepare students to engage with and address the needs of a diverse and ever-changing world. By providing a comprehensive and integrated approach to these areas, seminary education using archives can effectively prepare individuals for the diverse and dynamic roles they will play in their religious communities and beyond. In this presentation, we will explore the role of archival material in the theological education classroom, emphasizing its importance in developing historical awareness and critical thinking.
Learning Outcome
The audience will leave with a deeper understanding of how primary resources are essential tools for developing theological expertise, historical awareness, and critical thinking. They will be shown examples of archives in the classroom and the projects that are produced, and special attention will be paid to how to use primary sources in distance education, as increasingly theological students are partially or fully online.
Audience Engagement
The audience will be shown examples of primary sources and encouraged to reflect on the value of these documents in their own understanding of history and theology. The presentation will incorporate a case study(s) of archival documents used as part of a seminary course, showing how material was selected, how it was digitized and dispersed for distance learners, and examples of how students interacted with and interpreted the material. Examples of the syllabus, assignments, and work produced will be displayed.
As classical philosophers debated the essence of techne—the art of making and doing—educators now grapple with the implications of generative artificial intelligence. Questions arise about student engagement with AI: Do their creations align with the ethical standards and integrity we uphold? To navigate this journey from techne to trust, transparency is paramount. It involves openly sharing how AI is used for academic work, demystifying the process by making work with AI visible. Techne and its connections to AI-like constructs in popular culture, literature, and myth provide a rich context for exploring AI's ethical and practical dimensions. This presentation engages two "architectures of visibility"—transparency (voluntary visibility that builds trust) and surveillance (imposed visibility that erodes agency). Through metaliteracy's four domains (cognitive, metacognitive, behavioral, and affective), we demonstrate how stories illuminate the difference between coercive surveillance and empowering transparency. We offer a model lesson using Black Mirror's "Nosedive" to explore how technologies of surveillance affect behavior and learning, contrasting this with approaches that build trust through voluntary transparency.
Learning Outcome
Participants will: Understand key distinctions between surveillance technologies and technologies of surveillance; Explore how storytelling can illuminate ethical approaches to AI visibility; Learn practical strategies for implementing transparent AI use that enhances learning; Develop approaches for helping students navigate AI visibility in educational contexts
Audience Engagement
As with past sessions, we plan to gamify our presentation to foster active learning; we also plan to engage participants in robust discussion about their experiences with (AI) transparency and surveillance as we co-create strategies for teaching AI visibility in theological education.
Heath Rosser is a senior at Oklahoma Christian University, pursuing studies in English Literature and Biblical Languages. His exceptional academic performance and passion for his fields of study earned him a place in the prestigious SCIO (Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford) program... Read More →
The Catholic News Archive (CNA) is a rich resource that offers valuable insight into a broad spectrum of research topics, ranging from theological and ecclesiastical studies to social, cultural, and political history. This presentation will highlight how scholars, students, and librarians can leverage Catholic newspapers to explore historical narratives, public discourse, and community dynamics. Catholic newspapers have long served as platforms for religious communities to engage with pressing societal issues, including immigration, civil rights, education, labor movements, and international relations. By examining how these newspapers frame and respond to contemporary events, researchers can gain deeper insight into the intersection of faith and public life. The CNA’s extensive digital holdings provide access to primary source materials that reflect both localized and global perspectives, making it a vital tool for interdisciplinary research. Notably, the archive includes newspapers in non-English languages, which offer unique perspectives on immigrant communities and their engagement with Catholicism and broader societal issues. This session will explore how scholars can utilize Catholic newspapers to investigate issues such as race relations, social justice movements, and Catholic perspectives on public policy. Additionally, it will provide practical guidance for navigating the CNA’s digital repository, incorporating it into coursework, and fostering critical engagement with historical media sources. Special attention will be given to the ecumenical slant of certain papers, such as the 'Catholic Worker', which engaged with broader social justice themes and interfaith dialogue.
Learning Outcome
An understanding of how the Catholic New Archive provides a unique Catholic perspective on historic events, social and cultural issues, and key community concerns. How the Catholic News Archive can serve scholarly research needs of researchers from all denominations. How the Catholic News Archive has changed and grown. What the future of the Catholic News Archive looks like and how others can engage with its growth.
Audience Engagement
Through an examination of the information that can be found in the Catholic News Archive. The panel will ask the audience to connect with the Archive so they can explore different topics. It will ask the audience to consider the ways in which their researchers have had expressed needs and how the archive could support them now and in the future. There will be a discussion of where the platform currently is, where it might go, and how we can all help to grow the resource.
The Atla Conduct Committee is comprised of Atla members who voluntarily serve to promote the Association's Code of Conduct. The presentation will provide an opportunity for the committee to discuss shared values from the code and restorative steps that are taken when incidents are reported from Atla spaces.
Learning Outcome
1. Articulate to others why would associations or organizations need a code of conduct or similar document and how they may apply in a religious context. 2. Distinguish among issues requiring the work of the conduct committee and issues handled through other channels. 3. Understand the role of a conduct committee relative to the parties involved in a complaint and organization with stakeholders (e.g. Board of Directors). 4. Apply basic principles of restorative justice to mediation and conflict resolution.
Audience Engagement
The panel will share key components of the code, how the code came into existence, and its importance to Atla. There will also be time for attendee Q&A.
As a hub for learning, the theological library facilitates the resourcing and delivery of academic material on campus. Within this setting, library staff serve at the forefront of curating content to support student objectives. The advent of Artificial Intelligence has led libraries to analyze anew the meaning of information literacy as students increasingly turn to this recent technology to research, analyze and disseminate their knowledge. Fundamental to this discussion are 1) the challenges and opportunities for information literacy in light of student AI usage and 2) library and institutional policies that will guide students to be information literate in an ethical and responsible fashion.
Learning Outcome
The audience will reflect on the theological library's responsibility to be the harbinger of information literacy as students enter into the age of Artificial Intelligence. Key questions to be discussed include 1) the challenges posed to information literacy as a result of student AI use, 2) the reconceptualization of information literacy as libraries align themselves with innovative AI usage among students, and 3) the policies needed to guide libraries as they face an uncharted future with AI.
Audience Engagement
After a brief overview of AI principles and terms, the audience will be divided into groups and provided with a series of open discussion questions focusing on the role, implementation, and policies pertaining to information literacy as students use AI for their academic pursuits. Attendees will be given the opportunity to debrief with the goal of generating key conclusions about the ramifications for information literacy in an AI-infused academic world. Participants can subsequently join a monitored listserv or blog for ongoing discussion, comments, and questions about issues raised during the conversation group.
Director of the Center for Academic Literacy, Columbia Theological Seminary
Hello! I am the Director of the Center for Academic Literacy at Columbia Theological Seminary with a particular interest in the development of academic literacy and its link to the goals of information services and instructional support in the theological setting.
