On Teaching Religion: Essays by Jonathan Z. Smith
"Academic colleagues know J. Z. Smith as a scholar of wide-ranging erudition, but not many, I suspect, also realize that he is a superb instructor (at both the undergraduate and graduate levels) and a seasoned administrator.  Equal to his dedication to profound scholarship, part of his life-long passion has also been expended on all the nitty-gritty issues of teaching religion, set within a specifically American liberal arts collegiate context.  Genially and wittily written, these essays that formed the bases of over 150 live presentations over the years on materials and methods, aims and curriculum, of the discipline are as fresh and relevant today as they were first encountered.   No serious educator in the discipline can afford to neglect the content of the volume that is also the editor's labor of love."--Anthony C. Yu, Carl Darling Buck Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in Humanities, The University of Chicago"There are a growing number of people who connect to J.Z. Smith and recognize him as the giant he is, not just in the field of religious studies but in the role of the humanities as a window into the broadest canvas of human inquiry, creativity and self-doubt. Smith is a devout skeptic, with the verbal brush stroke of a Picasso. It is sheer pleasure to hear him think out loud, and to reason about common issues with his distinctive, always engaging panache."--Bruce Lawrence, Nancy & Jeffrey Marcus Humanities Professor Emeritus and Professor of Islamic Studies, Duke University"For those who think religion is obvious and ultimately important, Jonathan Z. Smith's pedagogical advice-'there is nothing that must be taught, there is nothing that cannot be left out'-is utterly subversive, for it finds opportunities in matters that previously seemed settled. His message is that not everything gets to count as significant; focus requires us to disregard much; things can be otherwise. Throughout these essays, Smith invites readers-subtly, provocatively, and always artfully-to identify other people's choices, to defend their own, and to live with the implications. This is critical thinking at its best and most potent."--Russell T. McCutcheon, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Alabama