Teaching As Believing

The university classroom is one of the chief places where socialization still occurs within American culture. Beyond political correctness and multiculturalism, universities will surely face the issue of “spirituality” in their efforts to educate the “whole person.” In this book Chris Anderson takes up this task by carefully exploring how the pedagogical labors of a professor of faith can help a university accomplish its pluralistic mission. In particular, Anderson deftly shows that the study of secular literature throws fresh light on the ways in which the Bible can be read and how, equally, the study of the Bible trains both eye and ear of secular readers upon the abiding significance of the Western literary canon as a kind of scripture. Anderson thus gives readers a book that is as much about the experience of a faithful teacher and the proper ends of education as it is about discovering the right ways to read texts – be they sacred or secular.

Author Biography

Chris Anderson (Ph.D. University of Washington) is a professor of English at Oregon State University, where he has taught since 1986. He is the author or coauthor of ten books, including My Problem with Truth (2003), a collection of poetry, Asking Questions (2000), and Edge Effects (1993), a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in creative nonfiction. Anderson is also a Catholic deacon and active in parish and campus ministry.