“Lived Religion in Plural Cities”: A Virtual Exchange Project in Protestant Theology

Setting: Full block course ‘Lived Religion in Plural Cities’, two online blocks of 1,5 days, in between self-organised small group work and field studies of the students.

Target group: BA and MA students in intercultural Theology and other humanities and social sciences.

ECTS: The course has been integrated at both universities in different (elective) modules and has been credited for the students with 3 CPs.

Preparation: The teachers agreed to have guest lectures, each with a reading, lecture and discussion with the students during the seminar. After the first block, students got a task, which they had to work on in small internationally mixed groups of 3 students in between the two blocks. The second block was dedicated to the presentation of the students’ group work results.

Procedure: For the first block, the teachers organised a couple of virtual guest lectures of scientists from all over the world, dealing with a specific religious group in a specific local context. Based on these lectures, the students’ small groups chose a religious community in their own local context.

Task for the students’ collaborative work: The students compared the two areas: Bask region in North Spain and Ruhr region in Western Germany regarding the religious community, their habits of prayer, assembly, buildings, etc. The students had to conduct a small research project, with e.g. systematic observation, small questionnaires or interviews. They were guided by their teachers. The groups had to prepare a presentation with discussion for the plenum during the second block of the course.

Mentoring activities: Students received support in conducting a small research, especially methodological help.

Challenges: Language and interaction insecurities were a challenge. During the guest lectures, students remained quite calm and shy. This changed during the small group work. For the next implementation, the teachers decided to implement the small groups earlier, so that the interaction and language insecurities can be encountered from the beginning on. Due to students who register and unregister, it is impossible to set the groups before the beginning of the course.

Voice of students: The course has been evaluated with a questionnaire. The feedback from the students has been consistently positive. For many, the seminar has been a unique opportunity to look beyond their own culture and broaden their horizon. Even if they struggled with the English language at some points, many said that it was an impulse for them to look at more international contexts in the future. The interdisciplinary approach was also very enlightening for many.

Voice of the teachers: “It is a great experience and broadening the horizon. It also broadens the network and gives in our case the occasion for a book publication and subsequent research projects. So, if you want to dedicate yourself to research, it is a great open gate for it. Especially for young researchers a good opportunity, because it helps a lot to broaden your own network as a young researcher.”

Dr. Daniel Jara, Prof. Dr. Claudia Jahnel, Prof. Lidia Rodríguez Fernández