 |
International Conference Mary McClintock Fulkerson Professor of Theology Duke University Divinity School, Durham, NC, USA Redemptive Disruptions and the Potential Power of Domestic Difference The church, at least in the U.S., is dominated by racial and class homogeneity. Even such practices as the Eucharist, which portend to be about hospitality and welcoming the stranger, are typically practiced with those “like us.” Few strangers, defined via markers of social marginalization, typically appear, even as social/institutional forces continue to reproduce inequalities and culturally embedded prejudices. As important as change is at the social/institutional level, this paper will argue that certain “disruptions” are required to the comfort of homogeneity, and that they must occur in face-to-face contexts. Face-to-face communities shaped by “traditions” of honoring the other, accountability, and space for change and transformation are crucial to addressing these larger social sins such as racism, classism, racism, and so on. In light of the homogeneity of such face-to-face networks in many North American churches, I will explore the potential resources of domestic face-to-face relations, the presence and role of difference in such relations, and how they might provide insights into redemptive disruptions of social homogeneity. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Mary McClintock Fulkerson is Professor of Theology at Duke University Divinity School. She also teaches in the Duke Women’s Studies Program and directs the Gender, Theology and Ministry Certificate Program. Her first book, Changing the Subject: Women’s Discourses and Feminist Theology, examined the liberating practices of non-feminist church women and feminist academics through the lens of poststructuralism and Marxist/feminist literary criticism. Her recent book, Places of Redemption: Theology for a Worldly Church explores the practices of an interracial church (United Methodist) that includes people with disabilities. In contrast with theology's typical focus on beliefs, this project offers a theory of practices and place that foregrounds the affective reactions and communications that shape all groups, particularly around perceptions of “otherness.” Her current project is The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theology. co-edited with Sheila Briggs and organized around the theme of globalization. Personal website Conference Main Page | Theme | Travel Programme | Call for Papers | Information | |
 |
|
|