I will be speaking as a special guest in a college English class on Thursday December 5th, 9:00-10:15am in Sutherland 125 at Biola University (La Mirada, CA). I’ve been invited by Dr. Joshua Smith (Assistant Professor in the Biola English Department) for the “Race & Ethnicity in American Literature” course to share my experiences & perspectives, in his words: “… touch on what happened at the Exponential Conference, discuss the response to the incident by the Asian American believers and also the Christian community at large, discuss your leadership in reconciliation efforts, and segue into other important issues in the Asian American community that you think are relevant.”
[added 12/5/13] my slides for “Race & Ethnicity in Evangelicalism: an Asian American perspective” + raw recording of class audio (mp3)
I’ll be synthesizing my commentary from these articles I’ve published on my blog as well as on Ed Stetzer’s blog at Christianity Today, and make references to related items:
- Work in Process at Exponential West 2013
- Blogging at #mosaix2013 Multi-ethnic Church Conference
- At the Exponential blog: Exponential Addressing Asian-American Leaders’ Concerns
- An Open Letter from the Asian American Community to the Evangelical Church (Oct. 13, 2013; NextGenerAsianChurch.com) [cache]
- Saddleback pastor Rick Warren gets reaction from Asian Christians (OC Register)
- My 3-part blog series at EdStetzer.com blog:
- 9 Things About Asian American Christianity: Asian Americans are accelerating in their role in participating and shaping the future of the American church at large
- Why Evangelicals Don’t Know Asian Americans: We have quite a way to go towards ending racial stereotyping in Christendom
- Ethnicity, Context, and Mission: A Brighter Future for the Church—DJ Chuang shares his thoughts on the future of the Church
I’m anticipating a robust discussion in the class, and I’ve heard several others will be visiting this session too. While I probably will not be able to livestream the session for a global conversation, I do want to invite your questions and comments here–add your comment below. One of several (or many?) questions I’ve heard floating out there is “what’s next?“
Yes, Biola University is making room for multicultural topics like this in its curriculum. The course description for “Race & Ethnicity in American Literature” is:
The literary works of ethnically diverse Americans are the focus of this course, which examines some of the complexities of racial and ethnic identity as it is represented in this nation’s literature. While much of our readings will have been written by people of color, we will also explore texts by ostensibly “white” authors. Such an approach is motivated by the belief that topics of race and ethnicity are not simply the domain of people of color, but that as members of a larger community, it is important to understand areas of difference as well as our commonalities. One aim of this course is to increase our understanding and appreciation of cultural differences. Additionally, this course is intended to explore the process of racialization, specifically within the context of the Unites States. As we survey these readings we will put them into conversation with each other as well as with other texts from the cannon, considering what it means to study American Literature.
Comments
3 responses to “A Class Discussion on Race and Ethnicity in American Evangelicalism”
How did it go?
I thought it went well, it was very engaging, not enough time. I uploaded the audio for you to listen, would love your feedback
Thanks! I cannot get to the video till 12/10…Gonna write down on my calendar. Please keep me in your prayers…I have a Hebrew final on Monday..