Symposium - The Jackal is quick but the Hills are wide: Teaching and Learning in Africa

Les Symposiums de l'Ecolint ont lieu tout au long de l'année. Ils débutent par l'exposé de l'intervenant du jour et se poursuit par un apéritif. Ce moment convivial, passé à discuter de pédagogie, est tout aussi important que la présentation. Il s'inscrit dans une tradition chère à l'Ecolint, celle de l'échange ouvert et de la volonté constante d'apprendre.

Ecolint Symposiums take place throughout the year. They begin with a presentation by the speaker of the day and are followed by an apéritif. The sociable moment we spend together discussing pedagogy is as important as the talk itself and contributes to Ecolint’s tradition of open exchange and spirit of lifelong learning.

Educational settings for learning and teaching express, and are shaped by, the wider contexts in which they function. Critical dimensions of context for education in African settings include history, politics, language, and cultural views of authority and responsibility. Will Schumacher draws on experience in both formal and non-formal education in sub-Saharan Africa to offer insights about teaching and learning strategies for African learners—strategies that have broader applications, as well.

William Schumacher has served as professor of historical theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (Missouri, USA) since 1998. His undergraduate studies in the United States and Germany led to a degree in German language and literature summa cum laude from Wartburg College. He studied theology at Concordia Seminary (M.Div., 1985 and Ph.D., 2003), and worked in Botswana for nearly ten years. Since joining the faculty at Concordia, he has also continued his involvement in Africa, teaching at theological seminaries in South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and Ethiopia. He is the author of Who Do I Say That You Are? Anthropology and the Theology of Theosis, as well as numerous articles on historical and cross-cultural theology.