Robert Nash and Sydnee Viray, professors from the University of Vermont, visited Elon University Nov. 8 to discuss religion and spirituality on college campuses.
They discussed how to center debates around commonalities and not differences, which is crucial when discussing potentially volatile topics, according to Viray.
“One of the things we do in our classes that we find helps students is we simply ask them to arrive,” said Viray.
Viray went on to demonstrate a method that she and Nash use in the classroom to help students arrive. She rang a chime and asked the group to do whatever they needed to do to arrive, and to follow the bell until they couldn’t hear it any longer before returning to the space.
Nash has taught at the University of Vermont for 44 years, and in 1970, he created a “religiospirituality” graduate program at the university.
A religiospirituality course has been offered as an elective at the university since 1972. It focuses on discussing different people’s stories in an environment that welcomes free and open discussion.
“When I was in college I found that I was interested in the stories of religion,” Nash said. “So I set out to learn everything about every religion that I could.”
L.D. Russell, a religious studies professor at Elon, asked Nash how he approaches potentially volatile discussions in the classroom.
“There are days when I’ll walk into a classroom and throw a firecracker just to see who’s gonna jump.” Russell said.
To approach these types of discussions, it’s important to relate to others by joining them in being vulnerable and seeing each other in the best possible light, Viray said.
“Don’t look for why others aren’t working well,” Nash said. “Look for why you aren’t working well"