Professor of philosophy and religion at Colgate since 1989
Teaching awards:
2020 Jerome Balmuth Award for Teaching and Student Engagement
1992 Phi Psi Teacher of the Year
Q&A
What is your favorite course to have taught?
All courses are favorite courses, because the interest and passion I have had in the materials have led me to writing books. For example, Classical Theories in African Religion came from teaching African Traditional Religion as well as The World’s Religions. Major Issues in Islam: Challenges from Within and Without developed from teaching Christianity, Islam and Political Change in Africa as well as Religion and Terrorism. Also, Christianity, Islam and Political Change inspired the writing of Religion and Political Ethics in Africa. From teaching Contemporary Religious Thought came The Gospel According to Marginalized. Each course I teach, I approach it as a scholarly project.
What do you hope your students will leave your classes understanding?
My doctoral training was in philosophical hermeneutics, that is, the theory of interpretation. Human beings are interpretive beings. From the moment we rise to the time we retire to bed, we engage in interpretation of what we hear, see, read, and think. In the light of our being in the world, I deliver and impress upon my students three things: Critical skills, authenticity, and the dignity of individuals.
First, I teach critical reading and writing. I always tell my students that I prepare them for the corner office where they will read, hear, and write reports. Their task will be to critically evaluate the information or data before them by digging deeper into each report to unveil what it says and what is not said; the done and the left undone.
Being authentic by speaking from one’s center is the second focus of my teaching. The beauty of the humanities is the recognition that each person has a mind and a voice. The word “voice” stands for reasoned thought and not opinion. Anyone can repeat information and have an opinion, but I want them to make and defend truth claims — the only way to be an original thinker and an authentic being. I insist that students learn to speak from their center — that is, their epistemological vantage point, or from what they know because of who they are, their background, and experience.
Every individual is guided by values, beliefs, and practices derived from his or her understanding of ultimate reality and meaning, or simply, worldview. It is everyone’s task to understand others’ ultimate reality and meaning so as to respect their values. This is the only way to acknowledge each other’s dignity, or what I call in my writings, umunthu (humanness), a Malawian concept. I want my students to understand that one does not have to agree with the other’s values to respect the other’s dignity.
What is your proudest moment at Colgate?
My life at Colgate has given me numerous moments of pride. The first was seeing my first MA degree advisee, Tracey Hucks ’87, graduate with flying colors and with admission to Harvard Divinity School. I was even prouder when she joined Colgate as the provost and dean of the faculty. What a blessing! This was and is the crowning moment of my teaching career.
Another proud moment was when Michele Alexandre ’96 became a valedictorian. She was one of the many Office of Undergraduate Studies (OUS) students I taught. Seeing her walk across the stage as a valedictorian and a Watson Scholarship winner was a moment that made my heart swell with joy.
My advisees and mentees have made me proud in many places around the world, but at Colgate there was one more. I always knew Antonio Delgado ’99 would become a public servant, a politician. Antonio made me proud first here at Colgate by being a winner of the coveted Rhodes Scholarship, which took him to Oxford University in England, after which he was admitted to Harvard Law School. Antonio had returned several times to Hamilton to visit me, but I never expected him to be invited to Colgate as a commencement speaker. In his speech, Congressman Antonio Delgado lavished upon me the deepest gratitude possible. I shall forever be grateful to him for celebrating me in public and filling my heart with great joy and pride.
Every year has brought proud moments for me as my students express their gratitude to me in person and/or in writing. I tell my students that they make me proud because of their intellectual development. It is because of all my students who nominated me that Colgate’s highest teaching award — the Jerome Balmuth Award for Teaching and Student Engagement — has been conferred upon me. This award is indeed one of my proudest moments at Colgate.