This course will examine the concept of hospitality as experienced in human social contact. Anyone who has experienced any degree of alienation or displacement in a social/religious setting knows that there is a big difference between being invited and being welcomed and affirmed. Invitations require nothing more than words. Genuine welcome and affirmation require us to examine the assumptions, practices, and ethos that characterize our affiliated contexts. This course will challenge us to move from mere invitations to becoming more welcoming and affirming of the diversity that is embedded in God's human creation, including the diversities of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic location, gender, sexual orientation, ability, theology, et al.
- Teacher: Teresa L. Smallwood