{"id":8970,"date":"2022-09-06T08:30:19","date_gmt":"2022-09-06T13:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/?p=8970"},"modified":"2022-09-06T09:23:56","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T14:23:56","slug":"profile-russaw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/profile-russaw\/","title":{"rendered":"Pop Culture In the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a new class of masters students entered Pittsburgh Seminary this fall, many of these first-year students enrolled in \u201cGenesis through Esther\u201d taught by Dr. Kimberly D. Russaw<\/a>. In this class, they will engage in the challenge of critical analysis of the biblical text. They will also discover a healthy dose of popular culture.<\/p>\n

Connecting Ancient and Modern<\/h2>\n

As readers of her work already know, Dr. Russaw is a biblical scholar who can creatively explain the Old Testament story of Miriam by examining the career arc of singer Janet Jackson\u2014a skill demonstrated in her essay in Stony the Road We Trod: African-American Biblical Interpretation 30th Anniversary Expanded Edition<\/em>. And she can\u2019t wait to encourage her PTS students to connect the ancient text to modern-day concerns with what she calls her popular culture assignment. After learning the socio-historical, literary, and cultic elements of the biblical world, students will choose a pop culture artifact\u2014a book, movie, song, work of visual art, etc.\u2014and demonstrate connections between the artifact and what they\u2019ve noticed in the biblical text itself.<\/p>\n

Russaw is interested in helping students partner biblical studies with their particular ministry context. She says:<\/p>\n

\u201cI value the students\u2019 willingness to try something different. For instance, in the ‘Apocalypse Now: Implosion as Gift’ D.Min. class I taught [at PTS in 2021], I had students read a science fiction novel by Octavia Butler, and helped them analyze biblical literature and biblical scholarship with an eye towards the themes of disruption and difference.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Equipping Responsible Biblical Interpreters<\/h2>\n

Dr. Russaw taught that class before she joined the PTS faculty full time. But whether she\u2019s engaging with seasoned pastors doing doctoral work or first year master’s-level students, her goal is the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest takeaway from any of my courses should be for students to gain the tools to become responsible biblical interpreters, whether it\u2019s from the pulpit, in Bible study, in a classroom, or even when someone asks them a question in the grocery store,\u201d she says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Russaw is currently preparing to teach colleagues too. Later this year she will co-facilitate a series of workshops for theological educators focused on teaching the Bible in light of social movements. She\u2019s also working on an essay exploring the socio-historical backdrop of Ruth and Naomi\u2019s journey from Moab to Bethlehem, connecting it to the Great Migration of African Americans in 20th century America. The essay will be part of a collected volume of different ways of reading the biblical text published by the Society of Biblical Literature.<\/p>\n

Called to Serve Church and Academy<\/h2>\n

Russaw is an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which informs her teaching in theological education. \u201cThe community to which I feel the most sense of responsibility is the church,\u201d she asserts. \u201cI understand I\u2019m not called to local church leadership or to a pulpit, but I\u2019m called to help those who are. I\u2019m always thinking in my scholarship and teaching: \u2018How will this help the people in the pews understand the biblical text better?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Making Herself at Home in Pittsburgh<\/h2>\n

As she relocates to Pittsburgh, Dr. Russaw has made sure to complete an essential task. \u201cI already have my season tickets to Broadway in Pittsburgh!\u201d she exclaims. It\u2019s no surprise that this pop culture loving professor is a fan of musical theater, and lists Hamilton<\/em>, Wicked<\/em>, The Lion King<\/em>, and The Color Purple<\/em> among her favorite musicals. For students who take one of her classes, they\u2019ll surely develop the skills to connect contemporary musical theater\u2014or their own pop culture interests\u2014to the ancient world of the Bible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a new class of masters students entered Pittsburgh Seminary this fall, many of these first-year students enrolled in \u201cGenesis through Esther\u201d taught by Dr. Kimberly D. Russaw. In this class, they will engage in the challenge of critical analysis of the biblical text. They will also discover a healthy dose of popular culture. Connecting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[398],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-8970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people-of-pts"],"yoast_head":"\r\nPop Culture In the Classroom - Pittsburgh Theological Seminary<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr. Kimberly D. 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