See, Judge, Act: Catholic Social Teaching and Service Learning. Rev. ed. By Erin

Brigham. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, Christian Brothers Publications,

219 pages. $24.95 (paper).

When a text is selected for a theology or religious studies undergraduate class, intersectionality is essential in order to create pedagogy that is considerate of the background of students, the relevancy of the material contained in the actual text, and the praxis opportunities to apply theory to lived experience. See, Judge, Act: Catholic Social Teaching and Service Learning is such an academic work, which can be adopted in undergraduate social justice curriculums.

In her text, Erin Brigham weaves the best-kept secrets of Catholic social teaching with the relevancy of contemporary social issues facing college and university students. The weaving of this rich social justice tradition and scholarship animates classroom discussion on many of the social and ecological issues identified by Pope Francis with his exhortation for Catholic Christians to step down from the curb and act on behalf of the poor and marginalized of the world.

The text situates itself in the methodology of the Belgian Cardinal Joseph Cardijn, commonly referred to as “see, judge, act.” This methodology is the template repeated in each of the text’s eight chapters. Each chapter facilitates discussion with students about how to sharpen their critical-thinking skills to identify social situations (see) that shake the moral sensibility of observant young adults. Questions for reflection lead students into thoughtful conversation about their lived experience. Brigham’s text makes Cardijn’s judge accessible to students in modalities that are familiar and engaging. Flawlessly, each chapter moves into the social justice tradition found in Scripture, magisterial documents, and contemporary virtual scholarship from internet and podcast sources. Chapter bibliographies give students research opportunities for advanced scholarship. The dealmaker for the adoption of this text for classroom curriculum is the numerous ways Brigham invites students to “step off the curb” à la Pope Francis and act on behalf of justice. The essential component of storytelling is included in each chapter. Websites allow students to connect with local and global agencies whose missions are to work on behalf of justice. Further research and scholarship that could strengthen this text would be to increase and include more storytelling from people of color, with particular attention to women’s stories, illustrating how their lives are devoted to the pursuit of social justice. Internet websites open up the global aspect of Cardijn’s methodology. Even novice professors who have little experience in designing and facilitating service learning can feel comfortable setting up actual onsite locations with the proper accommodations students need to accomplish service hours. The text also is readable for student life personnel to collaborate with the academic side of the university to provide meaningful immersion opportunities for undergraduate students.

Adoption of this text for classroom use is ideal. Library adoption of this text for research would support any existing classroom pedagogy. The text is readable, understandable, and reasonably priced.

DARLENE M. KAWULOK, CSJ, D.MIN.

Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles

 

 

 

 

Because Water Is Life: Catholic Social Teaching Confronts Earth’s Water Crises.

By Gary L. Chamberlain. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, 2018. 188 pages.

$21.95 (paper).

Chamberlain has written an informative, accessible, and helpful text that can be used as part of an undergraduate class in environmental studies, ethics, or Catholic social thought; it could also be useful for adult groups seeking to learn more about and take some action regarding the various global water crises facing our planet.

By integrating contemporary information about the various ways in which the global supply of clean water is being threatened by human action, an analysis of the ways in which these various crises create unjust suffering for the nation and world’s poor, and an application of the fundamental principles of Catholic social teaching, Chamberlain provides readers with both the data and the skills required to formulate a “new water ethic.”

At its heart this undergraduate textbook is a case study applying Catholic social teaching to the multiple global water crises in which hundreds of millions lack sufficient clean drinking water, billions have inadequate water for sanitation, and dozens of nations will soon endure crippling stresses to their water supply. Not surprisingly, Chamberlain follows John XXIII’s “see, judge, act” model of social analysis by presenting the “signs of the times” regarding the current state, shape, and causes of the water crises, then applying the lenses and principles of key CST documents to these water crises, and, finally, suggesting a new and revised global water ethic informed by this analysis. In this way the author provides readers with both a transparent set of arguments in support of useful actions to address the water crises and a clear method for identifying and resolving other social justice issues.

There are several reasons to recommend this extended and in-depth case study of the planet’s various water crises as an undergraduate classroom text or a resource for groups interested in knowing more about these water crises and acting to bring about environmental justice. The writing is clear, the arguments accessible, and the information solid and contemporary. All this makes for a persuasive brief in support of both concrete actions and systemic reforms to address the water crises. In addition, Chamberlain incorporates a number of powerful examples and anecdotes illustrating the damage and injustices associated with these crises. He offers several informative sidebar panels highlighting key points and invites thoughtful reflection and discussion with a series of questions in each chapter. One can sense the multiple approaches of a skillful college professor at work here.

In terms of content, there are three specific strengths of this case study. First, Chamberlain offers a thorough list and clear analysis of the various human activities threatening the global supply of clean drinking water, which include pollution, mining, fracking, various agricultural practices, and the increasing privatization of this basic resource. Second, the author uncovers the structural violence of climate change and the global water crises, processes in which wealthy societies inflict disproportionate and life-threatening harm on weaker and poorer nations and makes a strong case for people to organize and act against them. And finally, in addition to his arguments based on the traditional principles of Catholic social teaching, Chamberlain advances fresh arguments based on nature and water’s right to be protected from pollution and destruction. In this way the author, like some of the writers and activists he cites, continues to advance and expand the work of Catholic social teachings.

PATRICK T. MCCORMICK

Gonzaga University

Anselm Academic, May 2019.

324 pages. $29.95. Paperback. ISBN 9781599828381.

 Christopher Pramuk’s The Artist Alive: Explorations in Music, Art and Theology grew out of the author’s teaching activities, and its organization corresponds to an introduction to the topic of music and theology. In the past when this subject has been addressed, the various musical eras and their relation to theology have been given the most consideration, whereas in this study a conscious decision has been made to select secular contemporary music. The author examines, among others, songs by Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, Billie Holiday, Indigo Girls, and Bruce Springsteen. Pramuk writes, “This book is an invitation to explore some of the deepest questions rising from the human spiritual and social journey as mediated by artistic voices in both popular and religious culture” (10).

“The Art Spirit” (Robert Henri) propagates the general comprehensibility of art and opens up a different perception of reality. Pramuk starts from the premise of a possible “surplus of meanings.” This term is known from modern metaphor theory; in the discussion of music theory the postulated surplus is not only considered logocentrically, but also both as imaginary potential (one makes music) and reception aesthetic (one listens to music). Making music and listening to music constantly manifests the “play of imagination” in the aesthetic cognitive process (according to Immanuel Kant), which always takes place as a symbolic process in a societal framework. The theological question in postmodern times is no longer whether one believes in God, but whom one has faith in and how. Reality can thus be opened up for a spiritual dimension under the conditions of modernity.

The author employs the term “real presence,” coined by George Steiner in his classic study on aesthetic philosophy. The works introduced and interpreted by the author are presented, on the one hand, considering the aspect of art production by providing an analysis of the immanent characteristics of the work; and, on the other, they are interpreted in terms of the aesthetic reception of the audience. The author’s starting point is a view of the artifact encompassing three dimensions: the world within the text, the world behind the text, and the world in front of the text.

This triad opens up the possibility of an interaction between music, art, and theology. This method ties into the fundamental debate in music theory about how text and sound relate to each other. This question is new and interesting for the Catholic tradition of (church) music insofar as the school always propagated the primacy of the word over music (Gregorian chants can be considered a classic example of this approach). Thus, modern theology has completed a paradigm shift, which was received by the Second Vatican Council. In the modern age one assumes text and sound are independent but complement each other in harmony (!), yet without competing with each other.

The author illustrates this relation using songs by Bruce Springsteen that came about in the context of the drama of 9/11 in New York. In the face of this apocalyptic scenario, he speaks and sings about a “dream of life,” wanting to bring a little light into the darkness though music and text. Theology, literature, and music are social and intercommunicative media to broach the transcendence in immanence. The religious symbols and languages thereby open themselves up for an intercultural and interreligious point of view. Theology is, like literature, a business of interpretation. The “experienced theologian” (Martin Luther) is ultimately an interpreter. Pramuk opens his final chapter with a love poem by Persian poet Hāfis (“How did the rose ever open its heart?”).

This book can be read for multiple purposes: on the one hand, it is suitable reading for the fundamental issues of an aesthetic theology of music, and on the other it can be used as a manual for the teaching of these same topics. In appendixes Pramuk provides assistance for a didactic and pedagogical implementation of the topics for schools, university studies, and in further education. Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” and Matthias Claudius’s poem Der Mond ist aufgegangen (The moon has risen) show the polyvalent dimension of human reality, which is to be understood as the starting point for spiritual considerations.

Finally, it should also be noted that the author of this work has been inspired by Ignatian spirituality, which is exemplified in his statement: “To form ‘a new kind of humanity that is musical’ has to do with the careful attunement of silence and speech, contemplation and action, active listening and creative expression—in a word the art of spiritual discernment” (281).

About the Reviewer(s): 

Wolfgang W. Müller holds a professorship of dogmatic theology at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland.

Date of Review: 

March 11, 2021

About the Author(s)/Editor(s)/Translator(s): 

Christopher Pramuk is an associate professor of theology and the University Chair of Ignatian Thought and Imagination at Regis University in Denver. He received his PhD in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame and is the recipient of several teaching awards, including the Monika K. Hellwig Award for Teaching Excellence, granted by the College Theology Society.

 

Kevin B. McCruden, On the Way: Religious Experience and Common Life in the Gospels and Letters of Paul. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic (www.anselmacademic.org), 2020. Pages, 209. Paper, $19.95

Here is a valuable study that bridges the space between a historical-critical analysis of the gospels and Pauline writings and the quest for religious meaning and spirituality. McCruden, professor of religious studies at Gonzaga University, centers on the fundamental components of religious experience of the transcendent and the striving to form community. In Christian terms the experience of the transcendent—an experience that is transformative and leads to community—comes throughout the person and mission of Jesus Christ. This core belief is traced in an examination of the four gospels and Paul’s Key letters. The author’s goal is to present an introduction to these New Testament writings that will also meet the religious quest of contemporary students.