religious educator as cultural spec-actor: Researching self in intercultural pedagogy, The

Religious Education, Summer 2003 by Irizarry, Jose R

Although the previous orientations and practical suggestions for self-research represent a structured but simple way to start looking at the educator as a cultural self and as a practitioner capable of transcending self to engage such research (spec-actor), we cannot deny the fact that human subjects cannot become objects of study in a positivist sense. The point to be made is that something can be learned about the cultural identity of the educator and its influence on pedagogy but that such research cannot ultimately define or make totally transparent the cultural complexity that the educator exists in. The pedagogical implications of this research are much less pretentious. The purpose is for the educator to practice self-disclosure as part of his pedagogy within the context of intercultural education. This pedagogical strategy is intended so that teachers will not be afraid of letting students know that they are social subjects and that they have a life outside the classroom. In this case, a life modeled by the representations of the educators cultural identity. The important point is for religious educators to be aware of their own cultural assumptions as they develop a language of self-disclosure.

1Brazilian dramatist Augusto Boal coined the term spec-actor to refer to the acting person's ability to perform an action and, simultaneously, to observe himself in action. Acquired self-knowledge of how he acts allows the acting person to be subject (the I who observes or spectator) of another subject (the I who acts or actor).

2Of frequent use among researchers conversant with postmodern theories, the imaginary is a term borrowed from Lacanian psychology which designates the everyday experience of a perceived "reality" where the effects of what is unconscious is not recognized. Therefore, the academic imaginary is the conceived and accepted norm of everyday academic discourse whether it refers to something real or merely symbolic.

3 By "representational locations" I mean the collective configurations where personal identity is defined such as ethnic, racial, gender, and generational groups.

4 To explore the social role of the church from the perspective of various cultural communities refer to Justo Gonzales (1992) and his dialogue with a group of theologians representing diverse racial/ethnic groups.

5 In what can be considered the most complete treatment of multicultural Christian religious education (Wilkerson 1997), the authors present a series of strategies to organize and interpret cultural diversity in order to increase the educators personal skills in culturally-responsive teaching. The immediate objective of theorizing about culture is to capacitate the teacher for cross-cultural engagement rather than to potentiate the communal creation of the intercultural experience.

6 Although this understanding of transcendence has been used in more popular texts on spirituality like Barbara Kyme Myer's, Young Children and Spirituality (New York: Routledge, 1997), it has its roots in the theological tradition of Immanuel Kant's transcendental idealism and Edmund Husserl's transcendental subjectivity.