Sacred Architecture as a Narrative for Defining Religion, Culture and Social and Educational Change: A Proposal for a Series of Workshops for Educators.

Sacred architecture provides a compelling narrative for explaining the ways religious belief and practice contribute to the construction of self identity and of lived cultural values in all societies. This paper proposes a collaborative and ethnographic research workshop series focused on the intersections among culture, religious meaning and practice, and educational and social change within the framework of sacred architecture at sites ranging from historic churches, temples, shrines, synagogues, and mosques to home altars and memorials, as well as on the more customary vehicle of sacred texts and commentaries. The workshop series would be centered in the arts, but not limited to them, and would draw upon a wide range of fields and academic disciplines including social history, theology, cultural studies, education and urban policy studies, as well as architecture. Another purpose of the workshop series would be to enrich the classroom curricula and teaching methodology from preschool through the university, and to develop policy agendas for social change. The primary target group for the workshops will be graduate students primarily from Teachers College, Columbia University, the host institution for the series, as well as graduate students drawn from Columbia's School of Architecture, Union Theological Seminary and neighboring institutions. The paper outlines the format of the workshops and student evaluation methods and presents 10 proposed workshop topics. It provides historical background on sacred architecture and art and uses Japan as a case study for an international perspective on ways sacred architecture, religion, and education intersect. Contains a 14-item bibliography. (BT)