Twenty-second International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

In our paper we introduce the course “Professional Pathways through Ignatian Engagement” that we have recently created at our institution, the University of San Francisco. The course is designed to help students apply their theoretical and practical learning not only to their personal development, but also to foster an engaged and ethical civic attitude, practiced through the component of various professional internships. Students will learn to examine and develop course concepts towards professional praxis and finding solutions in a community setting. Our methodology is inspired by the pedagogical tradition of the Jesuit Order, of which our university is a notable offspring. The name “Ignatian” comes from the founder of this order, Ignatius of Loyola, whose “Spiritual Exercises” have had a worldwide influence on the development of student-centered pedagogies. Ignatian education, which could be captured in a practical paradigm known as the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, seeks to create the conditions for the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional development of students regardless of their faith background. Students will acquire knowledge about the concept of humanization link to Paolo Freire’s pedagogy to help them maintain or regain their humanity. Students will experience the real world, reflect on its workings, and then take action for the welfare of society. The course is designed for students in their final year of study in various majors to help them integrate skills and techniques in a reflective process that would contribute to the formation of well-rounded individuals with lifelong learning habits to positively influence their social environment.

Presenters

Zehlia Babaci Wilhite
Lecturer/ Adjunct Professor, Languages, Literatures and Cultures, University of California Berkeley and University of San Francisco, California, United States

Matthew Motyka
Associate Professor, Romance Languages and Literatures, University of San Francisco, California, United States