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Teaching for the recovery of meaning: An imagination‐centered pedagogical approach for today's college students
Author(s) -
Manning Patrick R.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
teaching theology and religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.165
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1467-9647
pISSN - 1368-4868
DOI - 10.1111/teth.12403
Subject(s) - meaning (existential) , mental health , existentialism , scholarship , face (sociological concept) , psychology , distress , social psychology , psychotherapist , sociology , epistemology , social science , political science , philosophy , law
Abstract In the face of a mounting mental health crisis among college students, professors have an opportunity and responsibility to respond to their students’ psychological distress. Psychological and historical scholarship suggests that the proliferation of modern media and breakdown in traditional sources of existential meaning like religion are significant factors in young adults’ declining mental health. In response to this crisis, this article examines the crucial role of the imagination in constructing meaning and proposes an imagination‐centered pedagogical process by means of which teachers can assist students in recovering meaning and integration in their lives.