Hearing and Being Heard

Abstract

This introduction addresses the question of how the language of vocation and calling, with its historically Christian roots, might be redeployed in the increasingly multi-faith environment of higher education today. Colleges and universities have become more diverse, including with respect to the religious life of their students; however, these institutions have not always found ways of addressing this diversity in ways that avoid privileging the faith traditions from which particular institutional practices arise. Vocation can avoid this fate if its contours can be reshaped for the contemporary academic context. The authors seek to contribute to this outcome by examining a wide range of themes relating to vocation, working from their own particular faith tradition or lifestance. The introduction concludes with a description of the 13 chapters that are spread across the four parts of the book.