African postfoundational practical theology

Practical Theology is located in a fragile, vulnerable space between various disciplines, where it is exposed to multiple different narratives. The author proposes a postfoundational, narrative approach to Practical Theology that favours the local over the global and the specific over generalisatio...

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Main Author: J. C. Müller
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2017-06-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2800
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author J. C. Müller
author_facet J. C. Müller
author_sort J. C. Müller
collection DOAJ
description Practical Theology is located in a fragile, vulnerable space between various disciplines, where it is exposed to multiple different narratives. The author proposes a postfoundational, narrative approach to Practical Theology that favours the local over the global and the specific over generalisations. Africa is taken as the defining context for the understanding and development of a specific postfoundational Practical Theology. People and their stories are central, and this requires a coconstruction of meaning with “co-researchers”. The author’s “Seven Movements”, as published in other articles, is used with an Ubuntu research project as a case study. The “Seven Movements” facilitate the telling and retelling of unheard stories, particularly stories of the marginalised and vulnerable. This way of doing Practical Theology takes the experiences of “co-researchers” seriously and conducts research wíth people rather than on them. The researcher’s focus is concrete, local, and contextual, but also extends beyond the local by engaging in transdisciplinary conversation and developing interpretations that point beyond the local.
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spelling doaj-art-107ce9274a034bafa2d43faf338342892025-02-11T09:51:17ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892017-06-0137110.38140/at.v37i1.2800African postfoundational practical theologyJ. C. Müller0University of the Free State, South Africa & University of Pretoria, South Africa Practical Theology is located in a fragile, vulnerable space between various disciplines, where it is exposed to multiple different narratives. The author proposes a postfoundational, narrative approach to Practical Theology that favours the local over the global and the specific over generalisations. Africa is taken as the defining context for the understanding and development of a specific postfoundational Practical Theology. People and their stories are central, and this requires a coconstruction of meaning with “co-researchers”. The author’s “Seven Movements”, as published in other articles, is used with an Ubuntu research project as a case study. The “Seven Movements” facilitate the telling and retelling of unheard stories, particularly stories of the marginalised and vulnerable. This way of doing Practical Theology takes the experiences of “co-researchers” seriously and conducts research wíth people rather than on them. The researcher’s focus is concrete, local, and contextual, but also extends beyond the local by engaging in transdisciplinary conversation and developing interpretations that point beyond the local. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2800
spellingShingle J. C. Müller
African postfoundational practical theology
Acta Theologica
title African postfoundational practical theology
title_full African postfoundational practical theology
title_fullStr African postfoundational practical theology
title_full_unstemmed African postfoundational practical theology
title_short African postfoundational practical theology
title_sort african postfoundational practical theology
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2800
work_keys_str_mv AT jcmuller africanpostfoundationalpracticaltheology