five questions to the professor

This weeks interview, as we move ourselves from Copenhagen to Aarhus, is with Professor Marianne Scheicher from the religious department at Aarhus University. The second cycle students had a compact seminar in Aarhus in December last year, and one of the very bests things was that all three "Three religions"-professors plus Jakob joined us for dinner and a drink :)


Name:            Marianne Schleicher
Age:               41
University:       University of Aarhus
RRE-affiliation:Associate Professor

Area of expertise:
Judaism from Antiquity till today
Cultural functions of scriptural use
Gender and Sexuality in religious contexts
Jewish mysticism

Courses taught:“The three religions in contemporary perspective”

Evaluation of the RRE-forms of teaching:
I question the benefitsof posting a lot of information on our E-platforms, such as AULA, withouthaving the possibility of looking you in the eye to see if you follow myreasoning and thereby of rephrasing what may be difficult to understand.However, the E-chat room provides a corrective to this challenge. I value theweekly assignments highly in that they enable a personal dialogue betweenstudent and professor where I as a professor can counter misunderstandings etc.within a week (where non-distance teaching allows students to hide and wait foran evaluation of their understanding until the exam). The compact seminar is myfavourite because I meet with students with whom I have corresponded already,which allows for an atmosphere of familiarity.

Expectations:
I expect discipline fromthe students in their habits of studying, i.e. that they read prior to the E-confrontations,reflect independently on the content, and that they submit their weeklyassignments in a form that reflects commitment and the best of efforts.

Superhuman power …:
If I had superhuman power,I would make use of my special ability to be in several places at the same time!Why? Because it could help me counter the problems specified above about E-learning,and it would enable me to accomplish what I consider ideal vis-à-vis being amother, a partner, a colleague, a professor, and an individual who wants todevelop as well.