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Mentalizing the Classroom: Pedagogies Toward Making the Other Matter in Social Activism and Public Theology

The article introduces mentalization to the classroom space in theological education. Sometimes referred to as a theory of mind, mentalization describes the capacity of individuals or groups to understand and make sense of their interactions with others by being more aware (consciously or unconsciously) of how various mental and emotional states inform the actions and thoughts of the other person. Intracultural mentalization tends to be efficient and effective. Intercultural mentalization tends to be the challenge: students are faced with mentalizing human experiences beyond the framework of their indigenous setting. This article asks the question of how the inability of the seminary community to mentalize persons forced to exist at the margins compromises theological education and student formation and undermines pedagogies for redemptive social activism and public theology. Teaching strategies that help foster students’ capacity to mentalize across cultural boundaries are suggested as necessary precursors to pedagogies that promote redemptive social activism and public theology.