EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

Practices of investigation and diagnosis are present in our minds because there is the lingering reality of a worldwide pandemic. Medical researchers and institutions continue to investigate antidotes, extents and limits of safety protocols, and appropriate steps for determining how to, in a currently evolving situation, overcome challenges of the coronavirus. Beyond medical personnel, politicians and pundits also are offering solutions to this scientific challenge.

Assessing realities we face to determine the way forward—what to do next, how to respond to crises or to reach goals of ordinary life, how to discern a good solution—is a hallmark of being self-conscious, intentional, purposeful agents in the world. Often our assessments are influenced, challenged, and complexified by the presence of disparate perspectives related to almost any issues we face. Still, taking account of current realities, including the roles history and policies play in creating the current situation, is important for discerning what is going on and what is an appropriate response.

Essays in this issue assess what is going on in academic discourses, practices, and policies, then offer additional considerations for pursuing beneficial or new directions. In “Doing Feminism on the Street: Culture, Media Perspectives, and Neo-Gender Groups in Ghana,” Genevieve Nrenzah analyzes legacies and contemporary iterations of African feminisms to assess realities specifically related to feminism in Ghana. In recounting legacies, Nrenzah notes some work was complicated by an “NGO-ization” that limits feminist thought and activism to focusing on short-term welfare and externally-leaning national development goals. She also distinguishes African from Western feminisms, describing African feminisms as unique in de-colonial, African-centered, intersectional analyses and activism with concentrated focus on African women’s advancement and wellbeing. Using interviews to discern quotidian responses to two contemporary feminist groups, Nrenzah finds interconnections of religion, culture, and colonialism in how persons “on the street” discuss the meaning of “woman” in Ghana.

Marsha Snulligan Haney’s essay “Intercultural Formation and the Leadership Practicum: Competencies in Doctor of Ministry Education” describes the reality of ever-increasing diversity and recognition of diversity in societies around the world. Haney argues this reality and its effects are significant for evaluating the efficacy of Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Education, especially for African American ministry leaders. She emphasizes critically assessing DMin program policies and procedures to ensure they align with theological institutions’ visions about educating students for ministerial leadership. To assist in realizing this alignment, Haney describes specific competency goals for re-structuring DMin practicum experiences that advance students’ intercultural competency through intentionally incorporating cultural disorientation as an element of the practicum experience.

Both essays analyze historic and contemporary realities to provide intellectual resources for assessing the meaning and efficacy of organizational and/or institutional discursive and structural practices.

Rosetta E. Ross

Black Women and Religious Cultures Volume 2, Number 2, Fall 2021. | ©2021 Black Women and Religious Cultures, Manifold-University of Minnesota Press. | All rights reserved.