Consultation: Dangerous Memories – Transformative Learning in Theological Education
From 3 to 5 November 2025, the Protestant Theological University (PThU) will once again welcome colleagues from Stellenbosch University (SU) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa. This annual consultation brings together scholars and lecturers who share theological perspectives and collaborate across disciplines on themes that engage church, academy, and society.
Dangerous Memories
This year’s conversations centre on Dangerous Memories: Towards Transformative Learning in Theological Education through Reflections on Church, Slavery, Racism and Xenophobia. The concept of Dangerous Memories, introduced by the German theologian Johann Baptist Metz, has guided the partnership between the three institutions since 2024. These are memories that unsettle and challenge: they resist cultural amnesia and confront us with the enduring legacies of injustice and dehumanisation.
Theological education in the light of remembrance
Following earlier consultations on economy and ecology, this year’s focus turns to theological education itself. What does it mean to work with and on dangerous memories? How do such reflections challenge us—partners from South Africa and the Netherlands—to link our research and teaching more explicitly to the formation of future theologians?
The discussions will explore the worldwide entanglement of our churches with crises that endanger the future, the ongoing influence of slavery in theological thought and education, and the biblical and theological perspectives that continue to shape Christian communities today.
Invitation
All colleagues, PhD candidates, and students are warmly invited to join one or more sessions of this consultation.
For more information, please contact Dorottya Nagy or Erica Meijers.
