Global Learning and the Myth of Borders: Examining Theological Education and Librarianship through World-Systems Theory

Abstract

In the last few years, the language of globalism and borders has been pervasive in the narratives of politics and social commentary. Despite the flurry of opinions, debates, and claims of “fake news,” those who are practitioners in theological education broadly speaking, and theological librarianship, specifically, recognize the deep and profound reality of global education, and the impact that it has on both domestic students and the international representation of students and faculty as one community of learners, practitioners, and seekers. In this paper, we will look at how the language of globalism has been expressed both in popular terms and theological terms; how the evocation of borders and boundaries is not a new idea, but a dated trope reused throughout history for steering narrative claims; and how World-Systems theory enables a broader understanding of theological education and librarianship.