Instructor: Paula Drewek

Paula Drewek is a professor of Humanities at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan where she has taught courses in arts and ideas and comparative religion for over 30 years. A member of the Baha'i Faith since her teen years, she is interested in the many ways religion shapes social change. Her Ph.D. in the Sociology of Religion was a cross-cultural study of two communities of Baha'is -in Canada and India --using the faith development model of James W. Fowler as an instrument of comparison. Research interests reflect an interest in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary issues including: Faith Development Among Baha'is in Canada and India for her doctoral thesis, New Religions in Japan, Women's Development in India, the Myth of Adam and Eve, the Sociology of Religion in 20th Century China, Feminine imagery in the Baha'i Sacred Writings and Islamic Fundamentalism and Women in Islam. However, her primary focus is college teaching and speaking for various Baha'i groups internationally as well as local community groups. In this endeavor she has focused on developing diverse forms of pedagogy to enliven the student experience of learning: a strong focus on experiential learning, using the arts in verbal and visual presentations, collaborative and interactive instruction, Socratic seminars, and feminist methodologies.

Her community contributions include: Member of NCCJ (formerly Detroit Interfaith Roundtable) Scholar Trialog series; Harvard Pluralism Project consultant; Graduate of the New Detroit Multi-Cultural Immersion Series; various local interfaith initiatives; Central States Committee for Gender Equality for the Baha'i Faith; Midwest Board for the Association of Baha'i Studies, and the Macomb College Speakers Bureau.

She has two grown sons, both recently married and living in the Detroit area. For relaxation, Paula divides her time among a variety of interests which include swimming, biking, walking, golf, gardening, playing bridge and piano, singing in a choir, cooking and canning, reading, travel, and lots of art events. She has traveled widely from Japan to Russia, India, Israel, Mexico and throughout Europe and has guided study tours of Italy.

Education:
A.A. with honors in Humanities, Stephens College, Columbia, MO., 1962
U. of California, Berkeley, CA., Humanities 1962-63
U. of Hawai, Honolulu, HI. Philosophy, 1963-64
B.A. in Humanities, Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. 1965
M.A. in Humanities, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI., 1966
M.A. in Religious Studies, University of Ottawa, Ontario, 1986
Ph.D. in Religious Studies, University of Ottawa, Ontario, 1996