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Héctor A. Acero Ferrer
Adjunct Faculty; Interim Program Coordinator, Bachelor of Arts: Christian Studies and Global Citizenship
I joined Martin Luther University College as adjunct faculty in January 2016. At Luther, I teach undergraduate and graduate courses on the topics of youth engagement, social justice, community and theology, and intersectionality.
In addition to my work at Luther, I serve as associate director of the Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics at the Institute for Christian Studies (ICS). In this role, I help to plan, co-ordinate, and implement institutional research projects and public outreach initiatives geared to explore the role of religion in contemporary society.
I hold a BA in Philosophy (University of Toronto, 2010), an MDiv/STB (Toronto School of Theology, 2013), and an MA in Philosophy (ICS, 2016). Currently, I am pursuing doctoral studies in Philosophy at ICS/Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Teaching in 2021-22:
- GC241: Engaging Youth Cultures
- GC401: Senior Project and Integration Seminar
View my Meet the Prof @LutherWaterloo video
Through my research, I attempt to understand how faith communities mobilize their members in seeking social transformation. To accomplish this goal, I am developing theoretical frameworks that combine academic philosophy, narrative research, and community based approaches. In my doctoral project (currently underway), I am exploring some of the ways in which Liberation Theology has contributed to the development of distinctive notions of justice and reconciliation in post-colonial Latin America, thereby assisting local civic movements in the pursuit of equality, peace, and co-operation.
At ICS’s Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics, I collaborated in two multi-year research projects, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), exploring the relation of faith and society. The outcomes of the first of these projects can be found in Just Faith? A National Survey Connecting Faith and Justice within the Christian Reformed Church. The second of these projects, entitled Faith and Settlement Partnerships: Setting Immigrants and Canada up for Success explored the collaboration between faith-based initiatives and government-funded organizations in refugee settlement.
- Acero Ferrer, Héctor A., “Dignify(ing) Narratives: Building Communities through Acts of Resistance and Stories of Survival.” Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace: Global Mennonite Perspectives on Peacebuilding, 2021. Forthcoming.
- Acero Ferrer, Héctor. “Race, Philosophy, and Complicity.” Perspective 55(1): 9-11, Spring 2021.
- Acero Ferrer, Héctor A., Review Reading In-Between: Biblical Interpretation in Canada, edited by Nestor Medina, Allison Hari-Singh, Hyeran Kim-Cragg. Toronto Journal of Theology 36(1), 2020. https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/tjt-2020-0080
- Acero Ferrer, Héctor A., “Imagining Borders, Imagining Relationships: Can We Build Enlarged Communities Through Narrative Imagination?” Interdisciplinary Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society 5(2): 447-468, 2020.
- Acero Ferrer, Héctor A., Interview with Jayne Svenungsson. Entangled Worlds, University of Toronto. January 2019. https://entangledworlds.utoronto.ca/index.php/interview-with-jayne-svenungsson/
- Acero Ferrer, Héctor. “Youth and Interfaith Dialogue – A Directory of Organizations”. Scarboro Missions. September 2015. https://www.scarboromissions.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Youth-and-Interfaith-Dialogue.pdf
- Brnjas, Chris, Héctor Acero Ferrer. Faith & Settlement Partnerships: Setting Immigrants & Canada up for Success Workshop Facilitator’s Guide May 2018. Waterloo, ON: Centre for Community Based Research, 2018. https://199486d8-e287-4a48-a0cc-b19db2f62a6d.filesusr.com/ugd/36eba7_0b04aa70cb3b4bbea401bae50d786adf.pdf
- Janzen, Rich, Steve van de Hoef, Alethea Stobbe, Allyson Carr, Joshua Harris, Ronald A. Kuipers, Héctor Acero Ferrer. “Just Faith? A National Survey Connecting Faith and Justice Within the Christian Reformed Church.” Review of Religious Research 58: 229-247, 2016.
I am passionate about bolstering student-led research. At Luther, I have supervised students in their BA Christian Studies and Global Citizenship (GC) capstone projects (in the context of the course GC401: Senior Project and Integration Seminar). These projects attempt to foster integration of learnings and provide opportunities for in-depth scholarly reflection on topics of interest to GC students. I invite students nearing the end of their program to contact me if they have any questions or ideas about capstone projects.
- Inter-religious dialogue
- Philosophy of religion
- Liberation Theology
- Social imagination
- Religion and secularity