As I discussed Monday, song is often seen as an integral part of the project of constructing a nation, what Benedict Anderson calls an “imagined community.” So as my Modern Europe class spends a few days on the history of 19th century nationalism, I’m inspired to settle, once and for all, the question, “What’s the … More The Best National Anthems: Also-Rans
9/27/11 – Two interesting pieces today on higher education. The Guardian reports on a debate between British academics and the authors of a government white paper about the purposes of higher education: is it about private benefits for the individual students and the corporations that will employ them, or the public benefits for society? (H/T … More What is Higher Education?
As it happened, I read the third part of Carolyn Weber’s Surprised by Oxford (“Christmastide,” which finds her returning home to Canada during a break in Oxford’s schedule) the same week that my friend Sam taught our Christianity and Western Culture class about Augustine of Hippo, the North African theologian and bishop whose Confessions is … More Surprised by Oxford: Christmastide
Recently I concluded a series elaborating on a talk I gave last spring at Bethel University: “In Search of a ‘Usable Past’: Pietism in the Historiography of Christian Colleges and Universities.” If you missed some or all of the series, you can find the entries indexed here, with sample quotations: 1. The Usable Past of … More The Usable Past: An Overview
Last Tuesday the Minneapolis band known as the Jayhawks released their first album since 2003 (and their first with founder Mark Olson since the mid-1990s), leading me to take a break from typical Pietist Schoolman topics and propose the ten Jayhawks’ songs that would best introduce the band to a newbie. The Jayhawks are perhaps … More Radio Kings: Wilco
This week “This Week in History” will take a break. In its place, I’ll use the Monday morning post to kick off a new series I’ve been looking forward to for weeks: Once and for all, I will settle the question, “What’s the best national anthem?” Later today my Modern Europe class will start a … More The Best National Anthems: Introduction
Some highlights from the past week at this and other blogs and publications. Here We paid tribute to one of my favorite hometown bands as they returned to putting out albums after a prolonged absence. Not a huge fan of the new CD, though the documentary mini-features (including an early, early video of a sound … More That Was the Week That Was
9/23/11 – Coming up next week here at The Pietist Schoolman… Entering the Indian cloud of witnesses, wrapping up our series on the “usable past,” ranking the best national anthems, and the return of Wilco.
Today I’m going to wrap up a series of posts on the notion of Christian colleges looking to a “usable past” for guidance as they consider their missions and identities. Thus far, we’ve mostly found that schools founded by denominations originating (at least in part) in Pietism have not found such utility in that tradition. … More The Usable Past: Pietism and Bethel University
9/22/11 – On this week’s episode of CWC: The Radio Show… We discuss privilege and marginalization, Halloween decorations and costumes, Sam’s mysterious power over one corporation, and the new craze in people watching. Get episodes here, or click on the logo on the right side of the home page.
The Pietist Schoolman 