After nearly three years of blogging, you’d think that I’d have exhausted my ability to reveal semi-embarrassing details of my life. But I’m not sure I’ve yet mentioned that, in the summers after 3rd and 4th grades, I spent a week at French camp. It was called Lac du Bois. I lived in a cabin … More The French Are Coming! Language Immersion as Soft Power
Pietism lives! In German stereotypes as reported on by The Economist… H/T John Lawyer for pointing me to an article on the cultural origins of the “Swabian housewife.” Invoked by German chancellor Angela Merkel and described by the premier of the state of Baden-Württemberg as “the starting point” for the German approach to fiscal management, the … More Pietism and German Stereotypes
Here… • First things first: the results of the great beard vote are in and… Thanks for voting, everyone! • In other news… January 30th happened to mark the birthday of one world leader tied to World War II, the rise of another, the assassination of another, and the funeral of another. Hmm. • WWII … More That Was The Week That Was
I don’t pretend that historical coincidences like this mean anything. But perhaps because I’ve just finished teaching a course on the history of World War II for the first time, I couldn’t help but notice a convergence of WWII-related anniversaries on my Twitter feed this morning: I’m sure there’s something profound to note about this … More This Day in History: A WWII Convergence
1/30/14 – Three hours left to vote on whether I should keep my J-Term beard! Right now the Ayes (77%) have a commanding lead over the Nays (23%), but there’s still time for a comeback…
At the risk of revealing how little read this blog actually is and/or providing conclusive evidence that democracy just doesn’t work… Please take a moment to vote on what has to be seen as the question of the day: Should I keep my J-Term beard? Now, long-time readers of this blog may remember that, thirteen months … More Vote Early and Often: A Bearded Pietist Schoolman?
One more attempt to explain the inexplicable value of the liberal arts, and especially of the humanities, through metaphor. This one came to me last Tuesday and Wednesday, as I taught my World War II students about the end of the war in Europe. Like all such metaphors, it’s meant for musing. I almost hope … More The Purpose of the Liberal Arts is Purpose
Here… • As we neared the end of our J-term sprint through the history of World War II and my students heard from a Holocaust survivor, I returned to my Epiphany theme of “thick darkness.” • Lots of MLK Day posts claiming to reclaim some lost or neglected dimension of MLK: e.g., that he was … More That Was The Week That Was
I can’t quite claim to have been a Mac user for the entirety of the thirty-year run being celebrated today. While my father was an early adopter of the Apple IIe, I don’t think we got our first Mac until 1989-90, an SE that sits (still functionial) in his office to this day; and then … More 30 Years of Mac
It was a day into Epiphany — the Christian season of light, when Jesus is revealed in many and various ways as God — when I began my J-term class on World War II. So I started out with a meditation on Isaiah 60:1-2, one of the staple texts of the season. But rather than … More “Thick Darkness”: Further Thoughts on Looking Too Quickly for Light
The Pietist Schoolman 