For those readers living in the Twin Cities metro area, I encourage you to join us at Salem Covenant Church in New Brighton, MN on February 17-19, as we present the 2012 installment of the Hagman Lecture Series, entitled Across the Divides: Across Cultures, Across Generations. Our speaker for the weekend will be Dr. Soong-Chan … More Soong-Chan Rah: “Across the Divides”
A week ago today the French Senate voted 127-86 to make it illegal to deny or “outrageously minimize” mass killings that the French have officially deemed to be “genocides,” with violators facing a year in prison and a fine of up to 45,000 €. The vote brought immediate condemnation from the government of Turkey (already … More Denial vs. Free Speech
Here • Two more posts on how World War I has been commemorated in western Europe, the first focused on German military cemeteries in Belgium and France and the second on memorials in two large German cities. • And for good measure, a link to an op-ed piece in the New York Times about why … More That Was The Week That Was
1/27/12 – As always, almost everything in the current issue of Books & Culture makes for compelling reading. Particularly if you’re interested in the state of higher education in this country, be sure to check out Jerry Pattengale’s essay, contrasting three critiques focused on public universities (by Naomi Schaefer Riley, Benjamin Ginsberg, and Richard A. … More Whither Higher Education?
Earlier this month the popular British historian Simon Schama took to the pages of Newsweek to write a withering attack on the British TV series Downton Abbey — and even more, on Americans’ obsession with it — as its second series began to air on PBS. SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T BEEN WATCHING I … More Downton Crabby
Let’s dip into the imaginary mailbag, shall we? Dear Chris, It seems like you’ve got endless amounts of free time to fill. Have you ever considered engaging in some actual scholarship? Or, writing for another blog? Cordially, All those who invested time and money in your decades of education Excellent questions. I’ll defer the first … More Our New Blog!
When I take students to Europe next January to study the history of World War I, we’ll close the journey (as my wife and I did this month) in Munich — primarily to consider how WWI led to the rise of fascist movements and thence to World War II and the Holocaust. But we’ll also … More Commemorating WWI: Munich
While the British commissioned architects like Reginald Blomfield and Edwin Lutyens to construct towering monuments whose significance would endure throughout eternity and their Dominions (e.g., Australia and Canada) used commemoration to help establish their claims to distinct nationhood, the Germans generally tacked in the opposite direction, preferring simple, dignified symbols of quiet mourning. Ironically, it was … More Commemorating WWI: German Subtlety
Regular readers of The Pietist Schoolman might have noticed a new “widget” along the right-hand side of each page: a countdown to April 20, when Bethel University will host a colloquium on Pietism. I’ve already shared some initial details and, last week, a follow-up about our afternoon roundtable discussion on Pietism and contemporary churches and … More Update: Scot McKnight’s Talk at Our Pietism Colloquium
I’m taking a day or two off from my series on how the First World War has been commemorated in western Europe. But I’ll tread water a bit by encouraging those interested in the topic to read this essay by writer William Boyd, published in yesterday’s New York Times. He begins in a place similar … More “Why World War I Resonates”
The Pietist Schoolman 