1942 recruiting poster for the U.S. Army

Best of The Pietist Schoolman: The Purpose of the Liberal Arts is Purpose

March 10, 2014

From January… Another metaphor for education, this one occurring to me in the midst of teaching my course on the international history of World War II. In its final episode, “A World Without War,” Ken Burns’ The War arrives at the Allied liberation of concentration camps in the Third Reich. This chapter is introduced by an … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: The Purpose of the Liberal Arts is Purpose

German tutor with children, ca. 1820

Home-Colleging?

March 6, 2014

In this turbulent year, when the most pessimistic corners of my mind conjure scenarios in which schools like my employer go under, I’ve occasionally imagined what it would look like to start a new Christian liberal arts college from scratch. For some reason, my imagination keeps turning to the end of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, a … More Home-Colleging?

Nancy as photographed for an April 1982 Clarion article

RIP Nancy Lundquist (1919-2014)

March 4, 2014

I was sorry to learn this morning that Nancy Lundquist died yesterday at the age of 94, having outlived her husband, long-serving (1954-1982) Bethel president Carl Lundquist, by twenty-three years. The two were partners in many respects, particularly in their shared commitment to spiritual disciplines, formation, and retreats. In the coming days, look for some lengthier comments … More RIP Nancy Lundquist (1919-2014)

Benson Great Hall at Bethel University

Table of Contents for Our Forthcoming Book on Pietism and Christian Higher Ed

March 3, 2014

That noise you heard Friday morning emanating from somewhere in the Upper Midwest was the sound of me exhaling in relief after sending our InterVarsity Press editor the first draft of The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education: Forming Whole and Holy Persons. There’s still a long way to go until the book comes out (December?), … More Table of Contents for Our Forthcoming Book on Pietism and Christian Higher Ed

Barton, The Jefferson Lies

Tracy McKenzie on David Barton: “What’s Really at Stake”

February 28, 2014

I said it this morning on my Pietist Schoolman Facebook page, but it bears repeating for the larger audience that reads the blog itself: Within the evangelical world it’s hard to overstate the importance of this critique of David Barton, coming as it does from the president of the Conference on Faith and History and chair of the History … More Tracy McKenzie on David Barton: “What’s Really at Stake”

The Smithsonian Institution

Historical Schizophrenia: Academic and Public History

February 28, 2014

Generally speaking, academic historians and public historians approach the past from two different vantage points. For historians, a productive career has traditionally revolved around producing monographs and engaging with other professional historians on the fine points of interpretation, theory, and effective arguments.  Public historians, on the other hand, do their work with a different audience … More Historical Schizophrenia: Academic and Public History