Last week I shared some quick thoughts on Ben Schmidt’s much-read report on the state of the history major. Using graduation numbers from the IPEDS database, he found that history has suffered a greater proportional decline since the Great Recession than any other major: in 2016-17, there were one-third fewer history grads than there were in 2011-12. … More The History Major at Christian Colleges
Today I’m happy to share a guest post from Anthony Minnema, assistant professor of history at Samford University. A specialist in Muslim-Christian relations during the Middle Ages, Tony studied at Calvin College and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and was a Lilly Graduate Fellow at Valparaiso University before coming to Samford. In this post, he responds … More What About a Farm? (Anthony Minnema)
Not this weekend, but the next two Sundays in November, I’ll be teaching an adult Kairos class on The Pietist Option at Incarnation Lutheran Church in Shoreview, Minnesota. Here’s the course description: In the history of Lutheranism few renewal movements have been as successful as Pietism. This led to revivals everywhere from 17th century Germany to 18th … More The Pietist Option for Lutherans
As much as I talk about blogging as “thinking in public,” I’m rarely so incautious as to do such contemplation in the heat of a moment. But every once in a while, I decide that I ought to record a thought that I hold intensely, if transiently. I did that in the wee hours after … More Can Christian Liberal Arts Be Affordable and Sustainable?
As close readers know, this has been a tough year for the Christian university where I work — as it has been for many other high tuition-high aid private colleges that share Bethel’s economic challenges, if not its religious mission and culture. So after spending yesterday afternoon representing our faculty at a meeting of Bethel’s … More Want to Help Start a Christian Liberal Arts College with $10,000 Tuition?
Our thanks to Anna Johnson, Reformation church history professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, who is leading an online discussion of The Pietist Option on Tuesday, November 13th at noon (Central time). Here’s how Garrett introduces our book at its webinars page: Pietists are Christianity’s historical behind-the-scenes influencers. They were an important inspiration for John Wesley, the Moravians, … More How You Can Participate in an Online Discussion of The Pietist Option
I haven’t done a lot of work on my Lindbergh biography this fall after a great summer of research. In part, that’s not by choice: I’d much rather learn about aviation than wrestle with a financial crisis at work. But I have tried to let the project lay fallow for a short season, in order … More What Am I Trying to Do as a Biographer?
It’s been a busy week elsewhere, so I’ve taken a brief break from Pietist Schoolman. But I’ll interrupt the hiatus long enough to share a couple of items related to the centennial of World War I: • First, in my capacity as a member of Minnesota’s WWI centennial commission… let me encourage all of you to … More A WWI Speaking Announcement… and How Churches Can Commemorate the Armistice
Just a short post as I prepare to head to the airport: I’m flying to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the Conference on Faith and History is holding its biennial meeting at Calvin College. The undergraduate sessions are already underway, with the professional conference kicking off tonight with Peggy Bendroth’s address on “History and Faith in … More Off to the 2018 Meeting of the Conference on Faith and History
Every other January since 2013, my Bethel colleague Sam Mulberry and I have taken students to Europe for a three-week course on the history of the two world wars. Whether we’re in Trafalgar Square or at a Canadian memorial in France or on the chilling grounds of Dachau, that travel course has become my favorite kind … More Announcing My “World Wars in Western Europe” Trip – June 6-16, 2019
