Jim Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association, took to the pages of the Los Angeles Times yesterday to argue that there’s nothing “useless” about a major in History. In fact, he contended, it has tremendous economic utility: The utility of disciplines that prepare critical thinkers escapes personnel offices, pundits and politicians (some of whom perhaps would prefer … More What Makes the Humanities “Useful”?
[UPDATED, 12:30pm: Baylor announced that, as of May 31, Starr will step down as president but remain as law school professor and most likely chancellor, but Briles “has been suspended indefinitely with intent to terminate.” McCaw has been placed on probation, and unidentified members of the athletic department and administration have been fired.] Baylor University still has … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: Football at Christian Colleges and Universities
Happy as I was to see our Pietist Vision book reviewed in The Cresset, it’s another article that’s the real highlight of that publication’s Easter issue. Written by a friend of mine, Katie Koch, it starts with one of my favorite places — the public library — then quickly moves to a theme that has come up time and again for … More Of Libraries, Churches, and the Importance of Welcoming
One of the pleasures of being (almost) done with grading is that I can start to catch up on reading. A summer book list will come another day, but this week, I want to mention two articles in the Easter issue of The Cresset, starting with a review essay that makes kind mention of our book, The Pietist Vision … More Searching for Jerusalem: A New Review of Our Pietist Vision Book
And Season 2 comes to an end! Thanks to everyone who wrote in this year, especially Eric Johnson (who asked a great question about Pietism and politics), Johanna Fenton (who prompted us to dive deeper into the nature of peace and Christian unity — with an assist from North Park Seminary professor Jay Phelan), and Christian Humanist friend … More Thursday’s Podcast: The Pietist Future of American Christianity
I didn’t mean to write a fourth Christian higher ed post in four days, but… It’s all too possible that someone newer to the blog could read the first three and come away thinking that I’m thoroughly disillusioned about Christian colleges in general and disgruntled with Bethel in particular. Those feelings are there — as they would be, … More Why I’m Glad I’m at Bethel
I’m pretty sure the world has heard enough from me for now on the subject of the “crisis of the humanities” in Christian colleges. At the risk of overreaching, let me just add a few closing thoughts: First, that I appreciate the enormous response to the first two posts this week. They provoked some truly enlightening … More Final Thoughts on Evangelicalism and the Humanities: Rethinking How Christian Colleges Serve the Church
So what’s causing the decline of humanities disciplines in evangelical colleges? And why is it significant for those institutions’ constituencies? I think the answer to both questions may hinge on one word: fear. Now, I’m sure no single factor can explain why English, history, and philosophy accounted for only 5.5% of bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2014 by members of … More If There’s a Crisis of the Humanities in Christian Colleges, What Does It Tell Us about Evangelicalism?
So is Messiah College history professor John Fea correct that “Enrollments in humanities fields — history, philosophy, literature, theology — at evangelical colleges have experienced a precipitous decline over the last decade”? Last week I looked at my own institution to begin to offer an answer to that question. But I admitted that I didn’t … More Quantifying the Crisis in Humanities at Christian Colleges
If you’ve been waiting for Mark — one of the best preachers I know — to talk about preaching and proclamation, this episode is for you. If you’ve been waiting for Sam to help us think through the importance of Christians taking up what Krista Tippett calls a “ministry of listening,” this episode is also for you. And if … More Thursday’s Podcast: Preaching (and Listening)
The Pietist Schoolman 