3/16/15 – If all goes according to plan, The Pietist Schoolman Podcast will formally debut one month from today, with an episode featuring theologian Roger Olson. In the meantime, I’ve set up a PSP page on Facebook, where I’ll share some goodies in advance of the debut. Eventually, it’ll be one place you can both keep up with new episodes … More Our Podcast Page on Facebook
We’ll have some new guest posts at the end of the week, but little from me while I spend Bethel’s spring break in Virginia with my parents. But it’s been a while since I’ve reposted any “best of” material, so I’ll share one from each year this blog has been published — in part to … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: Emmaus Education
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I have been co-editing a book on the history of Grace College and Theological Seminary and now I am happy to announce that Becoming Grace: Seventy-Five Years on the landscape of Christian Higher Education in America is available for preorder! I’ll be writing more about what you’ll find in … More Becoming Grace… Now Available for Preorder!
3/11/15 – Episode six of Past & Presence took us to the Minnesota History Center, where we met people who work in everything from exhibit design and textile conservation to fundraising and internship coordination. Plus advice for students on oral presentations and working in groups, an interview with an alum teaching middle school social studies, and an introduction to pre-law at Bethel.
Okay, let’s go back to Wesleyan University president Michael Roth’s claim that while he wants his students (even fellow secularists) to engage with religious ideas and feelings, he certainly isn’t “trying to make a religious believer out of anybody.” But as a Christian historian — and as a professor at a Christian college — aren’t … More Am I “Making Religious Believers” Out of My Students? (part 2)
Coming next month to iTunes: The Pietist Schoolman Podcast! I’m not sure if “triumphant” is the right word here, but who am I to disagree with the people who are going to host the first podcast series I’ll have attempted in about four years? (Yes, I have a past life as a serial podcaster, having produced Radio Modern Europe from 2007-2008 … More My “Triumphant Return to Podcasting”
In the past week or so, I’ve seen a fair amount of new traffic for a two-year old series I ran on the history of colleges and universities closing. Perhaps interest was stimulated by the news that the board of directors of Sweet Briar College voted to close the school at the end of this academic year, … More When Colleges Close: Sweet Briar
I don’t normally use The Pietist Schoolman for Bethel business, but this morning I’m going to pass along an announcement via our department blog: We’re happy to announce that we’ve begun a job search for the newest member of our faculty: a gifted, innovative teacher committed to the mission of Bethel and able to straddle the fields of ancient/medieval and digital … More Ancient-Digital: Announcing Our Department’s New Search
One of the ablest defenders of the liberal arts, in a time when many question their value, is Wesleyan University president Michael Roth. Indeed, before becoming an administrator, Roth was trained as an intellectual historian, and he still finds time to teach in that field. Last month he wrote an essay for the Wall Street Journal probing his students’ hesitation whenever he … More Am I “Making Religious Believers” Out of My Students? (part 1)
3/4/15 – Episode five of Past & Presence is one of my favorites because it gave us an excuse to go back to Bethel’s old campus across from the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, now home to the Hubert Humphrey Job Corps Center. (Note to self: next time you decide to visit property of the federal government, check in with security before setting … More Past and Presence: A Usable Past
The Pietist Schoolman 