In the spirit of my fellow historian-blogger John Fea’s annual “spring membership drive,” I’d like to make an intentional effort this week to encourage readers to give back to this blog by sharing their opinions. While I appreciate everyone who reads The Pietist Schoolman, it’s rare for any post to get more than a single comment. Let’s see if … More Comment Drive: What’s the Most Historically Accurate Movie?
As I mentioned in a former post, I just wrapped up a class on the history and politics of the Middle East, a class I have taught for a number of years now. One of its goals is for students to wrestle with the complexities of revolutionary movements in the Middle East, the most recent and particularly … More How to Spark Islamic Revolution
Today I’m happy to share a guest post by George Demetrion: a review essay on Philipp Jakob Spener’s 1675 work, Pia Desideria, originally written while George was auditing my colleague Glen Scorgie’s Pietism course at Bethel Seminary San Diego. The author of In Quest of a Vital Protestant Center: An Ecumenical Evangelical Perspective, George found much to appreciate in Pia … More The Enduring Influence of Pia Desideria (George Demetrion)
For spring break I’m reading Allen Guelzo’s Civil War history Fateful Lightning, so for today’s visit to the blog archives, I thought I’d dredge up a “This Day in History” post from November 2012 about Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speech. Seven score and nine years ago today, President Abraham Lincoln ascended the dais at the dedication of … More The Best of The Pietist Schoolman: The Gettysburg Address
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.
Recent months have seen increased coverage of Muslim radicals in the Middle East, presidential statements about what is and what is not “real” Islam, and new articles on where groups like ISIS fit in the Muslim faith, if at all. I have also just finished teaching a class called “Islam, Politics, and the Middle East.” So this … More Why We Need to Stop Trying to Identify “True” Islam
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
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