Category: History

God's Glory, Neighbor's Good screenshot

Announcements: How You Can Support a Documentary Series on Pietism

January 29, 2015

Please join me in supporting an exciting new project being spearheaded by Mark Safstrom (University of Illinois; editor of Pietisten) and Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom (North Park Theological Seminary; author of Angels, Worms, and Bogeys: The Christian Ethic of Pietism): a six-part documentary film series on the history of Pietism! God’s Glory, Neighbor’s Good will be written by Michelle and … More Announcements: How You Can Support a Documentary Series on Pietism

Los Angeles Crusade tent in 1949

Unbroken: The Meaning of Conversion

December 24, 2014

Whatever concerns I have about how Angelina Jolie brings Louie Zamperini’s story to the screen, I’m less interested in discouraging movie-going than in encouraging book-buying. If you haven’t read it yet, I heartily recommend Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken, based on extensive primary source research and numerous interviews with Zamperini (who died earlier this year, four after the book came … More Unbroken: The Meaning of Conversion

Unbroken: The Challenge of Biography

December 23, 2014

By all rights, I should be thrilled that Unbroken, the biopic about Olympic athlete-turned-WWII POW Louie Zamperini, is coming to theatres this week. I always celebrate turning in my grades by going to the movies, and this one has been on my radar ever since I read Laura Hillenbrand’s remarkable book about Zamperini during my trip to California earlier … More Unbroken: The Challenge of Biography

Gobetti, Partisan Diary

The Best History Books of 2014?

December 16, 2014

It’s time for our annual holiday tradition: picking through some prominent lists of the best books of the past year to suggest potential gifts for the history buff in your life. This year we’ll cull suggestions from the New York Times (NYT), the Guardian (G), the Washington Post (WP), and Christianity Today (CT). Jessie Childs, God’s Traitors: Terror and Faith in Elizabethan England “…conjures … More The Best History Books of 2014?

Jared Burkholder teaching

Live, from Lancaster County… It’s Jared Burkholder!

December 10, 2014

If you’ve been wondering why our resident guest-blogger Jared Burkholder (Grace College, IN) hasn’t been blogging here in a while… Jared has spent the fall term as a Snowden Fellow with the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. First things first: what’s the Young Center? (And what’s the specific purpose of the Snowden Fellowship?) The Young … More Live, from Lancaster County… It’s Jared Burkholder!

Hall, Arthur Ashe

Who Are the Most Significant Americans in History? (part 2)

December 9, 2014

In part one of their response to Smithsonian Magazine’s attempt to list “The 100 Most Significant American of All Time,” historians Miles Mullin, John Fea, Devin Manzullo-Thomas, and Jonathan Den Hartog evaluated the methodology of the project. Today, they pick apart the actual list itself… Which name were you most pleasantly surprised to see? (i.e., someone who might not … More Who Are the Most Significant Americans in History? (part 2)

Who Are the Most Significant Americans in History? (part 1)

December 8, 2014

I’ve parlayed my graduate training in diplomatic/international and European history into a license to teach on everything from human rights to church history and to write on… well, pretty much anything I want. (Thanks, WordPress!) But I retain enough self-awareness to know that I am no U.S. historian. So when I saw that Smithsonian Magazine had put out a … More Who Are the Most Significant Americans in History? (part 1)

Sainsbury's chocolate bar

On Advertising, Chocolate, and the First World War

November 18, 2014

One of the cultural residues of Britain being a post-Christian society is that companies try to outdo each other in celebrating the Incarnation by creating memorable “Christmas adverts.” The 2014 versions are coming out, and one has already garnered enormous attention — positive and negative: Yes, the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s not only produced a three-minute … More On Advertising, Chocolate, and the First World War