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
Thanks to Brant Himes of Azusa Pacific University for taking the time to review our book on Pietism and higher ed for the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion! In The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education, Christopher Gehrz convenes an impressive array of scholars to offer fresh, cross-disciplinary reflections on how the Pietist … More A New Review of The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education
Last week I was part of a discussion at Bethel about what defines “the humanities.” I bit my tongue, but I was tempted to say, “A perpetual sense of crisis.” And perhaps “crisis of the humanities” talk has been overblown. I wrote a whole post about this nearly three years ago, noting historian Ben Schmidt’s finding that (aside … More Are the Humanities in Crisis at Christian Colleges?
This week I got to be a bit more of a Pietist schoolman again on our podcast, as we considered how a Pietist ethos would shape education at several levels. Things started with Sam and me talking about Bethel and revisiting some of the key themes of last year’s book on The Pietist Vision for Christian Higher Education: … More Thursday’s Podcast: Education as Whole-Life Formation
In honor of Twitter turning 10, Andy Thomason of The Chronicle of Higher Education yesterday named “15 Indispensable Academic Twitter Accounts,” starting with the undisputed champion: I like my academic writing like I like my coffee: intentionally obfuscatory so as to propagate an inflationary in-crowd publishing oligarchy — Shit Academics Say (@AcademicsSay) March 18, 2016 Despite having been … More What Are Some Indispensable Christian Academic Twitter Accounts?
Back in my very first post, I looked forward to using this blog to engage in “intellectual spring cleaning… to clear out some stray thoughts taking up mental space, expose them to the harsh light of day, and see if they look as profound on screen as they can sound in my mind at 1am.” I’ve learned not … More Blogging’s Impossible… Here’s How I’ll Try to Do It
Here… • I paid tribute to a friend and mentor, gone too soon. • What if Christian colleges and universities modeled Christian unity for the world? • And it was good to have Jared back on the blog, for a guest-post on 18th century Moravians wrestling with pacifism. …There and Everywhere • If you’re still looking … More That Was The Week That Was
One of my favorite publications is The Cresset, which regularly publishes diverse collections of thoughtful essays on literature, art, education, politics, and more. Hosted by Valparaiso University, it “explores ideas and trends in contemporary culture from a perspective grounded in the Lutheran tradition of scholarship, freedom, and faith while informed by the wisdom of the … More An Ecumenical Vision for Christian Higher Education
Here… • My colleague, friend, and mentor G.W. Carlson passed away on Friday morning. I expect that I’ll have more to say next week, but until then, here’s the tribute I wrote on the occasion of his retirement. • The behavior of the president of Mount St. Mary’s, a small Catholic university, got me to sign a … More That Was The Week That Was
I grieve to report that G.W. Carlson, who wrote several guest-posts here, passed away early this morning — ten days after suffering a stroke. At some point in the coming days, I’m sure I’ll write something more about GW, but for now, let me just repost the essay that I wrote for his retirement from … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: A Tribute to G.W. Carlson
The Pietist Schoolman 