My Essay on WWI Commemoration in Books and Culture

Regular readers know both that World War I is one of my favorite topics and Books & Culture one of my favorite publications. So it was a joy to write the essay that went up on the B&C website this morning, “We Will Remember Them.” The title comes from one of the war’s most-quoted poems, and refers back to the … More My Essay on WWI Commemoration in Books and Culture

The American WWI Centennial (Don’t Wait for 2017)

Last Friday I got to give a presentation to Bethel alumni and students — a “class without a quiz” for Homecoming — entitled “Remembering the Great War: Christian Perspectives on the Commemoration of World War I.” It’s a theme that I’ve explored often on this blog, and I’ve written an article about it that hopefully will come … More The American WWI Centennial (Don’t Wait for 2017)

Past and Presence: Christian History, Part I

4/1/15 – This week’s eighth episode of Past & Presence starts a two-part conversation about Christian approaches to the discipline of history — starting with George Marsden’s Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship. (I’ll have a post next week on that conversation after the second half airs.) Plus I get to indulge my interest in commemoration by visiting war (and … More Past and Presence: Christian History, Part I

Ottawa: The War Memorial as a Scene of Violence

As I prepare to take another group of Bethel University students to Europe to learn about World War I, I’m particularly eager to show them how the war has been commemorated — in cities like London, Paris, and Munich, but also on the former Western Front itself. Two of the most striking memorials from the second … More Ottawa: The War Memorial as a Scene of Violence