‘Tis the season when we curate some of the histories and biographies showing up on Best Books of 2016 lists, just in case you’re struggling to come up with a gift for that history buff in your life. (Key: A – Amazon; G – Guardian; NYT – New York Times; PW – Publishers Weekly) Svetlana Alexievich, Secondhand Time: … More The Top Histories of 2016?
Even as I await the publication of my new book on Pietism, it’s gratifying to see people continuing to engage with its 2015 predecessor, The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education. At the end of a generous review in The Covenant Quarterly, Mark Safstrom puts that book in the context of work that Christian Collins Winn and I have been doing … More Covenant Visions of Christian Higher Education
Here… • I realized that my sabbatical had temporarily relocated me to a bastion of Donald Trump support. (At least during my sabbatical, I’m planning to move my week-in-review posts from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon.) • Our friend Jared Burkholder was back with an open letter to David Barton about primary sources. I’ll have my … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • My first post at The Anxious Bench surveyed British Christian responses to next week’s “Brexit” referendum. • I knew that would be the topic this time last week. But I certainly didn’t know that my second Bench post would be the same day, that it would respond to a mass shooting, or that it would focus on … More That Was The Week That Was
As the debate over refugees, terrorism, and Islam continued to swirl yesterday, some of you probably saw this story pop up on social media: Christian groups break with GOP over Syrian refugees https://t.co/irrUcDTv5v | AP Photo pic.twitter.com/cc2ZkYxRgw — POLITICO (@politico) November 18, 2015 “Christian groups break with GOP over Syrian refugees,” claimed the headline of … More What Do Evangelicals Actually Think about Refugees?
Here… • I turned forty. • A leading Holocaust historian rebutted the abuse of that history by two politicians. • What are the best Cold War movies? (Follow up: I saw and enjoyed Bridge of Spies yesterday. More later perhaps…) • Molly Worthen provided our annual reminder that the lecture is not actually a terrible way to teach. • … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • The Azusa Street Revival, World War I, Vatican II… What were some of the other turning points in the history of Christianity in the 20th century? • Speaking of WWI… Americans shouldn’t wait until 2017 to start thinking about its centenary. • Check out Adam Laats’ blog for interesting insights on Christian higher education … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • I had to remind myself that there’s more to “Christian higher ed” than one organization wrestling with its membership criteria. • Former Eastern Mennonite and CCCU president Myron Augsburger spoke up. • Another distinguished Christian college figure reviewed our Pietism/higher ed book. • And I shared the surprising story of three Japanese-Americans who came … More That Was The Week That Was
One reason I haven’t been writing quite as much as usual here at the blog is that I’ve spent the first month of the semester putting the finishing touches on Bethel at War, 1914-2014, a digital history project that I’ve been working on since last summer with Fletcher Warren. It started as part of a special student-faculty research … More A Sneak Preview of Our Digital History Project: Nisei at Bethel
While my job is to teach people about history, my vocation as a parent has made me realize that I know next to nothing about how to teach young children about history. But with our five-year old twins entering kindergarten this fall, I decided to spend this summer trying to understand how children might best learn about the past. Please take the … More 5 Things I’ve Learned about Teaching History to 5-Year Olds
The Pietist Schoolman 