As I did last year this time, I’ll focus this installment of my on- and off-again This Week in History series on the history of work and workers, in honor of today being Labor Day. (And I might recycle two or three anniversaries from last year, since the best part of Labor Day is not … More This Week in History
Courtesy of three of my colleagues at Bethel University’s Department of History… We’ve been taking turns posting our summer reading lists at the department blog, AC 2nd. I’ve already posted my list on this blog as well; now here are a few of the titles listed by my more widely-read colleagues G.W. Carlson (GWC), AnneMarie … More Some (Mid)Summer Reading Suggestions
During Bethel’s commencement exercises last month, our speaker told the soon-to-be graduates the story of the British evangelical politician William Wilberforce, who dedicated his life to the abolition of the slave trade (accomplished in 1807) and then slavery itself (just before his death in 1833). Up on stage among the berobed faculty, my friend Sam … More The Curious Case of the Popularity of Wm. Wilberforce
It’s the first full week of June, and that can mean only one thing if you’re a history nerd: time to get working on your summer reading list! I’ll be posting my own suggestions this week or next, but in the interim, here are some histories, biographies, and historical novels suggested by NPR, the L.A. … More It’s Summer Reading List Season!
Last week I was pleasantly surprised to receive the following query from one of our admissions counselors at Bethel: she had been talking to a prospective student who wondered which major would be most beneficial in preparing someone to fight sex slavery, estimated to be the second largest criminal enterprise in the world today (after … More History and Social Justice
Last Friday Bethel hosted its inaugural Colloquium on Pietism Studies. Yesterday I posted a summary of Scot McKnight’s keynote talk, in which he suggested that evangelicals delve more deeply into the history of Anabaptism and Pietism. This morning: a recap of our post-lunch talk. Later today: recapping our closing session… In his keynote address, Scot … More Pietism Colloquium Recap: Jon Sensbach
It’s been a busy first week of class here at Bethel, so I’m going to postpone my two posts on museums until next week. But before we wrap up the week, let me pass along a few more details about the Pietism colloquium (Friday, April 20) that I’m coordinating with my colleague Christian Collins Winn. … More Update: Jon Sensbach’s Talk at Our Pietism Colloquium
December 2, 1859 – John Brown is hanged I tend to sympathize with the many those historians who dislike slavery and John Brown, in that order. [I’m going to backtrack a bit here — I’m quickly realizing that I’m just an amateur when it comes to this aspect of US history; I ought not to … More This Day in History: John Brown’s Body
The Pietist Schoolman 