Archive for the ‘academic culture’ tag
Following Christ 08 resources coming on-line
On InterVarsity’s main website, one can find two articles
AND two audio files
- Why Aren’t We Flourishing? — Opening Plenary by MaryKate Morse, Professor of Leadership and Spiritual Formation at George Fox University. Time: 35:00
- Powerful Faith — Seminar presentation by Michael Lindsay, a sociologist at Rice University and the author of Faith in the Halls of Power. The seminar in which Michael Lindsay spoke was entitled Exploring Privilege and Redeeming Power. Time: 1:15:09
After you’ve reflected upon the presentations, take a moment to share some thoughts on fear, power, and faith in higher education.
Conference Rhythms
Last night as I packed for Following Christ 08, I reflected upon how conference preparation can suddenly turn from a marathon to a sprint. No doubt the race to the finish begins at different times for each of us based upon the complexity of travel plans, conference responsibilities, family size, past history at similar events, personality, support community/friends on site (and back home), etc. And varies from conference to conference, based upon the above factors and our current state of being (i.e., heart, soul, mind, and strength). Read the rest of this entry »
Russia Licenses Faith Healers
This morning Russia Licenses Faith Healers topped my new mail. The one who forwarded it to me commented, They are soooo far ahead of us. Read the rest of this entry »
Introducing the “Oracles of Science”
As a member of the Central Pennsylvania Forum for Religion and Science, I’m participating in an Oracles of Science: Celebrity Scientists versus God and Religion (Karl Gibersonand Fr. Mariano Artigas, Oxford University Press, 2006) reading group. I thought some of you would have an interest in considering how the Oracles of Science(i.e., Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, Steven Weinberg, and Edward O. Wilson), influence contemporary understandings of reality, origins, science, and religion. So tighten your seat belt, bring your communication system on-line, and let me know what you think about the concept of the Oracles of Science. ... Read the rest of this entry »
Cynicism in the Academy
I have been thinking about cynicism lately, particularly of how pervasive it is in the academy and how easily it spills over into the rest of my life. What should I find, but a lecture about the very topic from one of our ESN mentors, Greg Ganssle. Thwarting Cynicism and Discontentment: Virtuous Practices of the Christian Scholar was presented at Faculty Commons’ National Faculty Leadership Conference this past summer. Greg works with the Rivendell Institute, as well as serving as a lecturer in philosophy at Yale.
Greg notes that cynicism is a professional hazard for academics: Read the rest of this entry »
More on explaining the academic culture to ‘outsiders’
As you may remember, the Chronicle Careers piece What am I doing? Shouldn’t seven years of graduate school have helped me avoid taking a job just to have a job? raised the question How do you explain the academic culture to ‘outsiders?’ In addition to the several comments on the post, I’ve received direct feedback which expresses even stronger frustration with the task. My prayers are with those such as the 5th year post-doc, who have found their academic context peopled with many small people:
Small in that underneath their facades of arrogance, superior intellect, etc., they are actually very insecure and fearful. Thus, they hide behind masks in order to hide their perceived inadequacies. They then act ’small, which I see as trying to get power and popularity through movement up in faculty position, through advancing their agendas, by dominating their students, and by criticizing everyone and everything. It’s pretty sad, really. I’m not sure this is what you were asking, but it was my immediate reaction to the question. – anonymous Read the rest of this entry »
How do you explain the academic culture to ‘outsiders?’
Earlier today, I shared from What am I doing? Shouldn’t seven years of graduate school have helped me avoid taking a job just to have a job? when commenting on Are PhDs a Waste Product? I must confess that I can’t get another section from the Chronicle Careers piece out of my head (Note: Is this a sign that the author has a potential op-ed writing career?), so here it is:
The academic world is hard to explain to anyone who isn’t living in it with us. And I don’t mean that in any sort of “I’m smarter than you” way. Academic culture is just hard to explain. A friend and fellow doctoral student once said something about the profession that really resonated with me: She said that explaining a Ph.D. to someone with a professional degree is like saying to a parent that you understand what it’s like to raise a child because you have a puppy. Again, not to sound pompous, but the two are apples and oranges. They’re still both fruits, but you don’t want to go biting into the orange like you would the apple.
What are your thoughts? How do you describe the academic culture to outsiders,’whether family, friends, neighbors, or acquaintances? Digging deeper, how do you give testimony to following Christ in the academic culture with fellow believers who are outsiders to the academic culture? I’ll share some observations after I return from a family retreat, but I’d love to hear from you first.
