Yesterday, I took a look back at the past year of the ESN blog. Today, I want to get your thoughts about where we go for the coming year.
Way back in May 2009, Tom and I put together some thoughts on what we would blog about. Here’s what we came up with:
Academic vocation and calling: What’s the nature of the academic life? What’s the nature of the university – its systems, assumptions, problems, glories? And why would a person (specifically, a follower of Christ) follow an academic vocation? Does a Christian academic look, act, or live any differently from any other academic or any other Christian?
The role of faith and theology in specific academic disciplines: We’ll be looking at issues that arise when one takes faith, theology, and their academic discipline seriously. “Science and religion” is the pair most often discussed in mainstream and Christian media, but other disciplines – the humanities, social sciences, professions – are having discussions and controversies of their own. We encourage discussion on all of our posts, but in this theme especially, we seek your perspective as experts in your respective disciplines.
Spiritual formation in the academy: How do you nurture your relationship with God and your spiritual life in the midst of the university? Or, put another way, how can one be a Christian in the academy? We’ll be looking at Christian practices, spiritual disciplines, and resources to help you grow closer to Christ.
We also decided to post a Week in Review every Friday, with links to articles, books, and websites that we had been considering.
How have we done? Have we been faithful to our vision last May?
Just staying consistent, though, isn’t enough. (Hobgoblins of little minds and all that.)
Have we overlooked any topics or themes? What issues affecting your life as a Christian in the academy have we neglected? Is there anything that we need to spend less time on or drop altogether?
Leave your thoughts in the comments, or send them directly to me. Thanks!
The former Associate Director for the Emerging Scholars Network, Micheal lives in Cincinnati with his wife and three children and works as a web manager for a national storage and organization company. He writes about work, vocation, and finding meaning in what you do at No Small Actors.
I think you are doing a great job! Thanks for all your hard work!
Some ideas for this year, might be to share or deliberate on some practical issues, such as
– balancing work and family/friends
– overcoming procrastination
– fighting disappointment, disillusionment or depression
– the isolation of the academic — solitude vs/& loneliness
– dealing with frustrating students
– being a Christian role model — practical applications
I find that we have shared/thought quite a few ideas/POVs on interesting books, articles, abstract concepts; perhaps grounding it a bit more in the everyday practical might touch other types of emerging scholars…
MH: Thank-you for the encouragement and the specific topic suggestions! I agree that this is an area which we need to develop further. I’ve been hoping to provide more material in this direction via interviews. The first turned into the series with Nathan Foster. Several more are in process. Maybe it would be good to have at least 1 post a week on navigating the practical issues of higher education. …