Here on the ESN blog, we've often blogged about differing views of education, particularly the conflict between education as personal formation and education as professional training. I encountered these differing views in two articles recently. I expected to see competing visions of education to make an appearance in a column on faculty as role models for students, but it was a bit of surprise to find them in a light (so I thought) opinion piece on the "books for boys" genre. First, the expected: last week, Inside … [Read more...] about Captain Underpants and Faculty Role Models
Archives for 2010
No football. Campus tradition rooted in peace-making
Preface I'm surrounded by Elizabethtown College campus records checked out from High Library. Why? I'm writing a paper for a Brethren in Christ Core Class on The Theology of the Church (taught by Terry Brensinger) which will explore how well a college founded to keep youth within the Church of the Brethren fared in teaching denominational doctrine and way of life. In some ways I'm inspired by George Marsden's The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief, but … [Read more...] about No football. Campus tradition rooted in peace-making
What’s Your Strategy for Controversy?
Almost two weeks ago, Comment published my article Is That Disagreement Religious—or Political?, about the political differences between evangelical academics and their academic colleagues. Here's my opening paragraph: In the political conflicts between right and left, evangelical Christian faculty are often in danger of being squeezed in the middle. Not only are they frequently out of step with the academic political mainstream, but the strong connection between evangelicalism and conservative politics outside the … [Read more...] about What’s Your Strategy for Controversy?
Most people aren’t deeply interested in science
Last Wednesday, I explored Mystery and Evidence, one articulation of the contrast between Religion and Science. Another topic stemming from Tim Crane's NY Times Article which I found of interest was his claim: ... most people aren't deeply interested in science, even when they have the opportunity and the basic intellectual capacity to learn about it. Of course, educated people who know about science know roughly what Einstein, Newton and Darwin said. Many educated people accept the modern scientific view of the … [Read more...] about Most people aren’t deeply interested in science
Are “agnostic” scientists really agnostic?
Last week, I became engaged in a rather lengthy online conversation about the religious faith of university scientists. It was prompted by this GetReligion post about Francis Collins. In my comments, I cited Rice sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund's recent book Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think, as well as her online article "Religion and Spirituality among University Scientists" (PDF). Ecklund's research examines the religious beliefs and practices of university scientists, with some important findings … [Read more...] about Are “agnostic” scientists really agnostic?