What are you reading, watching, thinking about this week? As usual, here's a few which have been on our mind. Let us know your thoughts on any/all of them. If you have items you'd like us to consider for the top five, add them in the comments or send them to Tom or Mike. 1. Why Harvard Students Should Study More Religion (Lisa Miller, Newsweek): A look at Harvard's (lack of) religion in its undergraduate curriculum, with special attention to Louis Menand's attempt to include a course called "Reason and Faith" in … [Read more...] about Week in Review: Christo et Ecclesiae Edition
academic culture
Shaping the Next Generation of Higher Education
Two recent articles on the profession of education worth consideration: In Search of Education Leaders, by Bob Herbert, NY Times Op-Ed, December 4, 2009 The Ph.D. Problem: On the professionalization of faculty life, doctoral training, and the academy's self-renewal, by Louis Menand, Harvard Magazine, November-December 2009. HT: Miller. Anyone willing to take a stab at why the educational system is so leaky and how we find/develop educational leaders which serve their department, discipline, campus, education … [Read more...] about Shaping the Next Generation of Higher Education
Outrageous Idea 3: Rules of the Game
Can followers of Christ play by the rules of the academic game and still follow Christ faithfully? According to Stanley Fish (Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor and a professor of law at Florida International University, in Miami, and dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago) the answer is "No." Marsden summarizes Why We Can't All Just Get Along (Stanley Fish, First Things, February 1996): "Though secular himself, Fish cites the authority of … [Read more...] about Outrageous Idea 3: Rules of the Game
Week in Review: Milliennials in Transition Edition
Our Week-in-Review feature has a new format. We know there's way too much to read out there already, so we're going to be highlighting the top five articles, books, websites, etc., that we've been reading or thinking about the past week. If you have items you'd like us to consider for the top five, add them in the comments or send them to Tom or Mike. The Millennial Muddle (Eric Hoover, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 11, 2009) takes awhile to wade through but is worth it. Tom's placing this topic on his to … [Read more...] about Week in Review: Milliennials in Transition Edition
Dr. Collins as mildly demented?
Did you catch last week's New York Times article on Francis Collins? Here's how it begins: He drives a Harley-Davidson, wears a black leather jacket on his back and his religion on his sleeve, and plays a custom guitar with big-name rock stars. All that would seem to have nothing to do with Dr. Francis S. Collins's day job as the new director of the National Institutes of Health. Except that at the institutes, such things do matter. ... First, there is the God issue. Dr. Collins believes in him. Passionately. … [Read more...] about Dr. Collins as mildly demented?