The Opening of the American Mind By Lawrence W. Levine My rating: 4 of 5 stars I actually liked this book more than I thought although I am left with many questions. It was written in the mid '90s in response to the spate of books attacking developments in the university world, Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind foremost among these and the obvious inspiration of the title. Truth is, this is a far more readable argument than Bloom's. Levine contends that in fact the “canon” of subjects and … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Opening of the American Mind
higher education
NY Times: Colleges and Evangelicals Collide on Bias Policy
Yesterday, Colleges and Evangelicals Collide on Bias Policy ran on the front page of the NY Times. For 40 years, evangelicals at Bowdoin College have gathered periodically to study the Bible together, to pray and to worship. They are a tiny minority on the liberal arts college campus, but they have been a part of the school's community, gathering in the chapel, the dining center, the dorms. After this summer, the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship will no longer be recognized by the college. Already, the college has … [Read more...] about NY Times: Colleges and Evangelicals Collide on Bias Policy
A Dialogical Campus Ministry
"I'm still waiting to read a scientific paper that gives a biological explanation of the emergence of biological science among us human beings, also a naturalist account of what motivates people to become evolutionary psychologists and why others are impressed by their explanations." -- A taste of the pointed wit which draws one into Part 3 of Vinoth Ramachandra's Engaging the University (22:04). As you my remember from Part 2, the recording cut off as he began a "defense of the human." Ramachandra focuses on … [Read more...] about A Dialogical Campus Ministry
Fruitful, Faithful Presence in the Academy: Part II
In Part I, I explored what Alan G. Padgett, DPhil (Oxford) will share at the upcoming Midwest Faculty Conference: Fruitful, Faithful Presence: Living Theologically in the Midst of the Academy (Cedar Campus, MI, 6/22-28).* Although the conference (or what some have termed a Confamication**) will provide an opportunity for Padgett to develop his thoughts on Fruitful, Faithful Presence in the Academy, he has a significant amount of work in theology involving systematic theology, moral theology (ethics), and the … [Read more...] about Fruitful, Faithful Presence in the Academy: Part II
A Mission to the University: Part 2 of Engaging the University
Part 2 of Vinoth Ramachandra's Engaging the University (21:22) is packed. After exploring the broad topics of funding's push toward instrumentalism, the fragmentation of campus academic life by global communication, and the lack of "any coherent master narrative for a central point of reference . . . to evaluate the relationship of . . . parcels of knowledge to other parcels or to weigh their relative importance," Ramachandra considers three challenges which Christians face in engaging the … [Read more...] about A Mission to the University: Part 2 of Engaging the University