Before joining ESN as a writer/editor in 2014, Hannah Eagleson wrote her series What I Wish I'd Known About Graduate School just after finishing her PhD in 2011. Managing coursework is definitely a challenge. Here are a few things I wish I'd realized at the beginning of coursework. All of them eventually helped me both to get more out of my studies and to have a life outside of study. You can't do it all. Learn to prioritize different academic responsibilities Most people arrive in graduate school with … [Read more...] about What I Wish I’d Known About Graduate School: Surviving the Workload
humanities
Religion, Education, and the Meaning of Life
Over the last couple of weeks, I've been sharing my reflections on Anthony Kronman's 2007 book Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life. While I believe that his core argument is insightful, it's marred by a few blind spots. Originally, I was going to address Kronman's treatement of religion as one of his blind spots, but I've decided that his handling of religion is so problematic —and so harmful to his case —that it deserves its own post. Here's a brief summary of … [Read more...] about Religion, Education, and the Meaning of Life
Have Colleges Given Up on the Meaning of Life?
I periodically dip into my ever-growing "to read" pile and select a book that I should have read several years ago. So, a few weeks ago, I started on Anthony T. Kronman's defense of the humanities and critique of contemporary higher education, Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life. Kronman served for a decade as the Dean of the Yale Law School. Since 2004, he has taught in the Yale Directed Studies program, which is a one-year "Great Books"-style program for … [Read more...] about Have Colleges Given Up on the Meaning of Life?
Three Faith and Learning Links
First, my article "Faith and Faculty" has just been published on the InterVarsity homepage. The article relates how I came to be involved with the Emerging Scholars Network and why I care about Christian faculty and students. Here's a sneak peek: At the University of Louisville, I became an English major for some pretty shallow reasons: I wanted to read and write as much poetry and fiction as I could. When I came to faith in Christ during my junior year (with InterVarsity playing a central role), Christ gave me … [Read more...] about Three Faith and Learning Links
How Do We Value Faculty?
How should the value of faculty be measured? How do we weigh the interests of academics, students, taxpayers, the community, and others in public education? Should "profit-and-loss" statements for individual faculty and departments be a factor? On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported on efforts by Texas and other states to measure the value of faculty and academic departments at public universities. The Texas A&M system has gone so far as to create a massive spreadsheet detailing faculty members' … [Read more...] about How Do We Value Faculty?