The Faculty Ministry Lamp Post —our sister ministry's monthly email chronicle —was published earlier today, and I'd like to draw your attention to a few highlights that might interest you. David Thomas, history professor at Union University, reviews the recent collection Teaching and Christian Practices, edited by James K. A. Smith and David I. Smith. I am looking forward to reading David's review, since I reviewed the book earlier this month for Comment, and I look forward to seeing what an honest-to-goodness … [Read more...] about Highlights from this month’s Lamp Post
teaching
What I Wish I’d Known about Faculty Life: Any Regrets?
This is the final post in Kevin Birth's series, What I Wish I'd Known about Faculty Life. Previously: Departmental Politics, Teaching the Curriculum, The Tenure Track. It was one of those gloomy days when even a cup of coffee had no warming effect. Edward and Gretchen were chatting in one of the college's cafés. Fitting the melancholy tone of the day, Gretchen was morose about Edward's impending retirement and move to a warmer climate. He had been a mentor to her – guiding her through the various minefields of … [Read more...] about What I Wish I’d Known about Faculty Life: Any Regrets?
What I Wish I’d Known about Faculty Life: Teaching the Curriculum, Etc.
This is the second post in Kevin Birth's series, What I Wish I'd Known about Faculty Life. Previously: Departmental Politics. HERR, mein Herz ist nicht hoffärtig, und meine Augen sind nicht stolz; ich wandle nicht in großen Dingen, die mir zu hoch sind. (Psalm 131, Martin Luther's translation) I like Luther's translation—particularly the sound of “ich wandle nicht in großen Dingen.” Luther's choice of “wandern” combined with the metaphor of “things too high for me” evokes an image of climbing a mountain that … [Read more...] about What I Wish I’d Known about Faculty Life: Teaching the Curriculum, Etc.
Serving Students and their Communities at One Indian Christian College
The third in Kami L. Rice's guest series on visiting India. Last week I eagerly ventured further south to Coimbatore, where I was greeted with flowers and smiles at the airport by my hosts-for-the-week from CSI Bishop Appasamy College of Arts & Sciences (BACAS), a Church of South India (CSI) college founded in 1995. I'm connected to BACAS via my freelance work, and when I met Mrs. Susheila Williams, the college's Secretary (which in India is the title for the chief administrative leader, a role something … [Read more...] about Serving Students and their Communities at One Indian Christian College
Should Faculty Challenge Students’ Religious Beliefs?
A column at Inside Higher Ed by Portland State philosophy instructor Peter Boghossian raises a good question: Should faculty challenge the religious beliefs of students? Here's how he opens his essay: Until two weeks ago, I had been laboring under the naïve assumption that one of the primary goals of every academic was to change students' beliefs when they were based on inaccurate information. I was awakened from this dogmatic slumber at an interdisciplinary faculty meeting by colleagues who reacted with dismay to … [Read more...] about Should Faculty Challenge Students’ Religious Beliefs?