This post is a slightly edited version of a recent editorial published in the International Journal of Christianity and Education.Smith DI (2021) For the birds: Absence and vision in teaching texts. International Journal of Christianity & Education. July. doi:10.1177/20569971211031437 (LINK: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20569971211031437) Birds are excellent indicators of environmental health and ecosystem integrity…Results from long-term surveys, accounting…

Science validates what many know by experience– the college years are a time of self-discovery and personal formation.Madelynn D. Shell, David Shears, and Zoe Millard, “Who Am I? Identity Development During the First Year of College” in Psy Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 25.2, 2020, 192-202. While peers, families of origin, socio-economic levels, and general…

When is illumination, as light shined upon knowledge, no more than sound and fury—signifying nothing? Are there times when illumination is even perilous? I have been on a tear this summer reading books whose copyrights have expired, allowing me to download them for free. I recently read the 1896 novel, “The Damnation of Theron Ware;…

Trying to keep abreast of the relevant findings about SARS-Cov-2 is a fully time job for someone, but it is a real challenge for a busy college professor with a host of other responsibilities. I am grateful for the work of public health organizations that curate high quality scientific publications and summarize those most pertinent. CIDRAP,…

Among the modern artists my students resonate with most are the German Expressionists who worked mainly in the years just preceding and including the First World War. Something about their frank, garish and often gruesome work feels honest. With its jagged lines and dark narratives, it doesn’t sugar-coat or lie. It’s jarringly autobiographical, shamelessly confessional.…

In a dissertation proposal defense a few years ago, one of my colleagues declared to the nervous student, “Your paper sounds like a good Ed.D. but not a good Ph.D. You’re getting a philosophy degree , so you need to make a contribution to theory.”  First, I thought, “Do I agree that should be the…

The recent publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) sixth report reminds us again of the challenges facing humanity in regards to human-caused climate change.IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate…

Two weeks ago, a meme circulated with two pictures, labeled “My Fall Plans” and “The Delta Variant.” Usually the former image was cheerful and the latter considerably more dark. I saw most of these posted by my professor friends, asking a very good question: How can professors be expected to write a syllabus in this…

The Prince of Peace said, “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Mt 10:34). Amid the ubiquitous anger of 2021 America, especially virulent on college campuses, Christians and non-Christians alike can see the truth of this paradox. A paradox that is harder to see, but could be a key to restoring peace,…

Dire prognostications have been floating around based on the supposed lack of preparation incoming college students are likely to have because of the tumultuous disruption in their education caused by COVID. I worry that the class of 2025 will get discouraged by these pronouncements to the extent that they become a self-fulfilling prophecy. To help…