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I wrote recently on this blog about Robert Cox’s distinction between “problem-solving theory” and “critical theory” In that post, I suggested that we ought to be graduating students who are capable not only of solving the specific problems that will arise in their work, but also of thinking critically about the institutions in which their…

“Build to-day, then, strong and sure, With a firm and ample base; And ascending and secure Shall to-morrow find its place.” -H.W. Longfellow- Since the ostensible end of the COVID pandemic, and with the return of students to in-person classes, America has seen an interesting shift on law school campuses. Observers note a rising wave of activist students that the National Jurist called “the protest generation.”Julia Brunette Johnson, “The Protest Generation,” National…

“My song is love unknown, my Saviour’s love to me; love to the loveless shown, That they might lovely be.”Samuel Crossman, “My Song is Love Unknown,” hymnary.org, 1664, https://hymnary.org/text/my_song_is_love_unknown It is common practice in many Christian denominations to reflect on the Passion during Lent. For instance, in the Catholic Church, there are the Stations of…

I was recently engaged in a conversation with an old friend who took up teaching late in life and via a non-traditional path (read - no formal pedagogical training). He was discussing his mounting pile of grading and his complete disinterest in reading his student’s papers. I believe we have all engaged in conversations regarding…

DAVID: Some years ago, I was teaching an intensive graduate class in curriculum studies to a group that included students from multiple countries. The first significant written assignment came a few days into the course. I asked students to write about how their upbringing and identity were likely to bias their curriculum work. Which of…

I recently wrote about how God’s kindness is directed to those considered vulnerable or oppressed in society, such as widows, the fatherless, and those in bondage. As a result, in our efforts to imitate God’s kindness, Christians’ kindness should also be specifically directed to these groups. Yet, another theme in the Bible is that the…

University students often face a challenging number of life-changing choices during their brief time on campus. I often joke with my incoming freshmen that during my time as a college student, I decided on which university I would attend (twice), what major I would pursue (again twice), where I would live (three times), where I…

I am an art historian by trade, and recently, I had the opportunity to deliver an art history lecture at my church. I always relish these occasions, because they give me a chance to share my passion with a wider audience. They also, maybe surprisingly, help me with my own research. I’m deeply interested in…

The stories that a culture tells give us a clue to the beliefs and values of that culture. The stories that achieve a popular following suggest what is on the mind of a culture at a moment in time. For over a thousand years, the people of Western Europe told their stories through allegorical poetry.…

The late, great Timothy Keller wrote a piece in The Atlantic called “American Christianity is Due for Revival.” In the article, he described his experiences with the “religious nones.” He summarizes the research projections that describe the inevitable decline of the Christian church. However, Keller offers a reason for us to hope for a revival…

Jessica was a biracial (white and Hispanic) graduate student in her late 20’s pursuing her degree in social work. As we sat in my office talking about how things were going during her first semester her eyes started to well up. She was doing her best to hold back a flood of tears. She said…

Editor's Note: We apologize for the recent byline errors and broken links in our posts. Due to the transition associated with the tragic passing of our IT manager, we are experiencing some technical difficulties that we are working to resolve. Thanks for your patience. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior…

Over Thanksgiving weekend in 1973, a diverse group of more than fifty North American-based evangelical academics, publishers, and church leaders—both young mavericks and more senior statesmen—gathered at the Downtown Chicago YMCA to discuss the need for greater evangelical social concern. The impetus for the conference had occurred earlier in the spring at the first Calvin…

In January, the Florida Board of Governors removed Principles of Sociology as a general education core course option in all twelve Florida public universities. The verdict came a week after the Florida State Board of Education had already unanimously voted to remove sociology as a core course offering in all twenty-eight Florida public colleges. As…

“Every child will have an AI tutor that is infinitely patient, infinitely compassionate, infinitely knowledgeable, infinitely helpful.” These are the words of the web pioneer Marc Andreessen, writing about “Why AI Will Save the World.” Such optimistic claims are not new. The rise of the world wide web came with predictions that it would be…

It feels like students have stopped coming to my office hours. Or at least, the number of office hour appointments on my calendar has slowed to a trickle. What might explain the underutilization of office hours? I chalk it up to multiple factors. It could be that the articulated benefits of meeting with professors outside…

It is a great time to graduate college in America. Unemployment rates are hovering at around 3.7%, as low as they have been since the 1960s and approaching what economists would consider full employment.Niasse, Amina. "Unemployment rises in nearly a third of US states in December." Reuters. January 23, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/unemployment-rose-nearly-third-us-states-december-2024-01-23/. The hot job market…

No metaphor is perfect, but the most iconic metaphor in biology, the metaphor that might be the only thing you remember from high school biology, is one that conveys almost no information at all. I am talking about calling mitochondria the “powerhouse.” When the lights go out in a storm, no one ever says, “There…

“It just wears you out being with nice people,” Stanley Hauerwas points out in a 2019 YouTube video. Having lived in the South most of his life, he likely knows this reality from experience. As Hauerwas did not describe the genesis of such feelings, I will suggest four reasons why this reality is the case.…