Monthly Archives: March 2011

My historiographical influences

Today, I’m taking a brief break from all of the modernity and postmodernity stuff I usually talk about to instead talk about good books.  I’m taking my last comprehensive exam for my doctoral program tomorrow.  This means I’ve completed all of the reading I need to do for coursework and exams, which allows me to […]

Defining Postmodernity

If you’ve read past blog posts or continue to read future blog posts, I think you’ll quickly notice that contrasting modernity and postmodernity (as exemplified in the new title for the blog!) is a big thing for me.  Yet, as I’ve realized from reading comments, my understanding of these terms is not always the same […]

The Art of Writing a Prospectus

As any of you who have ever been in school know, there’s a lot of bad academic writing out there.  Academic writers can often be wordy, unclear, dry, or obtuse.  They frequently use too much jargon and usually lack storytelling skills.  Having suffered through reading at least my fair share of such writing, I have […]

My quest for a theology of history

In last week’s blog post, I talked about three sermons I’ve heard recently that have challenged my thinking about hope.  These same three sermons, especially that by Allie Hoffman, also challenged me on the question of my theology of history.  What is a theology of history?  It’s a set of beliefs about the relationship between […]

How Can I Keep from Singing?

I’ve had the blessing of hearing three sermons so far in 2011 that have challenged my thinking on the topic of hope. The first of these sermons was preached by Rev. John Caldwell at the church I grew up in, First United Methodist Church of Decorah, IA, the first Sunday of this year.  John was […]