Tagged: history

How my dad has helped me be a better historian

Last week, I talked about how Garrison Keillor has served as a (perhaps unlikely) influence on my work as a historian.  This week, I’d like to talk about another non-historian to influence what I do as a historian: my dad. My dad has been a local reporter in one way or another for much of […]

How Garrison Keillor has helped me be a better historian

I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a historian for the past month or so, especially in light of several conversations I’ve had in a doctoral discussion group of which I’m a part.  Some of my colleagues were affirming my ability as a historian to write about a particular topic but make that […]

Postmodern interlude: Choose-your-own-adventure history

I’m interrupting (because that’s what one does in postmodernism) my thread of posts on United Methodist unity to relate an idea from a conversation I had with my girlfriend Allie. We were talking about my dissertation, and I was asking her if she thought it was okay that my chapters overlapped somewhat in their content.  […]

History as basis for United Methodist unity?

Last week, I began looking at the question of what constitutes the basis of unity for The United Methodist Church (and by extension, other denominations as well).  I examined whether theology could serve as a useful basis for unity and concluded it couldn’t.  This week, I’d like to examine another answer which serves better than […]

Periodizing the History of Christianity and Methodological Pluralism

I’m a historian of Christianity.  One of the things historians like to do is divide history into periods.  If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ve probably gotten a sense of the periodization of history I’ve been using, but I thought I’d summarize it here and then share some reflections on the process of periodizing church […]

Christendom, Modernity, Postmodernity, and What Comes Next, Part 2

On Tuesday, I posted the first half of a description of how I would characterize a periodization of history broken into Christendom, modernity, postmodernity, and what comes next.  This post completes that description. Let me reiterate my three caveats: 1. All of my answers for “what comes next” are just guesses.  Since it comes next, […]

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 […]

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 […]