This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar-Activist” course and is directed by Monica A. Coleman. I was first introduced to Dorothy Day as an undergraduate. My professor showed up to class dressed as Day and, in full character, encouraged us to ask questions—for such an opportunity (time travel and resurrection) of a famous public activist was quite rare. The film, Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story, reminds me of that day in class: the joy... Read more
This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar-Activist” course and is directed by Monica A. Coleman. As students of CST’s online course with Dr. Monica Coleman, “Becoming a Public Scholar-Activist,” my classmates and I have been examining the question of what it means to bring our scholarship and activism into the public eye. No forum recently has brought scholarship to the public eye in a more exciting, successful way than the TED conference. TED stands for... Read more
This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar-Activist” course and is directed by Monica A. Coleman. Recently, after preaching a practice sermon in one of my seminary classes, a fellow classmate gave me the following feedback – he said, “Sarah, the way you clutch the podium while speaking makes us anxious for you, and I am afraid that people will miss the content you are trying to share, because your anxiety speaks louder than your words.”... Read more
This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar-Activist” course and is directed by Monica A. Coleman. As a student of worship, I’m immersed in the liturgical seasons of the Christian year. As a Millennial, I’m immersed in the world of social media. Looking through these two lenses, I tend to notice these two things in the online world each spring: I see friends posting statuses online announcing that they are “giving up Facebook for Lent.” They... Read more
This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar-Activist” course, which is directed by Dr. Monica A. Coleman. Publicness has now become so synonymous with the Internet that the phrase ‘digital media’ is starting to sound redundant. Yet while the ‘ancient beast’ of traditional media may have lost a few of its teeth lately, it’s still very much alive, and today’s young professionals need to be equipped to meet it if they hope to maintain a holistic... Read more
This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar-Activist” course and is directed by Monica A. Coleman. Why do I remember Stop, Drop, and Roll, but not the quadratic equation? Or “By the power of Greyskull, I have the Power!” but not important events like my father’s birthday? Why do some ideas stick around and others fade into the forgotten backwaters of our minds? Is it possible to make ideas more memorable, more sticky? This is the... Read more
This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar-Activist” course and is directed by Monica A. Coleman. We can all describe the perfect partner: smart, beautiful, and rich. Of course, that person is always either off the market or playing for the other team (or both). That doesn’t stop us from looking. That’s a little like how I feel about the Heath brothers’ book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. It’s easy enough... Read more
This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar-Activist” course and is directed by Monica A. Coleman. In the book Tribes: We Need you to Lead Us Seth Godin accurately predicted back in 2008 the culture of today in 2013. Godin’s formula for a tribe is: Tribe = a group of people + shared interest + communication. Godin argues that tribes are not only forming and growing, but they are radically changing our social culture. Godin’s purpose... Read more
This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar-Activist” course and is directed by Monica A. Coleman. Is America a Christian nation? Can we truly our faith to work? Isn’t it true that the two topics you cannot discuss at work are religion and politics? Is religion really the motivating factor in the majority of violence? If you have these or similar questions, Miroslav Volf’s, A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good,... Read more
This post is written in conjunction with the “Becoming a Public Scholar-Activist” course and is directed by Monica A. Coleman. Maathai prided herself on being single-minded. She accomplished a lot in her life because of her single-mindedness. She had a great repugnance for injustice. She also had a strong sense of community and leadership. Those values run through her whole book. Maathai wanted to protect mankind from what she saw as falsehoods and injustice. The author also had a passion for... Read more
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