Several of these blog entries are reflections of various aspects of the holocaust-studies tour. These essays are designed to provide the reader with specific information about various memorials and locations as well as a personal reflection of meaning associated with a location or feature of a memorial. Some blog entries will not be animated by the holocaust-studies tour.
Additionally, I recently completed a writing project overhauling a behavior and social sciences statistics textbook. Some selected sidebar essays that may be of interest to a more general audience have been extracted and placed in this section of the website.
A Stream-of-Consciousness about the Holocaust Studies Tour
Recently, I was given an opportunity at an Asbury University chapel to briefly talk about the tour I lead each May. Given the super-tight time restriction, I thought it might be helpful to create a “stream-of-consciousness” description. I’ve copied it below. Pretzels, pastries, German chocolate, perogies, the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, the Wawel Castle, Wittenberg and all things Luther, perogies, train rides through the countryside, walking through splendid little German towns, but what is that behind those dark walls…it looks foreboding. ____ Churches, stunningly beautiful churches, St. Mary’s Basilica – have I ever been inside anything more magnificent? Did
Interviewed for “This is Asbury” podcast
I haven’t been posting much recently due to a heavy teaching schedule. However, here is a recent interview by the “This is Asbury” podcast. We touch on the Asbury Honors Program and its’ theme, but most of the time is spent talking about the Holocaust Studies Tour. It’s about 19 minutes long. n If you are interested in the tour I’m leading this May (6th – 20th), please let me know. I have limited spots available due to a film crew that will be accompanying the group again this year. Here is a page with more information: https://www.asbury.edu/academics/global-initiatives-programs/travel-courses/germany-poland/ Here is
Karen Swallow Prior speaks at Asbury
The Asbury University Honors Program invited speaker for Spring ’23 was author and educator, Dr. Karen Swallow Prior. Click here to watch her talk entitled, “Christians, Imagination, and Social Imaginaries.” (Note: the videographer missed the first few seconds.) Our next invited speaker (September 19, 2023) will be theologian, author, and speaker Kaitlyn Schiess who will be talking about ideas from her new book, The Ballot and the Bible. Stay tuned for more info about AUHP speakers coming during the 2023/24 academic year.
Germany/Poland ’23, Day 13
So Long, Kraków Today was our last day in Kraków, and indeed our last day of the tour. It was basically “Free Kraków” – however, we did have a final meal together and we did meet as a group to discuss Pierre Sauvage’s compelling documentary, Weapons of the Spirit, which chronicles the actions of the people of Le Chambon, a small community tucked away in the hills of south central France who managed to harbor about 5000 Jews during the war. In discussion, the students drew out several great observations – and a story like this was something we all
Germany/Poland ’23, Day 12
Auschwitz I and II Today we went to a place where language does not follow. A mere description of our day is all we have to offer. We walked through an 8-hour educational tour of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II (Birkenau) with the help of my friend and exceptional guide, David Kennedy. Afterward, we met at the hotel to discuss our experience. In our time of sharing, many themes emerged. Here are some of the most persistent ones: the ethics of using knowledge gained by inhumane experiments and the post-war allied use of experts tainted by affiliation with the National
Germany/Poland ’23, Day 11
A Little Bit of Everything Our first full day in Kraków provided us the opportunity to cover a lot of bases. We peeked into St. Mary’s (and actually 3 other churches as well), walked up to Wawel Castle, passed through the Kazimierz District and on to the Ghetto Memorial and the Ghetto Wall Memorial, and finishing mid-day at the Schindler Factory Museum. Several of us topped the day off by attending an evening classical music concert in St. Peter and Paul’s Church where we heard about 15 pieces from composers like Schubert, Mozart, Bach, and Vivaldi. Pretty strong day when