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.
Holocaust Studies Tour – Day 1 (Group 1)
First Day Summary Challenging first couple of days here for Group 1. Despite several challenging traveling issues, all made it here safely and on-time except one group who, due to a flight cancellation, will arrive tomorrow morning. Thankfully, we were able to make adjustments to the schedule and we are very hopeful that all scheduled events will still take place. Highlights of the day – safe arrival at the airport and transportation to our hostel (Ibis, Mitte Berlin); walking tour of Museum Island and Hackescher Markt, a visit to the famous East Wall Gallery, and a group dinner at Vapiano’s
A Creative End-of-the-Year Blessing
A Special Thank You from a Student Student acts-of-appreciation are simply the best! And this year I just received an incredibly creative, funny, and thoughtful thank you from a graduating psych major. It’s simply too good not to share. [Scroll through the attached PowerPoint file – she is riffing off of a class I teach on the History and Systems of Psychology.] Thank you so much, Sommer Toadvine! (By the way, Sommer is one of the 30 students who will be meeting me in Berlin for our Holocaust Studies tour later this month.)
Removing a Brick in the Wall
One of my hopes for this blog is to present, in short essay form, a collection of thoughts and reflections designed to shed some light on the foundations of the contentious cultural discussion sometimes referred to as the religion-and-science debate. This theme will be ongoing as the size of this topic, the ground to be covered in terms of the origins, history, and variety of definitions these words currently embody, is perhaps only matched in scale by the cultural weight that is being placed on them. Covid policy, education reform, crime and punishment, LGBTQIA+ issues, racism, evolution, and abortion are
Set to Lead Another Holocaust Studies Tour (actually two!)
After a two-year Covid-induced hiatus, I will once again be guiding students through a holocaust-studies experience this May and June. The build-up of interest since the last trip has necessitated two tours this time around. The first will go from May 12 – 22 and the second will be from May 23 – June 2. (I will attach the travel packets, detailing the events of each day for reach tour, as soon as they are done.) In many ways, the experience will reflect the typical flow of previous tours. The first half will center in Berlin and other places in
Interview with Dr. Richard Weikart
A Few Reflections from Our Human Dignity Lecture Presenter After Dr. Weikart’s presentation to our campus and fireside chat with the Asbury University Honors Program students, he provided some further thoughts via an interview. Here is the transcript of that exchange. What gives people value? Everything that God has created has value, but some created beings are more valuable than others. Humans are unique from all other created beings, because we are created in the image of God. We have an eternal spirit or soul that can enjoy communion with God. Part of being created in the image of God
Interview with Dr. Calum MacKellar
A Few Reflections from Our Human Dignity Lecture Presenter After Dr. MacKellar’s presentation to our campus and fireside chat with the Asbury University Honors Program students (see: Resurrecting Eugenics: Should Only Healthy Children be Born), he provided some further thoughts via an interview. Here is the transcript of that exchange. Q: What gives people value? The value and worth of a human being can only come from the reality that God created each human being in his image. And he created them from the immeasurable love present in the “Triunity.” Each human being was created by God from his love,