by Eric M. Washington Upon arriving on campus yesterday and sitting in front of my computer, I noticed something eye-catching for the Google Doodle. I rarely click on them, but this one featured the late Nigerian novelist, writer, and professor Chinua Achebe, who would have been 87 yesterday. A number of online stories underscored the …
Continue reading Giving Honor to Whom Honor is Due: Chinua Achebe
by Bob Schoone-Jongen. Sometimes history hits home. Hurricane Harvey is one of those hits. Watching the devastation along the Gulf Coast, from Corpus Christi to Port Arthur, has been heart wrenching. Following the struggles of folks in the region, some of them my former students from back in Minnesota, puts real faces and real experiences …
Continue reading Sometimes History Hits Home
by Dan Miller. This past May I had the pleasure of leading a group of 14 Calvin alumni plus my wife on a ten day tour of Cuba as part of the Calvin Academy for Lifelong Learning program. It was a rich experience for me. As the Latin Americanist in Calvin’s History Department for 32 …
Continue reading A Tale of Two Cubas
by Frans van Liere. More than any history book, archaeology can create a powerful sense of the past. At the same time, just like history, archaeology can be used and abused for political purposes. It can create a sense of national or ethnic identity, or exclude others from that identity. This past summer, when my …
Continue reading Hezekiah’s Tunnel and the City of David
by Eric M. Washington A careful reading of African-American church history reveals that African Americans have a long history in Presbyterianism. Despite the small numbers of African-American Presbyterians relative to the overall numbers of African-American Christians, they must be considered an important population within the broader scope of the African-American church tradition, owing to their …
Continue reading Chattel and Prophets: African Americans in Presbyterian Church History
by Matt Beukema. You’ve likely heard the question or even asked it yourself. After answering “History” to the question of what I studied in college comes that dreaded second question. The question that comes nearly 90% of the time to history (and English, I’m sure) graduates. “Do you want to teach?” I don’t know why …
Continue reading The Dreaded Second Question – Or, In Defense of My Major
