Faith, Scholarship, Faithful Scholarship, And The Like

Nice view of Amman — A neighborhood on one of the hills of Amman, Jordan (biblical Rabbath Ammon and Philadelphia). BYU’s intensive Arabic study abroad program has been held in Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Damascus, but mostly (and, of late, repeatedly) in Amman.
(Wikimedia Commons public domain)

Whenever I can, I’m going to continue to supply you with material for your Christopher Hitchens Memorial “Religion Poisons Everything” File. Here’s an important new piece of evidence illustrating how religion or religious involvement ruins lives:

“Does faith make you happier? New research explores links between religion and well-being”

***

“BYU one of nation’s highest producers of foreign-language degrees: BYU comes in at No. 3 overall, tops several specific language categories”

BYU is the top producer of foreign-language degrees in Arabic, Russian and Portuguese, the fourth for Korean, and the sixth for French.

That’s gratifying to see.

My friend Kirk Belnap, a long-time colleague in the Arabic Section of BYU’s Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages, delivered a lively and interesting presentation about the history of the University’s intensive Arabic study abroad program to a faculty audience at a Humanities Colloquium this afternoon, from which I’ve only just now returned.

Here is the précis that he offered in advance of his presentation, which was entitled “Reflections on a 30-Year Experiment with Experiential Learning and Cognitive Dissonance”:

“The aims of a liberal arts education were clearly spelled out by the fourth century: well-rounded global citizens capable of the critical thinking needed to address the challenges of the times in which they live. This outcome is foundational to our own and other general education programs. Really getting students’ attention in order to affect real change is key. The cognitive dissonance resulting from grappling with a difficult real world problem is widely acknowledged as an effective high impact practice. Following a brief sketch of the history of our section’s highs and lows in experimenting with experiential learning in eight countries, I will lead a discussion of factors that can hopefully help all of us as we seek to leverage opportunities around us at BYU and beyond to build life-changing interdisciplinary educational encounters.”

***

Not bad:

“BYU professor’s film short gets Sundance premiere, wins Jury award”

***

I’m saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Lawrence Poulsen:

“Lawrence Poulsen (1933-2019)”

Larry wrote a review for the FARMS Review back in the bad old days, when I served as its vicious and mean-spirited editor:

“The Light Is Better Over Here”