Alumni College Course and Workshop Descriptions
Special Topics – July 9th evening session
June Van Bruggen, M.D., "On Doormats, Steamrollers, and Houses with Many Rooms"
Do you frequently feel 'walked over'? Do you wonder why pushing your great ideas often seems to alienate others? Would you like to have access to many Christian choices of behavior rather than only one way that doesn't seem to work? Come join us for an after dinner look at these interesting ideas.
Course Descriptions
Fixing up our world: Houghton in Buffalo (1987-2009) Cancelled
Charles Massey, professor of Education & Coordinator for the Office for Urban Connections
Willard J. Houghton, who in 1883 founded what is today Houghton College, often signed his letters “Yours for fixing up our world.” As Christians who take seriously the commandment to “love our neighbors,” it is our desire to engage our students with us in “fixing up our world.” This requires our minds, our hearts, and our hands – service learning informed by Christian faith. The course will focus on educating for social responsibility and rekindling hope for the rebirth of a rust-belt city, including Houghton’s crucial role in the Buffalo East Side, connecting with refugees, and the future of work there.
Writing About Spiritual Experience
Dr. Linda Mills-Woolsey, Associate Academic Dean and Professor of English
According to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "Earth's crammed with heaven,/ and every common bush afire with God;/ But only he who sees, takes off his shoes." Writing about spiritual experience through journal-keeping and reflective essay writing can be a means of "taking off our shoes" and renewing our sense of the ways God meets us powerfully in the ordinary. In troubled and uncertain times, such writing is not only restorative, but can be a means of comfort and delight to others. This course reviews some helpful exercises for generating ideas and images, ways to use narrative and description to bring your experience to life, and reflections on using writing as a means of spiritual growth. Workshop format, with in-class writing and discussion.
Jeremias Gotthelf: A Forgotten Christian Author
Peter Meilaender, Associate Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of History/Political Science
You have probably never heard of Jeremias Gotthelf, and you will have little luck finding his writings in English. Yet this Swiss pastor, whose collected works encompass 42 volumes, was one of the most important authors writing in German in the 19th century. His work, infused with a deep religiosity, portrays the confrontation between the traditional life of the rural Swiss peasantry and the modernizing forces of liberalism, industrial capitalism, and rationalism. Come and learn about this forgotten Christian thinker and what he can teach us about the cultural and political transformations of our own world, struggling with the similarly transformative forces of globalization and post-modernity.
The Book of Exodus
Carl Schultz, professor of Old Testament
This course will place emphasis on the man MOSES, the EXODUS, the TEN COMMANDMENTS. Each of these areas will be treated textually as well as topically with an emphasis on their significance for today.
Sports Ministry: An Effective Relational Ministry Tool
David Lewis, Assistant Professor; Head Women’s Soccer Coach; Athletic Administration
FIFA (the world soccer organization) has 208 member countries. The United Nations has 192 members. This comparison is one example of the pervasive influence of sport within culture. How does the church respond? We will examine how sports ministry is an effective relational ministry tool within cross-cultural, parachurch, local church, camp and educational contexts.
The Art of Houghton
Roselyn Danner
The Ortlip name is just one of many tied to the tradition of art here in Houghton. Perhaps you have seen the paintings around campus, but do you know their stories? Come learn about Houghton’s rich artistic tradition from Roselyn Danner, Manager of the growing Houghton College Art Collection, and visit some of these hidden surprises as she connects you with the art that is exclusive to your alma mater!
Gloom Mixed with Economic Doom! An Update
Robert Black, Professor of Economics
With unemployment rising toward double digits and financial markets in disarray, the beginning of 2009 brought mainly economic gloom and doom. What caused the economic and financial crisis? How have policy responses worked so far? What is the economic prognosis for the coming months? We will address these and other questions in a frank discussion of the most perfect economic storm since the Great Depression.
Learning From the Web: Navigation In the Age of Technology
Connie Finney, Professor of Education
This day and age, everyone is talking about the Internet, dot-com sites and Facebook, but just how do they work? In our class, we will explore various web sites and applications. The class does not require a high level of internet skill; it will appeal to people with a wide range of experiences in Internet use. While bringing along a laptop would be helpful, your best tool will be your curiosity!
Evangelicals and Environment
Aaron Routhe, Assistant Professor of Sociology & Environmental Studies
The emergence of ‘Environmental Evangelicals’ have caught the attention of mass media in recent years. Who are they and why is the broader and secular US culture so interested in them? Do they really exist? This course examines the scope of public concern about and support for environmental protection among US Evangelicals. Come explore what Evangelicals believe about the relationship between humans and Creation, how their concern for the environment compares to other groups in US society, and whether religion is ‘bad’ for the environment.
