I found my way to this poem via Malcolm Lowry who used a line from it for the title of his book: Dark as the grave wherein my friend is laid. The verse that contains that line includes this most remarkably dark image: Henceforth, ye gentle trees, for ever fade; Or your sad branches thicker …
Some Personal Reflections on the Pre-Sessional (Phase 2: Induction + Weeks 1–3) A pre-sessional programme is an academic English course designed to help students develop their language and academic skills before starting a university degree. At the University of Edinburgh, the programme is run by English Language Education (ELE); the six-week phase (Phase 2) includes …
Alasdair MacIntyre (2006). The end of education: the fragmentation of the American university. Commonweal, 133: 18. In this short article about the American Catholic university, MacIntyre makes several claims about both Catholic and secular institutions in the USA. Perhaps the most provocative is in the opening statement: from a Catholic point of view, the contemporary secular …
In Leisure, the Basis of Culture (first published in 1948), Josef Pieper notes the difference between looking as contemplation and looking as observation. With the first kind of looking – as when we look at a rose – we are ‘passive and receptive’, and ‘our attention is not strained’. We are simply looking, open ‘to …
I recently learned of a paper on The Student Voice (likely capitalised, perhaps bolded) that reportedly recommends mandating end-of-course surveys for every course, with completion required in class. Currently, I conclude my courses by sharing the optional survey link, respecting students’ autonomy as adults to choose whether to comment. In-class mandates would likely increase response …
Link to post on BERA blog: https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/unveiling-academic-practices-in-the-university-classroom-a-reflection-on-goods-and-virtues Viewing university teaching and academic study as practices – and the classroom as one of their primary spaces – can help reveal some of the internal goods inherent to these activities. This perspective on academic pursuits invites further reflection on the cultivation of virtues. In this blog post, …
Link to post on Teaching Matters blog: https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/teaching-matters/unveiling-academic-practices-a-reflection-on-goods-and-virtues/ In this brief post, I turn to the concept of practice as articulated by the Scottish-American philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, and draw connections to academic study and the university classroom. I suggest that regarding what we and our students do as a practice – and the classroom as one of …
