Scholarship - Projects
2008 – 2009 Academic Year
This Fall, the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship received eleven major grant proposals requesting a total of $232,305. The Governing Board has granted full funding to eight for a total of $147,008. Together with continuing funding on previously awarded grants, this will bring CCCS's total support for scholarship in 2008-2009 to $153,508. Please join the Board in congratulating your colleagues who have received grants:
Joel Carpenter (Nagel Institute): in collaboration with Nick Langtinga (IAPCHE) and Perry Glanzer (Baylor University), to prepare a volume on Christian higher education around the world that includes current data on its institutional spread and thematic essays on its recent development and future prospects.
Brian Ingraffia (English): with co-editors Katherine Bassard (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Roger Lundin (Wheaton College), to prepare a critical anthology of the best essays on religion and literature from the twentieth century to the present.
Karin Maag (Meeter Center): in collaboration with Amy Burnett (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), to award international travel grants to a conference at Calvin College in April 2009 on the occasion of John Calvin's 500th birthday.
Garth Pauley (CAS): to support research on a rhetorical study of Jonathan Edwards's sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."
Katherine van Liere (History): in collaboration with Simon Ditchfield (University of York, UK) and Howard Louthan (University of Florida), to sponsor a three-day invitational colloquium at Calvin exploring "Renaissance Visions of Christian Origins" across national and confessional boundaries.
David Warners (Biology): funds to convene an international workshop to be held at Calvin College on "Creation Care in Missions," drawing together representatives from Christian Reformed colleges, missions, and international development agencies.
Jennifer Williams (English): project expenses for research on her book, "Ghosts in the Machine: Modernism's Religious Other."
As a special development grant outside of its ordinary channels of support, the CCCS in cooperation with Christianity Today International will convene a major meeting at Calvin College that will bring together scholars, funders, and public thought leaders in hopes of launching a new generation of initiatives in Christian scholarship. Co-conveners will be James Bratt (CCCS) and Joel Carpenter (Nagel Institute) from Calvin; Andy Crouch from CTI; and D. Michael Lindsay from Rice University.
Ongoing Projects
2007 – 2008
Susan Felch (English) and Gary Schmidt (English): to edit two volumes of essays, written by Calvin College faculty and designed to introduce an audience of general readers to significant contemporary works of fiction that treat issues of faith.
Richard Harms (Archives), Darlene Meyering (President’s Office), and Peter Borgdorff (CRCNA): to cover all expenses for speakers at a scholarly conference in September 2007, marking the sesquicentennial of the Christian Reformed Church.
Daniel Miller (History): to support translation and critical edition of three landmark books on and from within Latin American Protestantism.
Pearl Shangkuan (Music): to cover expenses associated with performances and recording of the shorter sacred choral works of Stephen Paulus.
Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung (Philosophy): to support preparation of a book, “Portraits of Vice: The Seven Capital Vices Tradition Today.”
2006 – 2007
Bruce Berglund (History) to work with Brian Porter (History, University of
Michigan) and Andreas Kossert (German Historical Institute, Warsaw) in
organizing a conference and publishing a book on "Christianity in Eastern
Europe."
Albert Boerema (Education), Doug Bloomberg (Philosophy of Education, Institute for Christian Studies), James Jadrich (Physics/Science Education), Robert Koole (Society of Christian Schools, British Columbia), Gloria Stronks (emerita, Education & Worldwide Christian Schools), and Steve Vryhof (Adjunt, Education), to develop a sequel to an earlier CCCS book, "A Vision with a Task."
James Bratt (History) and Edouard Dommen (Economist emeritus, United Nations Development Advisory Team): technical and financial support for the publication of the book, "The Impact of John Calvin's Social and Economic Thought."
Debra Freeberg (Communication Arts & Sciences), John Steven Paul (Theater, Valparaiso University), and Michael Stauffer (Communications, Wheaton College/IL), to hold consultations leading toward a book on "Theater Practice and Pedagogy in the Christian Academy."
Richard Plantinga (Religion), Thomas Thompson (Religion), and Matthew Lundberg (Religion): project costs for co-authoring "Christian Theology for a
Contemporary World."
Christopher Smit (Communication Arts & Sciences), to fund a student research assistant for his book, "No More Fallen: A New Philosophy of Christianity and Disability."
Ralph Stearley (Geology & Geography) and Davis Young (emeritus, Geology & Geography), to produce new and expanded edition of Christianity and the Age of the Earth.
Frans van Liere (History), research travel grant related to projected book on
"The Bible in the Middle Ages: A Short Introduction."
2005 – 2006
David Koetje (Biology) and Uko Zylstra (Dean’s Office), summer stipends and travel costs to complete the book, "Place-based Agricultural Biotechnology: A Paradigm for Renewal based on Christian Environmentalism."
Arie Leegwater (Chemistry) and Matt Walhout (Physics) to support reading groups in AY05/06 and AY06/07, a summer stipend for co-directors in AY06/07, and concluding conference in the summer of 2007 dealing with the topic “Interpreting Scientists: Hermeneutics of Scientific Practice.”
Clarence Joldersma (Education) for two summer stipends (2005, 06) to complete work on the book, "Beyond Memory and Vision: Shalom’s Call and Hope for Christian Higher Education."
Marjorie Gunnoe (Psychology) and Claudia Beversluis (Dean’s Office) to supplement funds from the Calvin Institute Christian Worship that will permit Calvin to participate in a 30-year panel study of American Religion and Ethnicity.
Paul Freston (Byker Chair, Sociology and Social Work), for anticipated project costs during the first two years of the project, “The History and Sociology of the Protestant Missions Movement.”
2004 – 2005
Bruce Berglund (History) and Brian Porter (History, Univ. of Michigan), held an international workshop at Calvin in June 2005 on "Christianity in the Nineteenth-and-Twentieth-Century Eastern Europe."
Jan Gormas (Education), Robert Koole (Education, Trinity Western University), and Steven Vryhof (Education), used summer stipends to write a peer-oriented article defining a vision of "New Dimensions for Christian High Schools."
Hyesook Kim (Music), Stéphane Lemelin (Music, University of Ottawa), and Stephen Schloesser (History, Boston College), performed pieces by French composer Olivier Messiaen's "Visions de l'Amen" in eight North American locations, including Calvin College. In Summer 2005, they reunited at Calvin College to begin work on a DVD as well as a monograph analyzing the piece's sources and meanings according to Messiaen's religious perspective. Read more.
William Romanowski (CAS), continues to work on a book investigating Protestants and the American cinema.
Steve VanderLeest (Engineering), Gayle Ermer (Engineering), and Charles Adams (Dordt College, Engineering), used summer stipends to study the concept of technology as culture-formation with a view toward defining the next generation of discussion beyond the previous CCCS project, "Responsible Technology."
Kurt Verbeek (Sociology), Mark Ritchie (Director, International Sustainable Development Studies Institute), Jo Ann Van Engen (Instructor, Semester in Honduras), and Anja Buwalda (CRWRC), have been surveying and analyzing the impacts of short-term missions upon clients and providers across sites on three different continents.
2003 – 2004
Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung (Philosophy), Christina Van Dyke (Philosophy), and Colleen McCluskey (Philosophy, St. Louis University) are working on a book about "Aquinas's Ethics: Metaphysical Foundations, Action Theory, and Ethical Theory."
David Koetje (Biology) and Uko Zylstra (Biology) are working on a book treating "Biotechnology as Restoration: A Christian Framework for Critical Engagement in Agbiotech."
Dean Ward (English) led a team of ten Calvin College faculty, nine students, and three alumni in preparing a cross curricular reader for writing programs designed to prepare students to be Christian citizens actively engaged in public discourse. Publication forthcoming.