Purposeful Professor

Discerning Vocation through Loss, Suffering, and Death

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: Pedagogy, Suffering and Death, Vocation

Discipline: Religious Studies, Theology

In September of 2002, exactly one year after the attack on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, essayist Mark Slouka reflected on how those events had challenged the American psyche, defined for so long by the myth of happy endings. Here in the New Canaan, in the land of perpetual beginnings and second chances,…

Beyond Deep Gladness: Coming to Terms with Vocations We Don’t Choose

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: Pedagogy, Suffering and Death, Vocation

Discipline: Religious Studies, Theology

Back in the 1990s, St. Olaf and many other campuses across the country were infused with grants from the Lilly Endowment to explore the concept of vocation. Lutheran institutions of higher education lift up vocation in part due to the prominent role it plays in Lutheran tradition and identity. Vocation comes from the Latin vocare…

Purpose and Meaning in a Time of Crisis

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: Pedagogy, Suffering and Death, Vocation

Discipline: Religious Studies, Theology

In his profound and troubling book, Fear and Trembling, the Danish religious writer Søren Kierkegaard remythologizes the story of the binding of Isaac from Genesis 22. I say “remythologizes” rather than “analyzes” or “understands” because Kierkegaard takes pains to attend to all the unthinkable components of the story—to the narrative elements that resist translation into takeaway ethical lessons or airtight conceptual categories.

Trauma-Informed Pedagogy During Times of Crisis: Creating Learning Environments, Space for Self-Care, and Time for Reflection and Action

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: Pedagogy

Discipline: Psychology, Theology

Caring for Faculty During Times of Trauma

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: Pedagogy, Vocation

Discipline: Psychology, Theology

The last year prompted faculty to recognize that, when thinking about trauma-informed care, we not only need to be aware of the trauma that students are experiencing; faculty are also experiencing trauma in ways that we need to address. It might not always be acute trauma, such as losing a loved one. Certainly, faculty are…

A Brief Introduction to Trauma-Informed Pedagogy

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: Pedagogy

Discipline: Psychology, Theology

In a recent article, Graduate Theological Union professor Jennifer Davidson described an experience that many who have been teaching over the past two years will readily recognize: I felt exhausted, disconnected, numb, and hopeless. I remember the difficulty of slogging into the classroom to teach . . . even though the classroom is one the…

Trauma-Responsive Pedagogy: Building Resilience and Academic Tenacity in Students

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: Pedagogy

Discipline: Psychology, Theology

Many students face significant hardships, potentially leading to trauma. These challenges have the potential to derail them and keep them from fulfilling their dreams of completing a college education. While many challenges that students face are beyond our control, responding to them in a trauma-informed manner is not. Trauma-responsive pedagogy means that we adapt our teaching to support the well-being and success of…