Faculty Dialogue Groups
The purpose of Faculty Dialogue Groups is to provide faculty with opportunities to read and discuss books (often books they have always wanted to read) and ideas in an interdisciplinary, informal setting where no one is the teacher and everyone is a learner. All dialogue group books are available in the Faculty Resource section of the library.
The Process
- At the beginning of each semester, interested faculty can suggest topics of interests.
- The Center for Faculty Development will buy the books, schedule the meetings, and find the rooms.
- Most groups tend to meet three times during the semester.
Spring 2025
- Coming soon
Fall 2024
- ; Jonathan Haidt (2024) Led by Mollie Carter
- ; Brant M. Himes, et al. (2022) Led by Faith Zamamiri-Davis
- ; Rachel B. Griffis, et al. (2024) Led by Jay Beavers
- Article: ""; Dr. Alan Noble (2024) Led by Ashley Blair
Spring 2024
- ; Naomi S. Baron (2023) Led by Haelim Allen and Aaron Beasley
- ; Ruth Haley Barton (2022) Led by Karen Miller
- ; Stewart Goetz (2023) Led by Justin Barnard
Fall 2023
- ; Jeffrey Bilbro, et al. (2023) Led by: Justin Barnard
- ; Felicia Wu Song (2021) Led by Mollie Carter
- ; Arthur Bennett (1988) Led by Ted Kluck
- Article: "What Does ChatGPT Solve?" Led by Brian Glas
- Article: "The Scandal of Christian Graduate Education and Some Proposals for Change" Led by Andrew Courtner
Spring 2023
- "Beyond Professing Alone: Becoming an Academic Citizen" chapter from ; Susan VanZanten (2011) Led by: Jeannette Russ
- ; John Townsend and Henry Cloud (1992) Led by: Jill Wells
- ; Abigail Favale (2022) Led by: Phil Davignon
- ; Christina Rossetti (2008) Led by: Janna Chance
- ; Kyle Hughes (2022) Led by: Mandy Cates and Jacob Shatzer
Fall 2022
- ; George Yancey (2022) Led by: DiAnne Malone and Mark Catlin
- ; Susan VanZanten (2011) Led by: David Thomas
- ; Eugene Peterson (2021) Led by: Sharon Evans
- ; Francis Su (2021) Led by: Matt Lunsford
- ; Carl Trueman (2022) Led by: John Netland
- "Christian University: Eleven Theses"; Essay by Richard John Neuhaus (1996) Led by: Jacob Shatzer
Spring 2022
- ; James M. Banner, Jr. and Harold C. Cannon (2017) Led by: Ann Singleton
- ; Edited by Nancy Wang Yuen and Deshonna Collier-Goubil (2021) Led by: Ashley Blair
- ; Elizabeth Barkley and Claire Major (2020) Led by: Michele Atkins
- "Aims of Liberal Education" by Leon Kass; (1981 article) one-time meeting with Scott Huelin
Fall 2021
- ; Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1978) Led by: Sabrina Warren
- : New Religions for a Godless World; Tara Isabella Burton (2022) Led by: Phil Davignon
- ; Marilynne Robinson (2020) Led by: Rebekah Whitaker and Savannah Patterson
Spring 2020
- ; Christina Bieber Lake (2020) Led by: Ben Mitchell
- ; Perry Glanzer, Nathan Alleman, (2019) Led by: David Thomas
- ; John Warner (2018) Led By: Aaron Beasley
- ; C.S. Lewis (1956) Led By: Nan Thomas
Fall 2019
- ; by David I. Smith, led by Jay Beavers
- Is There Purpose in Biology; by Denis Alexander; led by Jeremy Blaschke
- ; by Parker J. Palmer; led by Matt Lunsford
- by Sheldon Vanauken; led by Nan Thomas
Spring 2019
- ; Elizabeth Newman, led by Phil Davignon
- ; Madeleine L' Ingle, led by Sabrina Warren
- ; Erlene Grise-Owens, J. Jay Miller, & Larry W. Owens, led by Ben Mitchell
Fall 2018
- ; by Helen Sword.
- ; by Jeremy S. Begbie.
- ; by Gregory Wills.
- ; by John Perkins and Karen Waddles.
- Continuing the Dialogue about Writing
Spring 2018
- The Elegance of the Hedgehog; Muriel Barberry
- A Little Manual for Knowing; Esther Lightcap Meek
- Habits of the Mind: Intellectual Life as a Christian Calling; James W. Sire.
- Continuing the Dialogue on: Thinking Christianly and Forming Christian Character
Fall 2017
- Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning; James Lang
- The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation; Rod Dreher
- iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy-and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us; Jean M. Twenge
Spring 2017
- Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning; James Lang
- Bridges Out of Poverty: Strategies for Professional and Communities; Philip E. DeVol, Ruby K. Payne, Terie Dreussi Smith
- Vainglory: The Forgotten Vice; Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung
Fall 2016
- You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit; James K. A. Smith
- Americas War for the Middle East; Andrew Baceovich
- The Christian Scholar in the Age of the Reformation; E. Harrison
- iMinds: How Cell Phones, Computers, Gaming, and Social Media are Changing our Brains, our Behavior, and the Evolution of our Species; Mari Swingle
Spring 2016
- The Supper of the Lamb; Robert Capon.
- Teaching and Christian Imagination; David I. Smith and Susan M. Felch
- Trinity Forum Readings: Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr.; The Loss of the University, Wendell Berry; How Much Land Does a Man Need? Leo Tolstoy
- A Simple Way to Pray, Martin Luther
Fall 2015
- Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God; Timothy Keller
- The World Beyond Your Head; Matthew Crawford
- Toxic Charity; Robert Lupton
Spring 2015
- Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview and Cultural Formation; James A.K. Smith
- Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Isabel Best (selected sermons)
- A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas; Warren Berger
Fall 2014
- Painting as a Pastime; an essay; Winston Churchill
- What the Best College Students Do; Kenneth Bain
- United: Captured by God's Vision for Diversity; Trillia Newbell
- The Case for the Psalms; N. T. Wright
Spring 2014
- Why Teach? In Defense of a Real Education; Mark Edmunson
- Teaching Naked, How Moving Technology Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning; Jose Bowen
- Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold; C. S. Lewis
- A Simple Way to Pray; Martin Luther
Fall 2013
- Teaching Naked: Taking Technology Out of the Classroom So Students Can Learn, Jose' Bowen
- What the Best College Teachers Do, Ken Bain
- The Ethics of Identity, Kwame Anthony Appiah
- Reflections on the Psalms, C.S. Lewis
- Jayber Crow, Wendell Berry
Spring 2013
- The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell
- Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning, Jose' Antonio Bowen
Fall 2012
- The Narnian:The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis Alan Jacobs.
- Everyday Theology Kevin J. Vanhoozer.
- Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies Marylin Chandler Mc Entyre.
- Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching Rosemary M. Lehman.
Spring 2012
- The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship, George Marsden, Oxford University Press, 1997.
- Transformational Teaching in the Information Age: Making How and Why We Teach Relevant to Students, Rosebrough and Leverett, Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2011
Fall 2011
- Crossing to Safety, Wallace Stegner (Set in the 1930s, this novel focuses on scholarly aspirations, ambitions, politics, achievements, relational dynamics, and disappointments, both in and out of the academy.)
- Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, School, John Medina
- Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind, Mark Noll
Spring 2011
- The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship; George Marsden
- Creating Significant Learning Experiences; L. Dee Fink
- The Wonder of the World: A Journey from Science to the Mind of God; Roy Abraham Varghese
- Celebration of Discipline; Richard Foster
- Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future; Tim Elmore
Fall 2010
- Cultural Intelligence: Improving Your CQ to Engage Our Multicultural World; David Livermore
- Creating Significant Learning Experiences; L. Dee Fink
- The Bondage of the Will; Martin Luther
- The World is Flat; Thomas L. Friedman