World renowned education expert Dennis Shirley, a professor in BC’s Lynch School of Education, has published The New Imperatives of Educational Change: Achievement with Integrity (Routledge, 2017), a clarion call to move beyond the standardized testing and marketplace competition that have become pervasive in school systems to focus instead on creating the conditions that will encourage all students to become critical and independent thinkers. In his new book, Shirley presents five new imperatives to guide educators and policymakers towards a re-thinking of what it means to teach effectively and to learn deeply. Shirley is editor-in-chief of The Journal of Educational Change and co-author of the book The Mindful Teacher. He has led professional development workshops for school leaders in six continents.
Educational change
Get psyched!
Practice might make perfect, but perfection is useless if it can’t be summoned when it counts. Success at a pivotal moment requires the right kind of mental preparation, according to Daniel McGinn, author of the new book Psyched Up: How the Science of Mental Preparation Can Help You Succeed (Portfolio/Penguin Random House, 2017). McGinn, a Boston College alumnus and journalist, dives into the latest psychological research to share strategies for harnessing talent and emotions to optimize success. His insights are applicable to athletes, business people, soldiers, entertainers or anyone looking to make the most of a given moment. McGinn is a former national correspondent for Newsweek and is currently a senior editor at Havard Business Review. Read a Boston Globe Magazine article adapted from McGinn’s book.
Catholics & Protestants
More progress toward unity between Catholics and Protestants has been made in the last 50 years than in the past 500 years, according to Boston College Professor of Philosophy Peter Kreeft, author of the new book Catholics and Protestants: What Can We Learn from Each Other? (Ignatius Press, 2017). Kreeft’s book explores the theological divisions that have historically separated Catholics and Protestants and the important beliefs that the two groups share in common. He says the style of the book—short answers, single points to ponder rather than long strings of argument—is that of Pascal, Nietzsche, Solomon, and Jesus. Kreeft, who has been on the faculty at BC for more than 50 years, is the author of dozens of books, including Angels and Demons; The Philosophy of Tolkien; Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Heaven But Never Dreamed of Asking, and The Philosophy of Jesus, among many others. He was recently interviewed by The Christian Post.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged Catholicism, Chrisitianity, Philosophy Department
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A ringside seat
Moving beyond the typical sentimentality, romanticism, or cynicism common to writing on boxing is a new book, The Bittersweet Science: Fifteen Writers in the Gym, in the Corner, and at Ringside (Univeristy of Chicago Press, 2017), co-edited by BC Professor of English Carlo Rotella and Michael Ezra. The Bittersweet Science is a collection of essays about boxing— written by journalists, fiction writers, fight people, and more—that explores the delusions and dreams of boxers, fans, and the cast of managers, trainers, promoters, and hangers-on who make up life in and around the ring. Rotella also contributes the essay, “Bernard Hopkins, Prefight and Postfight.” Rotella, who directs the American Studies program at BC, is the author of Cut Time: An Education at the Fights and Good with Their Hands: Boxers, Bluesmen, and Other Characters from the Rust Belt, among other works. Listen to an interview with Rotella and Ezra on New Books Network.
Ambrose of Milan
Enchantment and Creed in the Hymns of Ambrose of Milan (Oxford University Press, 2016) by School of Theology and Ministry Assistant Professor Brian P. Dunkle, S.J., offers the first critical overview of the hymns of Ambrose of Milan in the context of fourth-century doctrinal song and Ambrose’s own catechetical preaching. Engaging the mass of literature on Ambrose, early Christian hymns and poetry, and doctrinal dispute in the fourth century, Fr. Dunkle’s volume makes scholarly contributions to deciphering Ambrose’s meaning, establishing Ambrosian authorship, and illuminating the expansion of popular hymns and learned Christian poetry in the early Latin church. Fr. Dunkle talked about his book in a video produced by BC Libraries.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged BC Libraries, Catholic, School of Theology and Ministry
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Barking up the Wrong Tree
Advice about achievement is often logical, earnest…and downright wrong. In Barking Up the Wrong Tree (HarperOne, 2017), Boston College alumnus Eric Barker reveals the science behind what actually determines success and how anyone can achieve it. Barking Up the Wrong Tree draws on statistics and anecdotes to identify what works and what doesn’t, so readers can stop guessing and start leading a successful life. Barker earned an MBA at BC and is a former screenwriter who worked on projects for Walt Disney Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, and Revolution Studios.
Pomp and Circumstance
A newly published book of speeches by David McCullough, one of America’s most distinguished historians, includes his Commencement address to Boston College’s Class of 2008. The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For (Simon & Schuster, 2017) is a collection of talks given during the past 25 years by the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and Presidential Medal of Honor recipient, author of books such as Truman, 1776, John Adams, and The Wright Brothers. According to the publisher, The American Spirit “reminds us of core American values to which we all subscribe.” McCullough’s speech at BC, titled “The Love of Learning,” included his memorable line “Read, read, read! Read the classics of American literature that you’ve never opened. Read your country’s history. How can we profess to love our country and take no interest in its history?” More from BC News.
A monster at bedtime
Michelle Williams-King, a member of the Woods College of Advancing Studies’ Class of 2017, has published a children’s book inspired by her son who had trouble sleeping when he was younger. There’s No Such Thing as People, aimed at children ages 4-8, is about a little monster who has trouble going to sleep because he’s afraid there is a person in his closet.
Book award for alumnus
Unfreedom: Slavery and Dependence in Eighteenth-Century Boston (New York University Press, 2016) by BC alumnus Jared Ross Hardesty has been named an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice, the premier review journal of new academic titles. Hardesty, a faculty member at Western Washington University, also has been featured on Ben Franklin’s World, a podcast about early American history.
The Universe Untangled
People are fascinated by the laws of the physical world, but many find the scientific concepts dense and complicated. To solve that dilemma, BC alumna Abigail Pillitteri has published The Universe Untangled – Modern Physics for Everyone (Morgan & Claypool Publishers, 2017), a book about physics for the general reader. She uses images, analogies, and comprehensible language to cover topics such as the evolution of the universe, fundamental forces, the nature of space and time, and the quest for knowing the unknown. Pillitteri is a science writer, poet, and visual artist.
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