skills

There is a point of view from which it looks implausible that research in any field could continue indefinitely, century after century, endlessly discovering new things about reality.  But if Christ's kingdom will never end, there's a case to be made that cultural development, finally freed from sin, will continue forever under His reign. Might not the created order, once more fully disclosed in the New Creation, be worthy of ongoing scholarly research into eternity?

As part of our ongoing series on academic skills, today’s post is about the skill of asking questions well in an academic seminar (or similar setting). For many postgraduate students and researchers, especially in the humanities and social sciences, seminars focused on a particular interest area are the main way we interact with others in our discipline around academic topics.

Image 'Citizenship' by Nick Youngson is licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0

Dr Will Allchorn outlines a framework proposed by Prof. Andrew Basden for constructive engagement in debate and controversy.

Mark Surey writes on the importance of listening:

I have seldom met a scholar who is not fascinated by and excited about his or her field of study. That level of interest, combined with the God-given capacity to contribute, to a large extent forms the basis for a call to scholarship. It really helps if we both want and are able to do something.

It's possible to benefit greatly from academic criticism, but to do so we have to overcome our pride. And that's a theme familiar to the writers of Scripture.

Continuing his series on listening, Bruno Medeiros sees sparks of creativity and imagination flying when Jesus' disciples ask for insight into the Parable of the Sower.