ALA12: Recap



062112ALA

Just a quick recap of ALA Annual in Anaheim, for posterity and to prove I was actually there.

Highlights, in no particular order:
  1. I met David Weinberger! It was exciting, and I was awkward, and he signed a copy of his new book for me. I'm very happy about this. Looking forward to reading it. Also, his speaker session was pretty great. I especially liked his analysis of Reddit.
  2. Disneyland was the most un-crowded ever. We were there for only like two hours, three maybe, and we just walked on a bunch of rides (including Thunder Mountain, my fave) and saw the fireworks.
  3. Sessions on distance education librarianship and embedded librarianship. I took soooo many notes. Really helpful and inspiring for some of my short-term goals.
  4. The Philosophical, Religious, and Theological Discussion Group. There were ten people there, including me and another recent MLIS grad who also has his MA in theology from Fuller. It was really cool being in a small-group setting with people who actually do what I'd love to do some day. Plus they were super nice.
  5. Learning about Duke Divinity School's digitization project for American Methodism and churches in North Carolina. Super super interesting, and I got to talk to the guy who's heading it up (or was... I guess he got a job somewhere else). He's also involved in the ATLA's online open access journal, which he encouraged me to look into and think about submitting content for.
  6. Hanging out with my iSchool cohort friends. THE BEST. I'm so glad I had people there to spend time with (and split the cost of a hotel room with!). I had an awesome time in the company of these smart and wonderful people!
Overall, the experience was overwhelming and tiring, but so informative and inspiring. I doubt I'll be able to make it to Chicago for next year's conference, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to go to this one, since it was so close to home.  It gave me an insight into librarian culture and got me excited to be in the field all over again!

June Wrap-Up

Well, I failed at the photo a day. Once I got to ALA (which I will be doing a post on next week... it's still digesting), it all went out the window. To make up for it, here are some random photos I've taken in the last week:









OK, anyway, here's a wrap up from the month of June (which went by SO FAST, I might add).

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Theologian Thursday: Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

(Image from here)

Thomas Aquinas is easily one of the most important and influential figures in Western Catholic thought. He had many characteristic roles--writer, friar, philosopher, priest--and each facet of his life contributed greatly to the formation of Western Christianity.

Aquinas did much of his study at the University of Naples, where he became entrenched in studying the philosophy of Aristotle with the guidance of Albert the Great, who is said to be the first scholar in the Middle Ages to shine a light on Aristotle and apply his thought to the Church. In my opinion, a lot of the more problematic and destructive ideas in current (and historical) Christian thought and practice--like patriarchy, soul/body dualism, "proofs" for God--can be traced back to Aristotle through Thomas Aquinas... so I'm not a big fan. He also subscribed to double predestination via Augustine.

Aquinas also became part of the burgeoning Dominican order of friars while at Naples. This order was devoted especially to active study and teaching, in contrast to other orders, which were focused on a contemplative life.

Because he was a philosopher, and believed the existence of God could be proved through reason, he studied natural theology--which is based on reason and experience--as a means by which to prove God's existence. His natural theology influenced his cosmological and teleological arguments for God (which were also influenced by Aristotle, of course) as well as his other "Five Ways".

There's really no way to outline Aquinas's insanely extensive work. But I encourage you to check out his article in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy if you're interested to know more. I also recommend the book The Thought of Thomas Aquinas by Brian Davies. I've used it in pretty much everything I've ever written about Aquinas (including this blog post).

Oh! And one more fun fact! When he was in school, his fellow students called him "Dumb Ox" because he was big and quiet. Ha! (Sidenote: this is why last summer Curtis and I named our tomato plant Thomas... we were hoping that it would produce big fat tomatoes!)

What You Should Read:
Ratings:
(To read more about my rating system, click HERE.)

Gender Equality:
He loved Aristotle; Aristotle hated women. There you have it.
Environmental Sensibility:
Although he had issues with the ontological argument for God ("God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived"), Aquinas still had a sense of God's greatness as the "unmoved mover" and causation of Creation, and so, since creation emanates from the First Principle, and is good, we can learn things about God from it.
Heretical Tendencies:
I feel guilty even giving him one star. Aquinas actually advocated and approved of persecution and execution of heretics. So he definitely was not one. And his work is still the basis for pretty much all orthodox thought.
General Badassery:
He's just so smart. And he wrote so stinkin much. ALSO, he's one of the "flying saints," which means he could levitate. Supposedly. Hahaha.

A quote:
"Love takes up where knowledge leaves off."

Theologian Thursday: Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)


Kierkegaard was born, raised, and lived all of his life in Copenhagen, Denmark. In fact, he only left the area five times his whole life.

His life was not a happy one. By the time he was 25, both of his parents and five of his six brothers and sisters had died. Later in life, he fell madly in love with Regina Olsen, and was engaged to marry her, but could not reconcile his troubled mind and heart, and so broke the engagement, despite his continued love for her, which lasted the rest of his life. Perhaps it was this grief of his young life, or perhaps it was the inherited depression and puritanical, pietistic Lutheranism of his father, but either way, Kierkegaard is known for his somewhat hopeless and less-than-encouraging writing (one of my professors often refers to him as "the melancholy Dane," a la Hamlet). In a way, this inner turmoil and thoughtfulness is what led him to be considered the father of existentialism.

When applied to Christianity, Kierkegaard's analysis and criticism won't leave you singing "Victory in Jesus," but it is certainly challenging and edifying in its own way.

The two issues Kierkegaard is probably best known for are his criticism of "Christendom" and his three stages of existential being--the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious.

In Kierkegaard's Denmark, basically everyone was nominally Christian. It was more or less a Christian state, and being a Christian or considering yourself a Christian was easy enough. But Kierkegaard knew that real Christianity--real faith--required much more than the simple coincidence of being born in Denmark. He understood that it took the acceptance of numerous paradoxes and an eventual leap to faith. This sometimes leads to him being considered a fideist.

As a quick run-down, here are Kierkegaard's three stages of existence:
  1. The Aesthetic (the slave)--living for oneself
  2. The Ethical (the knight of infinite resignation)--living for the well-being of others
  3. The Religious (the knight of faith)--living for God
Please understand, this is so stripped down and I'm leaving so much out, but this post is already probably the longest I've ever written, so bear with me. 


What you should read:
*Note: Kierkegaard wrote under many pseudonyms, and there is lots of scholarly work on why and how and the hierarchy between the personas. It's very interesting, and I encourage you to look into it!

Ratings:
(To read more about my rating system, click HERE.)

Gender Equality:  
Kierkegaard's relationship with Regina Olsen is probably most telling for how he feels about women. In his writing, it never seems like she is a real person--just an object of his obsession and despair.
 Environmental Sensibility:  
I think Kierkegaard was far too concerned about himself and all the hypocrites around him to care much about the environment.
Heretical Tendencies: 
He was a solid Lutheran, and had the guilt and shame to prove it. But one of his main goals was challenging the status quo of his society, and surely that shook things up a bit. I bet he would be very surprised to know there's a statue of him outside the huge Marble Church in Copenhagen. Ha!
General Badassery:
I'd say he was certainly an intellectual badass (his writings are no light reading), but other than that, he lived a pretty tame life, despite all his inner strife.

And a Kierkegaard quote:
"If I am capable of grasping God objectively, I do not believe, but precisely because I cannot do this I must believe."