Fall of 2007 found us still in Princeton. I (Jonathan) adjuncted at PTS and precepted at PU. It was an interesting combination of courses. At the seminary I taught “From Mission History to World Christianity,” which was primarily a survey of the twentieth century, treating key disciplines and trends in world Christianity. This is the period famous for the transition from north to south, as Christianity became a truly world religion, with adherents worshipping in thousands of languages. Lamin Sanneh calls it the shift to a “Post-Western Christianity and Post-Christian West.” I’m not entirely sure I agree, but it was certainly a new scattering, a new diaspora.
I enjoyed working with seminarians, many of whom I knew from community life. I clustered book reviews, which allowed students to focus on topics of interest, from immigrant histories, to urban ministry, to youth and mission trips. The first day of class, I surveyed the roughly twenty students on how many places they had visited. About a quarter of the students were themselves international students, and I like to think that the course provided a helpful place for reflection as they engaged a fairly standard American theological curriculum. I was surprised to learn that perhaps half of my MDiv students had come to ministry through some sort of cross-cultural trip. I think that in many US congregations, it is easy for faith to be something that is passively received. Seeing how others understand a tradition can be deeply challenging and disorienting, but also often provides a new lens on what it means to be Christian.
I enjoyed working with seminarians, many of whom I knew from community life. I clustered book reviews, which allowed students to focus on topics of interest, from immigrant histories, to urban ministry, to youth and mission trips. The first day of class, I surveyed the roughly twenty students on how many places they had visited. About a quarter of the students were themselves international students, and I like to think that the course provided a helpful place for reflection as they engaged a fairly standard American theological curriculum. I was surprised to learn that perhaps half of my MDiv students had come to ministry through some sort of cross-cultural trip. I think that in many US congregations, it is easy for faith to be something that is passively received. Seeing how others understand a tradition can be deeply challenging and disorienting, but also often provides a new lens on what it means to be Christian.
At the same time, I precepted Buddhism at the university. I loved the professor, a historian of religion, who led us through Buddhism’s 2500 years in twelve weeks of lectures. For students in this class, the same disorientation was often apparent. They came to the course expecting meditation or a philosophy of “live in the moment,” and they met all manner of texts and traditions. We studied Buddhist death rituals, philosophical schools, enlightenment lineages, and contemporary traditions. I really enjoyed the class and it gave me a new insight on interfaith work, which can often be naïve in how it treats a tradition.
During December and January, Emily wrapped up her PhD qualifying exams. We’d learned in August that she was pregnant. (The baby blog is here.) Now she approached a grueling academic task late in her second trimester. Her field (like mine) is very interdisciplinary. She is in library science, but also had to do work in communications, statistics, information science, etc. I think she did an admirable job, taking one of her minor exams in communications, despite the fact that she had only two courses in the field.
In the spring I taught a course on the ecumenical movement and precepted the East Asian History survey at PU. We treated the histories of China, Japan, and Korea during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. I had a very strong background in China and some background in Korea, but found myself working hard to learn modern Japan. (Interestingly, when I first moved to Princeton I met the retired Japanese historian, Marius Jansen, at my mother’s church at the time.) I was very grateful to work with the two professors who taught the course, one a seasoned scholar who shared 20 years of exam questions with us, and the other a younger scholar who studies modern China and questions of poverty. She also kindly gave me advice on interviewing and candidating for a position in which I was interested.
In the spring I taught a course on the ecumenical movement and precepted the East Asian History survey at PU. We treated the histories of China, Japan, and Korea during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. I had a very strong background in China and some background in Korea, but found myself working hard to learn modern Japan. (Interestingly, when I first moved to Princeton I met the retired Japanese historian, Marius Jansen, at my mother’s church at the time.) I was very grateful to work with the two professors who taught the course, one a seasoned scholar who shared 20 years of exam questions with us, and the other a younger scholar who studies modern China and questions of poverty. She also kindly gave me advice on interviewing and candidating for a position in which I was interested.
At this point, we were beginning to explore the possibility of returning to Taiwan. I was glad to see another Taiwan Seminary student show up in Princeton, Chiu Kai-Li, who even took one of my classes. I also saw the Yu-Shan Seminary choir, which sang at the chapel. A Chinese delegation from Anhui visited, and I was able to show them around Princeton with the help of Rebecca Montgomery. And I met the PCT’s main ecumenical officer again, Stephen Hsu. Stephen helped me to coordinate with Taiwan Seminary and the PCUSA about the possibility of returning. Unfortunately, this coincided with the 2008 financial crisis in PCUSA, and some slowing of possibilities among the PCUSA. Up until March or April, it seemed probable that Taiwan might work out, but it did not turn out to be the case. In the meantime, I went on several hurried interview, and was very glad to find a position teaching history (more to follow).
The big news of the year, however, was neither exams nor classes nor visitors from afar. It was the arrival of our son, Samuel, who came on Good Friday 2008 (3/21) and who came home on Easter. Emily liked the name Samuel, and it fit well with David and Jonathan (brother, me). As the year came to an end, we found ourselves moving again.
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