Vatican’s astronomer on astronomy and religious belief

Relationship of science and religion is one of my interests and I think it is a very promising area of study and research. This blog post by Dr Guy Consolmagno SJ, Vatican’s Astronomer, is an interesting meditation not only on this relationship but also on a lot more, including how an MIT graduate in astronomy who worked for Peace Corps ended up becoming a Jesuit and Vatican’s astronomer. One of the interesting questions he asks is:

Science is not a big book of facts. Science is not about ‘proving’ anything. Science describes, but the descriptions are incomplete; we keep hoping that they get better. For that very reason you cannot use science to prove the existence of God (or no-God). But can science encourage us in our belief?

Read the post to find out!

Edgar is studying for a Bachelor of Divinity with the University of London International Programmes, with academic direction from Heythrop College.

Getting Through Exam Week

The dance of exams…

It’s time to dance as they say in America. I like that expression because it’s such an uplifting metaphor even though it means that, ready or not, we have reached the time for action.  For me, there are always the inevitable situations that seem to cluster around exam week. It has entered the realm of the comic after several consecutive years. Since stress works for me this year I decided to embrace it. For example, in the most endearing way, the CEO of the organization I work for wondered out loud if I can research and write our annual report before my exams begin on 8 May, and if I will be able to work on exams days.  The answers are it cannot, and no.  But, it does continue the dance metaphor, one colleague shared the highly descriptive phrase ‘Andaba del Tingo al Tango,’ or in other words, one can go a little crazy with plenty to do and a lot of places to be.

Icons of style and elegance, everyone

Icons of style and elegance. That’s how Garrison Keillor describes English Majors on the Prairie Home Companion. It might not be how you would expect a blog about English Studies to begin, unless of course you listen to the show. Besides first-rate story telling across genres,  ‘A Prairie Home Companion’ regularly gives the English Major pride of place. Such splendid recognition is fantastic, but then, the program itself is really a paean to English Studies. The work of understanding and creating through skill and pleasure in language is immortalized through its P.O.E.M., ‘Professional Organization of English Majors.’ For me, in the real thick of the academic year, it is a light-hearted reminder of why I am studying for a degree in English.

Falafel Night and The Dude.

It’s falafel night at our house. Lucky for me we have an amazing falafel shop nearby with what can very easily be life changing selections on super busy days like this. Falafel night means my schedule has been overwhelmed, I am absolutely out of time, and there is nothing but loose ends for every project on my desk. For me, this is a fantastic feeling because it means progress is at hand. It is sheer bliss, no matter how uncomfortable the hours surrounding this kind of climax can be. Personally, this crunch is much better than the holding pattern which precedes it though both times require a particular kind of approach and handling, especially since it can easily feel like the whole enterprise could go off the rails at any moment.

My Woody Allen Exam Fantasy

The notice for exam registration was going to come sometime, I knew that. Still, it was a sobering to actually find the email in my inbox this morning. Exams are a little worrying now, partly because I am sitting exams for 4 units, partly because they are still 4 and a half months away, and partly because this is such a busy time of year personally and professionally. There are so many deadlines, projects, and social engagements that any additional thing seems impossible to consider rationally.

It Finally Happened!

It finally happened – I have reached a very particular study goal of mine that has been elusive, a little frustrating, and very important.  It would be great to say something like, ‘I always knew it would happen eventually,’ but honestly, there were days when I never, ever thought it would.  After a few weeks of steady progress and implementation with this particular task, and noting there is a great deal of room for more improvement, I think it will stick.  I think  we all can have a block  that affects everything, and can sometimes feel insurmountable no matter what we do or how hard we try.  My particular ‘block’  has been writing an essay plan and developing an argument. The last few weeks I noticed a complete reversal from a process I could not seem to control, to a process where my skills and confidence are building.

A Quizzing Glass

This week I decided to organize a quiz on my work so far this term. Quizzes require me to demonstrate knowledge, and in the case of our English program, to demonstrate critical thinking and argumentation. My hope was this quiz would show me what I know. It has been an oddly comical experience because I learned precisely what I did not know, which, as it turns out, is much more valuable. My quiz raised many wonderfully perplexing questions about the process of reading, argument and writing, and helped me master a long-standing obstacle in my academic work.

The first step in my study strategy is to note what specific topics I want to investigate in each course. With these topics in mind I begin to read broadly in each unit. Then, with an understanding of authors and the literary culture of the period, I focus my further reading on texts and authors that best support research into my areas of special interest. My ‘quiz’ was intended to help me progress confidently, and develop a strong foundation of knowledge for each unit before moving on to more focused research.

One point of interest to me is genre and conventions. It interests me partly because there are usually questions about conventions and genre in every exam, they touch on interdisciplinary research, and because they supply good points for arguments on other topics.  My quiz question was ‘list the conventions’ associated with each of the four units I will sit exams for in May.  I found that to satisfactorily pass my quiz and  satisfy my concerns about the progress and scope of my learning it was necessary to articulate a more detailed definition of convention and genre.

Squaring the Circle: Life, Work, Study

A lot has been written about time management, productivity, and life, work balance. Some of it is ‘pop’ culture, some of it is ‘science,’ and some might be worth trying.  We all strike a balance our own way. My experience taught me to actively manage life, work, and study processes. This helps me make tangible progress towards my academic goals in the time available for study. I learned that privileging self-care increases the energy and focus necessary for all the things that are important to me. For me, identifying these particular areas as sources of productivity as well as potential spots for frustration and obstacles is the key to life, work, study balance. After all, we are not talking about just executing life, work, and study responsibilities. The conversation is really about quality and how these three areas are related. It is about managing to do all these things well, taking pleasure and satisfaction in them, and achieving a high degree of personal accomplishment and success in what ever way we measure it.

Power Point Power

Over the last few weeks I had an intersection of needs. I needed to prepare a presentation for a professional conference in addition to my usual work load and study requirements. In an ordinary week reading texts and secondary material for 4 advanced courses can sometimes feel a bit daunting. There is sometimes an uneasy feelings that I am not reading enough, or retaining information. I often wonder if I will met my study goals in January and later on if I am not on target now. Ironically, the extra work of researching, writing, and preparing a power point presentation for this conference provided an interesting, productive study exercise and tool.

1,000 New Vocabulary Words Every Year

Vocabulary is very interesting to me this year, actually for a while longer than that, but it seems to be especially prominent in my thoughts now. Henry Fielding is my current literary crush. Vocabulary is one of the big reasons Fielding is so appealing to me. Our ‘Augustans and Romantics Study Guide’ confirms all of the reasons I enjoy reading Fielding so much: complexity, structure, wit and humor, drawing attention to art, intelligence, and narration. The Study Guide does not mention vocabulary as such, but to me its importance is implied, or at least I inferred it. For me vocabulary is one of the great running jokes between Fielding’s narrators and the reader.