On Tuesday I spent most of the day writing my research paper for Philosophy of Nature. I hope the result proved satisfactory, not only because that paper accounts for 70% of my grade in that class, but because I've submitted that paper for one of the program's requirements, the Research Readiness Paper. The RRP is supposed to be completed in the first semester as part of one's normal classwork (i.e. not an extra project on top of everything else) and is used to determine whether the student demonstrates the capacity for graduate-level research and writing. So, yeah. Kind of a big deal. But I think it went well.
On Wednesday evening the DSPT hosted a panel presentation and discussion on Pope Benedict's most recent book about the life of Christ, which focuses on the infancy narratives. The presenters were: Dr. Thomas Cattoi of the Jesuit School of Theology, an Italian by birth with degrees from universities in the US and UK; Fr. Bryan Kromholtz of the DSPT, an American with a degree from a German university; and Fr. Anselm Ramelow of the DSPT, a German teaching in the US. (The trio kind of brings the geography full circle, don't they?) Interesting thoughts and insights, but instead of sharing those with you, I'll advise you instead to read the pope's book. :)
Thursday featured my final class meeting of the semester, as we finished hearing presentations in Intro to New Testament. I worked in the afternoon, then came home and spent the evening getting caught up on NCIS and The Office. I'll spare you all my commentary about the trajectories of those shows, but suffice it to say they were enjoyable episodes from the last few weeks.
The last few days I've been slowly moving into non-academic mode, which mainly involves quieting the latent impulse that I ought to be doing homework at any given point. The next semester doesn't start until February 4, so I have a good six weeks to chill, veg, and otherwise relax. I'll be visiting home from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1, and will spend the rest of the break in Berkeley working part time. I imagine I'll blog a bit more often in that span, so stay tuned.
I leave you with an amusing story I read in an article about a growing appreciation among feminists of the concept and practice of chivalry. The article was punctuated well by the following:
A story from the life of Samuel Proctor (d. 1997) comes to mind here. Proctor was the beloved pastor of Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church. Apparently, he was in the elevator one day when a young woman came in. Proctor tipped his hat at her. She was offended and said, "What is that supposed to mean?"
The pastor's response was: "Madame, by tipping my hat I was telling you several things. That I would not harm you in any way. That if someone came into this elevator and threatened you, I would defend you. That if you fell ill, I would tend to you and if necessary carry you to safety. I was telling you that even though I am a man and physically stronger than you, I will treat you with both respect and solicitude. But frankly, Madame, it would have taken too much time to tell you all of that; so, instead, I just tipped my hat."
(http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/12/lets-give-chivalry-another-chance/266085/)
Gentleman, may we all strive to act accordingly. Ladies, may you hold us to it.
Gentleman, may we all strive to act accordingly. Ladies, may you hold us to it.
Fantastic story! Looking forward to Sunday when I can see your smiling face in person instead of over Skype.
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