My good news

[khl]

I received official notice today that I've been given tenure and advanced to the rank of Associate Professor. Drinks (including soft drinks since I'm not a drinking man) are on me.

[izzarina]

Congratulations, Keith! Well done!

[Sandy McLeod]

Keith, congratulations on your advancement. That is a great achievement, especially in this day and age in academia.

I see you are in Hawai'i. I spent a summer on a grant at the East-West Center when it was part of UH. It changed my life academically, intellectually, and in just about every other way too.

Sandy

[Redwolf]

Major congrats!

Redwolf

[cowtime]

I'll drink a root beer float in your honor! Congratulations!

[emmline]

Good. Nice going.

[anniemcu]

That is excellent news, and certainly worthy of the lift of a glass! Huzzah!

[Coffee]

Combolations!

[khl]

Thanks for the comments, all. I enjoy my work very much, and the advancement makes it just that much sweeter.

[BillChin]

Congratulations. Would you like to share your area of expertise and your PhD dissertation topic?

[khl]

Congratulations. Would you like to share your area of expertise and your PhD dissertation topic?

Philosophy of Religion and Theology. Some of the courses I teach are World Religions kind of courses. This last year I've had great fun teaching a course on Christianity in Art, Film, Literature, Music and Theology.

Here's a link from last fall when I finished my dissertation on Kierkegaard and the Concept of Religious Authorship. Near the end of the posts there is an abstract: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=62621&p=821655#p821655

(The good news here, news that actually came separately but on the same day as the notice for tenure and rank advancement, is that my dissertation has been accepted for publication. I'll wait and announce this one more formally when it's in print and I can post a link to Amazon.)

[dubhlinn]

Well if one of our most charming, and intellectual, posters is buying..I'll have a double.

Nice one Bro...very nice.

Slan,
D.

[s1m0n]

Congratulations! Tenure in Hawaii has to be pretty close to to 'jackpot'. I know people fighting for tenure in places like Flint, MI.

[BillChin]

Holy smokes, that is incredibly impressive getting tenure so soon after completing your dissertation.

One of my favorite college courses was an elective, a survey course on religion. I never did study Kierkegaard, though.

Here is the abstract from the post dated September 7, 2008

Abstract of the Dissertation

This dissertation explores Kierkegaard’s concept and practice of religious authorship. Focusing primarily on Kierkegaard’s late authorship, with special attention to The Point of View and Kierkegaard’s Journals and Papers, it reviews Kierkegaard’s development of religious authorship, shows how religious authorship may have similarities to philosophical authorship and wherein the two differ, and elucidates aspects unique to religious authorship.

Setting religious authorship over-against a Wittgensteinian view of philosophy, Chapter Two examines the relation between philosophical authorship and religious authorship and draws distinctions between a religious interest and a philosophical interest in philosophy of religion and where the two may share common ground, even though they have different motives.

Chapter Three discuss the possible threat philosophy can bring to faith. Kierkegaard asserts that the answer to a perceived philosophical threat to faith is first to understand how faith and doubt are actually encountered in a religious life. Though doubt may arise from a philosophical investigation, it does not follow that it necessarily must and Kierkegaard illuminates the character of doubt and the religious way of responding to doubt.

Chapter Four explores the use of philosophical apologetics in religious authorship. Kierkegaard generally saw a philosophical defense of Christianity as a mistake. Nevertheless, Kierkegaard is an advocate of Christianity but in a qualified way. Kierkegaard’s philosophical advocacy largely consists of helping one come to see the point of Christianity and then leaving one to judge.

Chapter Five argues that religious authorship has a persuasive end and must go beyond clarity (though clarity is a key part). With a foundation in Aristotle’s conception of the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos, it explores the complexities of rhetoric and persuasion for the religious author. Kierkegaard argues for indirect communication, but also makes room for persuasive, rhetorical aspects beyond philosophical clarity.

Chapter Six discusses the mixture of certainty and uncertainty in Kierkegaard’s religious authorship. There is naturally something of certainty that goes with religious authorship but also, in communicating the religious to others, an uncertainty. This condition allows the religious author to write with conviction, while retaining a humility that should welcome criticism and correction.

[Doc Jones]

Well done Keith.

Doc