Exiles from Eden: Religion and the Academic Vocation in America [Hardcover]

Mark R. Schwehn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 1992

In this thoughtful and literate study, Schwehn argues that Max Weber and several of his contemporaries led higher education astray by stressing research--the making and transmitting of knowledge--at the expense of shaping moral character. Schwehn sees an urgent need for a change in orientation and calls for a "spiritually grounded education in and for thoughtfulness." The reforms he endorses would replace individualistic behavior, the "doing my own work" syndrome derived from the Enlightenment, with a communitarian ethic grounded in Judeo-Christian spirituality. Schwehn critiques philosophies of higher education he considers misguided, from Weber and Henry Adams to Derek Bok, Allan Bloom, and William G. Perry Jr. He draws out valid insights, always showing the theological underpinnings of the so-called secular thinkers. He emphasizes the importance of community, drawing on both the secular communitarian theory of Richard Rorty and that of the Christian theorist Parker Palmer. Finally, he outlines his own prescription for a classroom-centered spiritual community of scholars. Schwehn's study will interest all those concerned with higher education in America today: faculty, students, parents, alumni, administrators, trustees, and foundation officers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A volume that university administrators in both religious and secular settings could usefully give their faculty colleagues to help restore a better sense of the purpose of their academic vocation....A compelling argument both for the restoration of religion in the understanding and practice of the academic vocation in general and for the more particular efforts of religious communities to transmit their convictions in the setting of modern higher education."--Commonweal

"There can be no doubt that the academy in the West is undergoing, and must undergo, fundamental alterations in direction and self-understanding. Schwehn's book is a significant contribution to the necessary debate."--The Cresset

"Eminently readable, solidly grounded in its sources, it makes a contribution to the debate about values in higher education. The author handles religio-spiritual questions with great sensitivity."--Robert P. Swierenga, Kent State University

"Schwehn offers a universal, rational, and religiously-informed philosophy of education."--Koinonia Journal

"Intelligent and provocative....Persuasive....Schwehn is certainly fighting the good fight....This thesis,...can be fruitfully debated on any American campus. Will it be debated? Not unless Mark Schwehn provides us with a sequel, for which we may devoutly hope."--Crisis

About the Author

Mark R. Schwehn, Professor of Humanities and Dean, Christ College, Valparaiso University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 17, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195073436
• ISBN-13: 978-0195073430
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,023,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exiles from Eden: Religion and the Academic Vocation in Ame, June 14, 2000

By 

Beau Weston - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exiles from Eden: Religion and the Academic Vocation in America (Hardcover)

Schwehn, the dean of the honors college at Valparaiso University, has written one of the best books in the current spate of religion and higher education volumes. His focus is on teaching as the heart of the academic vocation. He argues that the virtues of religious faith nurture the kinds of virtues that are needed for teaching. He contrasts an older model of education which sought to discover truth in order to shape character, with the modern research university ideal of creating knowledge in a value free exploration so that it can be used to enhance our power. The former is more congruent with teaching and with faith. The latter is at odds with the teaching model of higher education, and in practice the research models undermines the very virtues that makes honest researchers possible.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensitive, insightful reflections on academia and modernity, November 23, 2009

By 

L. Singleton (Boston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Exiles from Eden: Religion and the Academic Vocation in America (Paperback)

I'm not sure I would have been as equipped to appreciate this book at an earlier stage of doctoral student life, but five years in, I have found it remarkably true to my own experience as a believer in academic life. Schwehn writes patiently and with humility but also puts his finger right on the missing notes in the modern presumptions about faculty priorities. His analysis of Weber's depiction of Wissenschaft was quite revealing, and the comparisons he draws between The Education of Henry Adams and both Augustine's Confessions and the Garden of Eden story were very powerful. If there is a quibble, it would be that I found the book's structure to be more episodic than clearly unified thematically, but the interested reader's patience is more than rewarded by hanging in for the powerful closing segments. I also wish a sequel existed, as I would love to hear Schwehn's current thoughts on prospects for realizing the alternative academic vision he paints.