Two Andrews University English Professors Win Award for Fiction & Film Article. Scott Moncrieff, Andrews professor of English, and Vanessa Corredera, Andrews assistant professor of English, received recognition by the Associated Church Press (ACP) for their coauthored article, “Fiction and Film: Thoughts on Teaching Potentially Controversial Narratives,” originally published in the October/November 2015 edition of “The Journal of Adventist Education.” In the article, the professors discuss what it means to teach fiction in an Adventist setting and the problems that can arise when addressing controversial topics. “I felt that this topic was important, both personally and professionally,” says Corredera. “In other words, it was certainly worth the time. I had spoken on the topic on campus, so this was an opportunity to refine my thinking. Furthermore, coauthoring is uncommon in the humanities; it was a great opportunity to try something new with a colleague and friend.” An online version of Moncrieff and Corredera's article will be available in the Fall from the Journal of Adventist Education. Read more from Andrews University here.
Congratulations to Profs. Moncrieff and Corredera. All Adventist academics and scholars should be writing with the larger world of arts and letters in mind; obsessively talking to oneself is a sign of madness. I encourage them to publish far and wide, and they certainly have both the ability, and, now, the interest in doing that. Bravo/a!
Congratulations to Scott and Vanessa! This is a great advance on earlier decades. More power to the pen!
I remember receiving a rejection for a theological article I wrote (for adults) as a dialogue between two animals. I spoke personally to the editor of the magazine when he came to college and he replied that he appreciated the narrative but the guidelines did not permit him to accept an article that featured talking animals!
I am confused. A professor may be terminated if they express disbelief in EGW. True it is.
Yet Andrews has nothing to say about teachers writing works of fictions that EGW clearly, frequently, disallowed. Not once but many times she declared that fiction destroys spiritual life. She was opposed to popular books of fiction such as:
“Years ago reproof was given our editors in regard to advocating the reading of even such books as Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Aesop’s Fables, and Robinson Crusoe.** Those who begin to read such works usually desire to continue to read novels. Through the reading of enticing stories they rapidly lose their spirituality. This is one of the principal causes of the weak, uncertain spirituality of many of our youth.” EGW
“ Even fiction which contains no suggestion of impurity, and which may be intended to teach excellent principles, is harmful. It encourages the habit of hasty and superficial reading, merely for the story. Thus it tends to destroy the power of connected and vigorous thought; it unfits the soul to contemplate the great problems of duty and destiny.” EGW
As religious leaders, we have a fine way of choosing which part of inspiration we support and follow, while we neglect other parts without an afterthought. This is a form of lying to ourselves and others for the sake of reputation or employment. Does not 99% of SDA members, teachers and leaders read books or watch movies that are fictional. (In honesty, I do.)
As someone who has studied English, it’s pretty clear that EGW didn’t understand how literary novels are best read. This seems to directly counteract the advice of paul, which would seem to take precedence.