Essay Contest: cash prize and tuition prize as well!

Theological Essay Contest 

Submission Deadline: March 1, 2015 (by 11:59 pm)

Eligibility Requirements: College Junior or Senior

The writer of the winning essay will be awarded a $500 cash prize and a tuition scholarship to Saint John's School of Theology in Collegeville, MN (contingent upon application for admission to grad school.) 

The winning essay will also be published in Obsculta, our journal of theological writing. 

Essays can be on any topic of Christian theology. 

 

Papers written for a class assignment are acceptable for submission.

Criteria for selection include the significance and compelling character of the topic; the quality of the research, analysis, and synthesis; the clarity, coherence, and persuasiveness of the argument; and overall style and creativity.  

• Essays may be on any topic of theology as long there is a connection or comparison to Christianity. Please note that this is not limited to dogmatics or systematics, but is to be fully inclusive (e.g., ministry, liturgy, Scripture studies, ethics, philosophies of religion, etc.)
• Papers should follow the Turabian style with end notes
• Length must be no more than 15 pages or 4,000 words (12 point font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins)
• Submissions are to be in electronic format, either as a Word document or a PDF file.

Please also include for each submission:

• Essay title and author name
• A single declarative sentence summarizing the highlights of your paper
• An abstract of 300 words or less
• Three key words that categorize relevant topics in your paper 
• A list of scriptural references used in the work, organized sequentially as found in the Catholic Bible.
• Papers must be submitted by the deadline of March 1, 2014.

Submissions and questions:   theo@csbsju.edu

                       

Want to present your research?

This is a great opportunity to present research done in Theology or any of your other courses...and this sort of thing looks especially good if you are applying to graduate schools. If you are interested, the deadline for registering and sending in an abstract for approval is Friday, Oct 25. Anyone in the department would be happy to talk to you about this conference and research papers that could be appropriate, but there is also a lot of information at the link below. Consider it!

 (This was the letter sent to faculty:)

You and your students are encouraged to register by this Friday, October 25 for this year’s Seven Rivers Undergraduate Research Symposium. The symposium takes place on Viterbo University’s campus in La Crosse, WI on Friday, November 8, 2013.  This symposium showcases the research and creative works of over 200 undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines and institutions, and all interested students and faculty on your campus are encouraged to participate.

There is no cost to participate, though all attendees and presenters MUST register via the link below.  We hope that you will encourage the following groups to participate:

·         students who have completed research/creative works on or off-campus or as part of a course,
·         students who may be interested in completing research projects in the future (presenting is not a prerequisite for attendance), and/or
·         colleagues at your institution who you think might be interested in attending.

The symposium will run from 11am to 5pm (check-in occurs from 10-11am) and includes a keynote address; lunch (provided); and oral, poster, and creative works presentations by students from the tri-state area.  To ensure that all are able to participate, please remind students that there is no fee for presenting or attending.

As was the case last year, there is a single deadline and online form for both registration and abstract submission.
DEADLINE TO REGISTER and SUBMIT ABSTRACTS: THIS Friday, October 25, 2013. 

The online registration and abstract submission form as well as additional information about the event can be found online at http://www.viterbo.edu/sevenrivers/. 

The keynote speaker for this year’s symposium will be Dr. Tim Kasser.  Tim Kasser, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.  He has written numerous scientific articles and book chapters on materialism, values, ecological sustainability, and quality of life, among other topics.  He is also the author of The High Price of Materialism (MIT Press, 2002) and Lucy in the Mind of Lennon (Oxford University Press, 2013).  Tim works extensively with a variety of activist and civil society organizations that protect children from commercialization, promote ecological sustainability, and encourage a more “inwardly rich” lifestyle than what is offered by consumerism.

If you have any questions, please email us at sevenrivers@viterbo.edu.  Thank you in advance for encouraging your students and colleagues to attend, and I look forward to seeing you in November!

Saint Paul Seminary School of Theology Info table and session, Feb 20th

From one of our alums, Brandon Wanless:

...I will be visiting St. Mary’s again this coming Monday along with Nancy Utoft, SPSSOD’s Director of Community Relations, to promote the remarkable graduate programs here: Master of Arts in Theology; Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry; and Master of Arts in Religious Education.

...Please feel free to stop by our table in Toner anytime from 9 am until 3 pm. I would love to see you all again and discuss what I am doing here at Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Also, we have an informational session setup for 3:30 pm in Toner Room B. You are welcome to attend. Most importantly, if you know of any students in your classes or programs who should consider graduate school, have them stop by or feel free to pass along my e-mail address.

So stop by the table or information session! And if you want Brandon's email, contact any of us in the Theology department.

Theology Essay Contest (cash and a scholarship!)

Obsculta Theological Essay Contest

Submission Due Date: March 1, 2012

Eligibility Requirements: College Junior or Senior

Saint John’s School of Theology·Seminary is proud to announce the inaugural Obsculta theological essay contest for college juniors and seniors. The winning essay will receive a $500 cash prize and a $6,000 scholarship to the School of Theology (contingent upon admission). It will also be published in Obsculta, our student run journal for writing and art.

Obsculta is the opening word of the Rule of Benedict, which has shaped the life and spirituality of Benedictines around the world for over 1,500 years. The full opening phrase of the Rule is “Listen with the ear of your heart.” This simple admonition shapes not only the life of the monastic community at Saint John’s but also the way we do our theology and preparation for ministry. In a world where people too often speak first and ask questions later, we seek to listen—listen for the voice of the Spirit in Scripture, tradition, each other and the world. Out of this listening we speak that Word of God in a way we hope can be heard in and even inspire the world in which we live today.

We seek essays in that spirit for the Obsculta prize. The essays can be on any topic of Christian theology. This includes comparative studies of other religions and pastoral or practical theology as well as disciplines such as scripture, history, systematics.

Criteria for selection include the significance and compelling character of the topic; the quality of the research, analysis, and synthesis; the clarity, coherence, and persuasiveness of the argument; and overall style and creativity. Papers must be no more than 15 pages or 4,000 words (12 point font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins), follow the Chicago Manual of Style.

For additional information call 1-800-361-8318 or e-mail obscultaprize@csbsju.edu.