Scott Waalkes | Malone University (original) (raw)
Papers by Scott Waalkes
Routledge eBooks, Dec 7, 2018
Abstract: Reconciliation, far from being a utopian dream, is the most realistic course toward a r... more Abstract: Reconciliation, far from being a utopian dream, is the most realistic course toward a resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Five steps support this argument. First, the Christian vision of God reconciling all things is at the center of the Christian story and ...
Taking Every Thought Captive, Jun 14, 2011
Achievements and Legacy of the Obama Presidency, 2022
Journal of Education and Christian Belief, 2012
RECENT CONVERSATIONS about Christian teaching and learning have discussed educating students'... more RECENT CONVERSATIONS about Christian teaching and learning have discussed educating students' imaginations and desires. But how might one begin to educate desire and imagination? To answer, we narrate the experience of teaching a course, Living Well in a Car Culture, within a general education seminar required of all fourth-year students at a small Christian university in the United States. Our goals were for students to recognize how they have been shaped by car culture, to reimagine their participation in it, and to imagine and practice alternative ways of living. Course outcomes are illustrated with examples from students' written work.
Journal of Education and Christian Belief, 2009
IN THIS ARTICLE we offer a narrative account of three faculty development groups on one campus: a... more IN THIS ARTICLE we offer a narrative account of three faculty development groups on one campus: an interdisciplinary summer reading group, a writers group, and a spiritual formation group. Grounded in the literature on Christian friendship, the narrative testifies to the development, characteristics, and impact of these groups. We conclude that communities of Christian friendship are a significant source and locale of faculty development.
Soccer & Society, 2016
Does soccer explain the world? Or does the world explain soccer? Is soccer a cause of global inte... more Does soccer explain the world? Or does the world explain soccer? Is soccer a cause of global integration? Or does it result from global integration? These questions animate much recent writing on the beautiful game. Analysing this writing from the perspectives of the globalization of politics, economics and culture, this essay concludes that the game follows globalization trends more than it causes them in the realms of politics and economics. However, it shapes the cultural realm significantly by forming a hybrid, cosmopolitan ‘glocal’ culture. Soccer may not bring world peace or move global markets, but it does bring cultures together under the ‘sign of play’. It is a triumph of the global imaginary, if not yet a driving force in global politics or economics.
The Review of Faith & International Affairs
PS: Political Science & Politics
Historian, 2011
... The “Great Satan” vs. The “Mad Mullahs”: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other –... more ... The “Great Satan” vs. The “Mad Mullahs”: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other – By William O. Beeman. Scott Waalkes. ... More content like this. Find more content: like this article. Find more content written by: Scott Waalkes. ...
In his best-selling book "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century," Thomas Friedma... more In his best-selling book "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century," Thomas Friedman argued that global
economics has made the world a "level playing field in terms of commerce, where all competitors have an equal
opportunity." For Friedman, humanity faces an inevitable, irreversible, and subtly dystopian vision of a homogenized
global future. Scott Waalkes, Professor of International Politics at Malone University and author of "The Fullness of Time
in a Flat World: Globalization and the Liturgical Year" (Cascade Books, 2010) will address the moral, theological, and
liturgical dimensions of Friedman's vision of globalized economics.
In many ways, soccer has become a global religion. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil drew “3 billion v... more In many ways, soccer has become a global religion. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil drew “3 billion viewers in 204 countries,” (according to R. James Breiding). If these three billion were adherents of a religion, they would far outnumber any of the world’s great faith groups. As soccer historian David Goldblatt puts it, global television viewing of the men’s World Cup finals is now “the single greatest simultaneous and human collective experience.” To put it mildly, the game of soccer—whether played for fun or watched as entertainment in national leagues, club competitions, or between national teams—has a truly global reach. Soccer is “the lingua franca of globalization” (Breiding). But there is statistically significant evidence in three areas that this emergent form of cultural globalization may be supplanting traditional forms of religious practice. First, Google Trends data show that Google users search on the names of soccer stars more than on the names of religious saints. Users search on the term “football” fifty times more than on the term “Christianity.” They search using “football” nineteen times more than “Christianity.” Second, bivariate regression on soccer attendance and self-reported weekly (or more than weekly) attendance at religious services showed strong negative correlations in six countries. There was a similarly strong correlation between rising soccer attendance and a rising percentages of self reports of individuals having “no religious affiliation” in Poland and the United States. Finally, surveys from the United Kingdom showed that members of clubs to play soccer who declared affiliation with a religion were significantly less likely to say there were practicing that religion. I conclude that soccer is a challenge to traditional religion. However, the missing variables of gender, generations (e.g., millennials), entertainment and pornography (“Kim Kardashian”), television viewing of sports, and video games might refine our understanding.
Does soccer explain the world? Or does the world explain soccer? Is soccer a cause of global inte... more Does soccer explain the world? Or does the world explain soccer? Is soccer a cause of global integration? Or does it result from global integration? These questions animate a number of recent popular books on soccer. In order to answer, I first distinguish between political, economic, and cultural globalization. I then define the nature of “play.” Analyzing recent literature from the perspectives of the globalization of politics, economics, and culture, I conclude that the game follows globalization trends more than it causes them in the realms of politics and economics. However, in the cultural realm, the global game’s culture of play unites disparate cultures around the globe. Soccer may not bring world peace or move global markets, but it does bring people together under the “sign of play.”
The language of “callings” is prominent in the curriculum at Malone University. But how are we to... more The language of “callings” is prominent in the curriculum at Malone University. But how are we to understanding what “callings” are? This paper contrasts four different “ideal-type” views of vocation: a Reformed view, focused on our stations in life or on divine commands; a distinctly Quaker view, focused on the inner light; a contemporary cultural view that combines Reformed and Quaker emphases but focuses on meaningful work; and an Anabaptist view, focused on the call to discipleship and imitation of Jesus. A conversation between these views can deepen students’ and our own understandings of vocation. However, the Call of Jesus to transcend our station is always necessary to correct our tendencies toward glorifying our work. In this sense, the Anabaptist emphasis is a necessary corrective to other views.
Drafts by Scott Waalkes
Did President Obama have a grand strategy? And what will his foreign policy legacy be? Obama summ... more Did President Obama have a grand strategy? And what will his foreign policy legacy be? Obama summed up his policy in a concise maxim: “don’t do stupid s[tuff]”. Such humble and negative aims certainly demonstrated Obama’s operative strategic vision. As a result, caution became the closest thing to an Obama Doctrine.
It was a wise pendulum swing away from the expansive neoconservative Bush vision. If the Bush team swung for the fences, the Obama team would play small ball: making contact, getting things in play, running the bases with smart and achievable policy moves.
But the course of eight years also shows that the Obama Doctrine of caution did not banish peril—nor did it prohibit bold actions that were smart and small. And the Obama team did have a clear grand strategy. The only problem was that global conditions overtook it. In fact, it turned out that Obama’s strategic vision, while savvy to the world of 2008, unintentionally ended up risking insecurity in our ever-more-networked world. A world of globalizing networks—what we might call the Crabgrass World—cannot help but raise unpredictable and volatile challenges. And chief among those challenges were the Syrian civil war, the rise of ISIS, and the Syrian refugee crisis. Small ball, it turns out, doesn’t work on crabgrass.
But Obama’s legacy will also reflect some bold actions. The affirmative side of Obama’s DDSS Doctrine was to do smart stuff and small stuff. Still, these smart and small policy moves failed to stop the growth of the crabgrass-like Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a problem that threatened to dominate Obama’s entire foreign policy legacy (fairly or unfairly).
Routledge eBooks, Dec 7, 2018
Abstract: Reconciliation, far from being a utopian dream, is the most realistic course toward a r... more Abstract: Reconciliation, far from being a utopian dream, is the most realistic course toward a resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Five steps support this argument. First, the Christian vision of God reconciling all things is at the center of the Christian story and ...
Taking Every Thought Captive, Jun 14, 2011
Achievements and Legacy of the Obama Presidency, 2022
Journal of Education and Christian Belief, 2012
RECENT CONVERSATIONS about Christian teaching and learning have discussed educating students'... more RECENT CONVERSATIONS about Christian teaching and learning have discussed educating students' imaginations and desires. But how might one begin to educate desire and imagination? To answer, we narrate the experience of teaching a course, Living Well in a Car Culture, within a general education seminar required of all fourth-year students at a small Christian university in the United States. Our goals were for students to recognize how they have been shaped by car culture, to reimagine their participation in it, and to imagine and practice alternative ways of living. Course outcomes are illustrated with examples from students' written work.
Journal of Education and Christian Belief, 2009
IN THIS ARTICLE we offer a narrative account of three faculty development groups on one campus: a... more IN THIS ARTICLE we offer a narrative account of three faculty development groups on one campus: an interdisciplinary summer reading group, a writers group, and a spiritual formation group. Grounded in the literature on Christian friendship, the narrative testifies to the development, characteristics, and impact of these groups. We conclude that communities of Christian friendship are a significant source and locale of faculty development.
Soccer & Society, 2016
Does soccer explain the world? Or does the world explain soccer? Is soccer a cause of global inte... more Does soccer explain the world? Or does the world explain soccer? Is soccer a cause of global integration? Or does it result from global integration? These questions animate much recent writing on the beautiful game. Analysing this writing from the perspectives of the globalization of politics, economics and culture, this essay concludes that the game follows globalization trends more than it causes them in the realms of politics and economics. However, it shapes the cultural realm significantly by forming a hybrid, cosmopolitan ‘glocal’ culture. Soccer may not bring world peace or move global markets, but it does bring cultures together under the ‘sign of play’. It is a triumph of the global imaginary, if not yet a driving force in global politics or economics.
The Review of Faith & International Affairs
PS: Political Science & Politics
Historian, 2011
... The “Great Satan” vs. The “Mad Mullahs”: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other –... more ... The “Great Satan” vs. The “Mad Mullahs”: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other – By William O. Beeman. Scott Waalkes. ... More content like this. Find more content: like this article. Find more content written by: Scott Waalkes. ...
In his best-selling book "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century," Thomas Friedma... more In his best-selling book "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century," Thomas Friedman argued that global
economics has made the world a "level playing field in terms of commerce, where all competitors have an equal
opportunity." For Friedman, humanity faces an inevitable, irreversible, and subtly dystopian vision of a homogenized
global future. Scott Waalkes, Professor of International Politics at Malone University and author of "The Fullness of Time
in a Flat World: Globalization and the Liturgical Year" (Cascade Books, 2010) will address the moral, theological, and
liturgical dimensions of Friedman's vision of globalized economics.
In many ways, soccer has become a global religion. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil drew “3 billion v... more In many ways, soccer has become a global religion. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil drew “3 billion viewers in 204 countries,” (according to R. James Breiding). If these three billion were adherents of a religion, they would far outnumber any of the world’s great faith groups. As soccer historian David Goldblatt puts it, global television viewing of the men’s World Cup finals is now “the single greatest simultaneous and human collective experience.” To put it mildly, the game of soccer—whether played for fun or watched as entertainment in national leagues, club competitions, or between national teams—has a truly global reach. Soccer is “the lingua franca of globalization” (Breiding). But there is statistically significant evidence in three areas that this emergent form of cultural globalization may be supplanting traditional forms of religious practice. First, Google Trends data show that Google users search on the names of soccer stars more than on the names of religious saints. Users search on the term “football” fifty times more than on the term “Christianity.” They search using “football” nineteen times more than “Christianity.” Second, bivariate regression on soccer attendance and self-reported weekly (or more than weekly) attendance at religious services showed strong negative correlations in six countries. There was a similarly strong correlation between rising soccer attendance and a rising percentages of self reports of individuals having “no religious affiliation” in Poland and the United States. Finally, surveys from the United Kingdom showed that members of clubs to play soccer who declared affiliation with a religion were significantly less likely to say there were practicing that religion. I conclude that soccer is a challenge to traditional religion. However, the missing variables of gender, generations (e.g., millennials), entertainment and pornography (“Kim Kardashian”), television viewing of sports, and video games might refine our understanding.
Does soccer explain the world? Or does the world explain soccer? Is soccer a cause of global inte... more Does soccer explain the world? Or does the world explain soccer? Is soccer a cause of global integration? Or does it result from global integration? These questions animate a number of recent popular books on soccer. In order to answer, I first distinguish between political, economic, and cultural globalization. I then define the nature of “play.” Analyzing recent literature from the perspectives of the globalization of politics, economics, and culture, I conclude that the game follows globalization trends more than it causes them in the realms of politics and economics. However, in the cultural realm, the global game’s culture of play unites disparate cultures around the globe. Soccer may not bring world peace or move global markets, but it does bring people together under the “sign of play.”
The language of “callings” is prominent in the curriculum at Malone University. But how are we to... more The language of “callings” is prominent in the curriculum at Malone University. But how are we to understanding what “callings” are? This paper contrasts four different “ideal-type” views of vocation: a Reformed view, focused on our stations in life or on divine commands; a distinctly Quaker view, focused on the inner light; a contemporary cultural view that combines Reformed and Quaker emphases but focuses on meaningful work; and an Anabaptist view, focused on the call to discipleship and imitation of Jesus. A conversation between these views can deepen students’ and our own understandings of vocation. However, the Call of Jesus to transcend our station is always necessary to correct our tendencies toward glorifying our work. In this sense, the Anabaptist emphasis is a necessary corrective to other views.
Did President Obama have a grand strategy? And what will his foreign policy legacy be? Obama summ... more Did President Obama have a grand strategy? And what will his foreign policy legacy be? Obama summed up his policy in a concise maxim: “don’t do stupid s[tuff]”. Such humble and negative aims certainly demonstrated Obama’s operative strategic vision. As a result, caution became the closest thing to an Obama Doctrine.
It was a wise pendulum swing away from the expansive neoconservative Bush vision. If the Bush team swung for the fences, the Obama team would play small ball: making contact, getting things in play, running the bases with smart and achievable policy moves.
But the course of eight years also shows that the Obama Doctrine of caution did not banish peril—nor did it prohibit bold actions that were smart and small. And the Obama team did have a clear grand strategy. The only problem was that global conditions overtook it. In fact, it turned out that Obama’s strategic vision, while savvy to the world of 2008, unintentionally ended up risking insecurity in our ever-more-networked world. A world of globalizing networks—what we might call the Crabgrass World—cannot help but raise unpredictable and volatile challenges. And chief among those challenges were the Syrian civil war, the rise of ISIS, and the Syrian refugee crisis. Small ball, it turns out, doesn’t work on crabgrass.
But Obama’s legacy will also reflect some bold actions. The affirmative side of Obama’s DDSS Doctrine was to do smart stuff and small stuff. Still, these smart and small policy moves failed to stop the growth of the crabgrass-like Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a problem that threatened to dominate Obama’s entire foreign policy legacy (fairly or unfairly).