My Parents' Dissertations Are on ProQuest

I'm very proud of my parents, both of whom just finished their PhD programs and received their degrees. In an act of sheer blog-nepotism, here is a plug for their dissertations, which are now available on ProQuest.

My mom, Janet Katherine Smith, titled her dissertation, "Dust or Dew: Immortality in the Ancient Near East and in Psalm 49." (Incidentally, I helped edit it.) Here's the abstract:

In the Hebrew Bible, particularly in the Book of Psalms, the Book of Job, and the Prophets, there are many references to sheol , the ancient Israelite version of the nether world of the Ancient Near East. Rather than offering a timeless, theological, systematic understanding of the afterlife, references appear to be contradictory. There are few explicit references to a blissful heaven where the righteous spend eternity with loved ones and God. Those passages that hint at immortality are balanced by others suggesting that a grim and dusty existence in sheol is the final fate for man and beast alike. A few tantalizing insinuations, one of which is found in Psalm 49, suggest that there is a redemptive deliverance for the righteous from sheol by Yahweh, who will receive (take up) the believer to wherever Yahweh eternally exists. However, Psalm 49 should not be read out of the various contexts of the culture and literature of the times. The Korahite collection of psalms appears have been written or edited together to function as a worship drama, reminding the righteous follower of God's faithfulness in delivering them from former crises and in granting them a blessed city and Temple. Psalm 49 and the Korahite Psalter may have been used yearly for the pilgrimage to Zion, perhaps during the harvest when one year ended and another began and the ground awaited the rain to aid in the next year's planting. This study also follows the hints of the renewal of life in Psalms 49, 16, and 73. These psalms paved the way for a full-blown theology of resurrection and judgment day, which came full circle in the Talmudic and Apocryphal literature of the Second Temple era. Another important context for Psalm 49 is Genesis 1-3 and the culture of goddess and serpent worship. Linguistic similarities between Gen. 1-3 and Ps. 49 suggest that the message is similar... right living leads to eternal life and wrong choices pave the road to death.

My dad, Theodore C. Smith, titled his work, "Development of a competency-based curriculum for online instruction in a Christian university: The model and an example." The abstract for this one reads,

This mixed-methods study provides a foundation for a validated, competency based curriculum for an online undergraduate pastor-training degree for Sacramento Valley University (a new institution). Designing a competency-based curriculum for a specific major requires an understanding of how knowledge, skills, abilities, values, and other characteristics (KSAOs) are integrated by practitioners to successfully perform specific tasks or functions. Survey data were gathered from 169 Protestant practitioners in northern California and analyzed. These data and the analysis were provided to a panel of subject matter experts who provided qualitative input. The survey results and panel input next were used to produce an online curriculum that will encourage excellence in ministry and equip graduates with the KSAOs needed for entry-level positions as clergy. The model curriculum includes components to facilitate self-assessment (reflective learner portfolios) by students, validation of outcomes, and critical reflection by faculty leading to foster improvements in the learning program.

Congrats to both my parents for beating me to the educational finish line! Now to turn the red ink on their balance statements into black ink...