The night of Tuesday, April 8, concluded Asbury’s 10th annual SEARCH symposium, an event where over 30 students participated in showcasing research they worked tirelessly on over the past school year. This year, Asbury invited Dr. Phil Tallon, an associate professor of theology at Houston Christian University as well as the dean of the school of Christian Thought, to be their keynote speaker for the event.
Tallon spoke to students over the course of two days, providing insight on “Big, Old, Boring Truths,” the idea that these truths will persist long after the fads of today’s culture have passed. Along with the ideas of the sturdyness of creeds and Biblical pillars, Tallon challenged his audience with his findings on disenchantment, as there is a constant pressure to manufacture a meaningful life along with a nagging feeling of disillusionment with the world around us. Using ideas and quotes from impactful figures in our literary world such as Tolkein, Chesterton, and Lewis, Tallon created a beautiful picture depicting the world as a place that deserves our interest as human beings instead of robots only destined to create a product. Tallon stated that “The world is enchanted… The bond of imagination is underwritten by the big, old truths of theology. The Bible is the biggest, most beautiful truth in the world, but the imagination can help us see it again with fresh eyes.”
Beth Groves commented, “We try to highlight a different discipline every year, and Dr. Tallon, even though his discipline is theology, he uses a lot of it by tying it into the liberal arts.” Tallon’s talk tied perfectly into what SEARCH is about, as he spoke on the need for interest and illusionment in the world; that is exactly what Asbury students did. Through a multitude of different projects ranging from the science behind green tea, a study on Alice Walker and Lucille Clifton’s view on the Black female experience, different depictions of the Biblical character Eve, etc, Asbury students exhibited an impressive sense of engagement with the world around them through these varied topics.
Political Science students Olivia Schroen and Danylo Mykhaliuk spent over a year on research involving an analysis of “Western and Russion Discourse on Ukrainian Women Before and After the Invasion,” an incredibly complicated and niche portion of research. SEARCH provided them with a place to showcase their hard work. Schroen commented, “I feel like a variety of research is overlooked in other big settings, and SEARCH is a good time for everyone to come together and actually get to see what students have been working on.”
Sherry Powers, Asbury Provost and Chief Academic Officer, commented “This exploration and celebration serve to cultivate our imaginations and to discover, create, study, perform, analyze and investigate at that spirit we coupled these experiences with spiritual disciplines that facilitate growth of imagination and understanding and knowledge and truth and faith through the renewal of our hearts and minds in the person of Jesus Christ.”
Asbury University’s students did an excellent job of engaging in the world around them, displaying their ability to think critically and research topics they are passionate about. This year’s annual SEARCH Symposium and competition celebrated the great ideas, art, and research that occur through the conversations that stem from a liberal arts education and created an occasion for students and faculty to experience varying levels of learning.
Photo courtesy of Canaan Yan.
