How is the book valuable for your own spiritual formation?
Supplemental Book Review: Students will be assigned an additional, supplemental text to read and provide a comprehensive book review. The recommended text for this review is Survival Guide for the Soul: How to Flourish Spiritually in a World that Pressures Us to Achieve, by Ken Shigematsu. Published by Zondervan, 2018. Students may select an alternative text for the book review with approval from the professor. Each review should include the following components:Introduction (1 paragraph – 10%): Briefly introduce the book’s purpose and author. Biographical information (education, training, experience) should be included only as it demonstrates the author’s competency to write the book.Summary (1 page – 20%): Briefly provide a minimal summary of the books content. Address the author’s primary thesis and summarize the main points or arguments by which the author defends his/her thesis.Critical Evaluation (2-3 pages – 50%): Carefully weigh the author’s claims and the arguments used to support them. Avoid bland endorsements, blanket dismissals, and trivial criticisms (like typographical mistakes). Engage the main points that relate to the author’s thesis, and use specific examples. You might consider the following:Are the claims and arguments well supported? What are the strengths and weaknesses in the author’s argumentation? Assess the arguments biblically and theologically.Does the author approach the subject with any overall perspectives or biases that condition his or her conclusions? Here may be theological, experiential, philosophical, denominational, or cultural. Does these perspectives limit or enhance the value or applicability of the book?How does the author’s presentation fare when compared to similar books? How successful is the book at accomplishing its own goals?Conclusion (1-2 paragraphs – 20%): Give your overall evaluation of the book, in light of its strengths and weaknesses. How can the book be improved? How is the book valuable for your own spiritual formation?
