The end of this past quarter is particularly meaningful as it marks the end of my first year as a Ph.D. student and my first summer “off” in four years. After three years of year-round, full-time Fuller Seminary, I was exhausted. But I went straight into UCLA and . . . fatherhood. I’m ready for a break! Not that I’ll just be sitting around on the couch all summer long eating Bon Bons (do they still make those?). I will be working with Ra’anan Boustan on two projects: (1) a summer research mentorship grant to look into apocalyptic thought and (2) as his research assistant, indexing for a forthcoming book on religion and violence.  And I’ll also be taking care of my six month-old son. But it’s nice not to be enrolled in any classes.

But as this is the end of a challenging year, I thought I’d share some of the highlights:

• Regular lunches in the spring quarter with my UCLA colleagues Kevin and James.
• Meetings with my advisor, S. Scott Bartchy, sometimes debating the nature of apocalyptic thought and sometimes chatting about less academic things.
• Having a paper accepted for SBL this fall.
• Diving headlong into social history. I am so appreciative of my theologically oriented education at Fuller Seminary, but social history really is where I can feel my brain juices flowing. Did you know that UCLA’s history department is in the social sciences and not the humanities?
• Tackling the “son of man” problem in Bartchy’s Historical Jesus course. I am convinced that questing for the “historical Jesus” is a vast black hole, but I’m glad I gave it a whirl.
• Latin. Elementary language classes can be a pain, particularly when you have so many other research responsibilities. On the one hand, those classes can be too slow. On the other hand, they can demand too much work (particularly at UCLA)–a distraction for busy grad students. Latin is not the most important language for me, but it’s fun to work with it–Ovid and Livy have been interesting.
• Hebrew seminar in the NELC department. I was a little intimidated to take a Hebrew class with the folks who live and breathe Semitic languages non-stop, but it gave me new insights and helped improve my Hebrew skills. This seminar helped me wrestle through some exceptionally difficult concepts. I think my brain actually grew a little bit bigger.
• Sitting in on Kevin’s undergrad seminar on Paul and ancient letter writing. Good job, Kevin!

Next year will be my last year of classes. In the course of the year, I will be enrolling in Bartchy’s class on the religious environment of early Christianity, a seminar on Eusebius with Claudia Rapp, probably something on Roman history with Ronald Mellor, finish up with Latin in the Winter, and a few other things. I’ll be taking the German and French exams. I hope to be a TA–but our budgets are being slashed, so I’m not sure I’ll get a spot (at UCLA, TA’s get their own sections to teach and its very competitive). If not, I’ll probably be grading. The third year will be teaching and preparing for my comprehensive exams. Then, it’s just dissertation or bust.

His due date was actually slightly before the break began, just before finals week. Hmmm. Looking a bit less academically “convenient.” As it turned out, our boy thought he’d wait it out and came two weeks late and during the break. Before you think that this eased my end-of-quarter responsibilities, consider that rather than having a baby to care for, the situation left me with a very pregnant wife to serve (thus fulfilling our marital vows) just as the quarter was coming to a close. Some academic responsibilities were necessarily put on hold.

When Declan (our son) finally did come (after some encouragement), however, I was not “in the clear” with my academic responsibilities. I had grading to do. And lots of it. I had been used to Fuller Seminary’s policy of allowing professors until the second week of the following quarter–no matter how long the break is–to complete and submit grades. As a student, I didn’t like the wait. As a grader, I appreciated the breathing room. Now, at UCLA, my appreciation for Fuller’s policy is even deeper. You see, at UCLA, no matter how many students are on your class–thirty or three hundred–you have about one week to grade your assignments. I was the grader for a class of 120 students and my son was born on the one week I had to grade. The situation left me with final exams to grade, whilst on the maternity floor.

Such was my introduction to life as an academic dad.

Since I have intended this blog to explore the strange world of academia, I thought I might start blogging about my own transition into this world. I have seen some articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education in the past on similar themes. I will have to revisit them and see how true they have become for me. When I call this series of posts “acadadia” I do not seek to diminish academic moms, who face their own series of challenges. My own wife is very accomplished professionally, with more letters after her name than I have (at least so far–our competition isn’t over yet), and has plenty of challenges as she considers what it will mean for her to have a strong career and also be a dedicated mom. I would simply like to explore what it means for me to be a devoted father (and husband!) while also tackling my academic goals.

So many people have warned me about the challenges of a doctoral program. And now I am learning them first hand.

More to come.

Just in time to give me a most profound Christmas, my son was born one week ago. Declan Patrick McCullough was born on December 19th, 2008 at 1:52am (two weeks past his due date–already a procrastinator). He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs. 3 oz. and was 21 in. long. My wife was majestic in her strength during her med-free delivery. We have since been caught up in the exhausting emotional whirlwind that is the first week of parenthood.

Declan is Gaelic for “Full of Goodness.” Actually, the meaning is apparently unknown, but that is the meaning that we intend out of the possible options  (if the hermeneutic of his name lies in the intent of the namers). Saint Declan was a fifth century Irish missionary and contender for the patron saint of Ireland.

(A wooden sculpture of Saint Declan of Ardmore)

“On the night of Declan’s birth a wondrous sign was revealed to all, that is to the people who were in the neighbourhood of the birthplace; this was a ball of fire which was seen blazing on summit of the house in which the child lay, until it reached up to heaven and down again, and it was surrounded by a multitude of angels. It assumed the shape of a ladder such as the Patriarch, Jacob saw [Genesis 28:12]. The persons who saw and heard these things wondered at them. They did not know (for the true faith had not yet been preached to them or in this region) that it was God who (thus) manifested His wondrous power (works) in the infant, His chosen child.” ~Life of St. Declan