Meet Studia Vitae instructors Dr. David Schmitt and Dr. Hannah Kroonblawd

In May, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis’ Dr. David Schmitt and Concordia Nebraska’s Dr. Hannah Kroonblawd will partner to serve as instructors in Concordia University, Nebraska’s non-credit continuing education and lifelong learning program Studia Vitae, teaching a course titled “Forming the Christian Imagination Through Literature.” Studia Vitae offers Christ-centered continuing education opportunities in a variety of focused areas through an online scheduled and self-paced learning platform.  

Dr. David R. Schmitt is the Gregg H. Benidt Memorial Professor of Homiletics and Literature and professor of Practical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, where he has been a faculty member since 1995. His interests and areas of expertise include preaching, the intersections of faith and culture, particularly literary culture, spiritual autobiography and the devotional life.  

Dr. Hannah Kroonblawd is an assistant professor of English at Concordia University Nebraska, where she also serves as the university archivist. As a poet, she writes about familial grief, collective belief and personal geographies. Her teaching expertise includes creative writing, composition and literature.  

Schmitt and Kroonblawd’s course is intended for anyone interested in literature and faith and will introduce participants to a selection of short stories and poems that address a world that is beautiful, broken and redeemed. Each session will explore a particular theme—attention, love, grief, compassion, joy—and how specific works of literature give voice to the human condition in both its frailty and its salvation through Christ. The course will encourage participants’ close reading skills and allow for reflection, discussion and application of what it means to read well and imagine well.   

Registration is now open for this course and additional offerings in Concordia University, Nebraska’s Studia Vitae program. Each CEU course is $150 and is delivered in six one-hour sessions. Exclusive pricing is available for program participants who are members of preferred partner organizations. The short, focused sessions are available as scheduled webinars that will also be recorded for future viewing. Enrollment is flexible and open to anyone with no prerequisites required, and no commitment is needed to take additional classes.  

Registration is available at ceu.cune.edu.   

For more information about Studia Vitae, please visit cune.edu/ceu.  

For more information about preferred partnerships, please visit cune.edu/partners.