This is a big risk. We usually don’t do posts so openly interactive here at The Way of Improvement Leads Home, so there is a very real possibility that no one will respond to the question I pose in the title of the post. That would be embarrassing so I am asking my faithful readers to comment.
I actually got the idea from George Williams at ProfHacker, but I am tailoring it for my readership.
So how about it? What are you up to this summer? Are you starting a new job? Doing an internship or summer program? Working on a new book or presenting a conference paper? Visiting a Revolutionary War or Civil War battlefield? Taking a historically-related vacation?
I will start things off. This summer I am planning to:
–Do a bit more promotion for Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?
—Attend part of the SHEAR Conference in Philadelphia
—Work on a new contracted book tentatively entitled “The Power to Transform: A Christian Reflection on the Study of the Past.”
–Spend a week directing the Greenwich Tea Burning Project
–Take a vacation in a remote corner of the Outer Banks, NC
–Try to write a book proposal for “A Presbyterian Rebellion: The American Revolution in the Mid-Atlantic.”
–Help my basketball-playing daughters work on their games.
How about you?
RECOMMENDED READING
Anyone who wants to believe that Independence Day is a Christian holiday should read Frederick Douglass’s “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?” David Barton speaks at First Baptist-Dallas. 
What are you reading this summer? 
FORUM: The New Shape of Christian Public Discourse 
Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?
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I am in grad school, so I am taking classes. But, my wife is having a baby. I think that is enough for my summer.
(1) Working feverishly to finish my book manuscript on progressive evangelicalism;
(2) Spending necessary breaks devoted to family time (pool, playgrounds, etc.) and a few house projects; and
(3) Not doing course prep or grading papers!
I joked with a colleague the other day about making a bumper sticker that reads: “I'd rather be revising.” Well, that's what I'll be up to this summer, along with enjoying a break from teaching duties. Where are you headed in the outer banks? Ocracoke is one of my favorite places in the world.
– complete two chapters of my dissertation on Home Missions in the Early Republic.
– submit an article for publication consideration
– present a paper at SHEAR in Philadelphia (along with a certain proprietor of this blog)
– research at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia
– take a weekend vacation with my family to a Texas beach
– hone my banjo skills
High hopes. But I think I can make it happen!
Thanks, guys. It sounds like everyone will be busy this summer.
Ben: Congrats (in advance) on the baby.
Brantley: Get that book done!
TJ: I can't remember the name of the town (my wife booked it–our first trip to OBX), but it is in the 4X4 part of the island where the wild horses run.
Brian: Look forward to meeting you in Philly this summer. And don't be surprised if you see me at the PHS.
John,
If you want more, here goes:
1. Have fun with my family, however and whenever possible.
2. Read AP exams
3. Write a chapter for my history of the great books idea/M.J. Adler project.
4. Write a review essay on Conkin's *Puritans and Pragmatists* (a review for which I'm only half qualified).
5. Write two chapter for a co-authored project on the transnational history of the great books idea.
6. Prepare as much as possible for 1.5 new course preps this fall (one new course, and one to update).
– TL
Thanks, Tim. Sounds very busy. I spent a good 7 years grading AP US History exams when it was at Trinity University in San Antonio but bailed out when they moved to the convention center in Louisville. I hope you make some good progress on your Great Books book!
It looks readers of this blog will be well-represented at SHEAR this summer! I will be presenting a paper there as well, about an overseer of the poor from early republican Providence, Rhode Island.
I'll also be writing a book, Paupers and Overseers, based on my dissertation, and visiting family in central Europe!
Let me check in as another person heading to SHEAR. I'll look forward to seeing John, Brian, and Gabriel there.
Also, I'll be doing AP Grading, so maybe Tim and I should find each other.
I'll also be working on revising a book manuscript.
And I have two articles due in the Fall, so I *should* start working on them.
AND, we'll be welcoming a new baby in August.
Is that enough? I'm sure glad we academics “have the summer off”!