Historical Reflections: Sunday, June 13th

Of all of the historical figures we have studied this year, including—but definitely not limited to—Presidents, philosophers, politicians, leaders, social movement-ers, and the many everyday people that have contributed to American history & culture, who would you most like to run into in college?

Write a thoughtful, narrative blog entry in which you do all of the following:

1. Describe specifically how you would interact with this person—is he/she a professor at your university? a fellow student? a leader? visiting campus?

2. Include specific quotes from the actual person—you can creatively use these as you wish, though. For example, you might love to have Martin Luther King, Jr. as a professor, and you might use a quote from his famous letter from a Birmingham jail as a quote he might say in class one day.

3. Explain why you have chosen this person.

4. Cite at least three relevant primary sources for your quotes. If you are unsure what a primary source is, please check with me!

This blog entry is due at 11:59:59 pm on Tuesday, June 15. For honors students, this counts as an honors blog.

I would pick two people to run into on my journey through college. One would be earlier in my college experience, and it would be Martin Luther King Jr. himself. He would be my professor for my Speech class.

“Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and non-violence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weakness of our own condition, and if we are mature,we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition,”

He would teach us the simple, yet effective ways to make our language penetrate the confides of the human mind.

Martin Luther King Jr., Address at Riverside Church, New York, April

4 1967.

My own Ampersand Article.

Literary Reflections: Sunday June 6th

If you could bring one character from any one book that we have read this year with you when you go to college, who would bring? Why?

This character could be your roommate (or suite-mate or housemate or whomever), a future classmate, a friend on campus, a professor, TA, grad student, or any other person you might regularly see on campus.

In a thoughtful blog entry, explain clearly who you would choose, what role he/she might take, and why you want to bring this particular character. Be sure to include specific evidence from the character, the book/novel, or other relevant sources.

This blog entry is due at 11:59:59 pm on Monday June 14. For honors students, this counts as an honors blog.

If I had to choose one character from a book we've read this year, I would have to choose Gatsby. I believe I could learn a lot on how business works and I also believe our personalities would mesh quite well. He would simply be a friend on campus, maybe a roommate, and we would share an economics class together.