In which I assess what my students have gained from having attended a public liberal arts college.
Tag Archives: St. Mary's College of Maryland
A Public Liberal Arts Education
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Jean Giraudoux, Liberal arts education, Madwoman of Chaillot, public education, public liberal arts college, Ronald Reagan, St. Mary's College of Maryland Comments closed
Commencement à la Wordsworth
Tomorrow our students graduate and they will sing a school song that draws heavily on Wordsworth. The song also has an unexpected twist not intended by the author that always gets a laugh.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged commencement, Jennifer Cognard-Black, school songs, St. Mary's College of Maryland, Tintern Abbey Comments closed
Lit for Handling a College’s Race Problems
After a series of arson fires and racist incidents, I turned to works in each of my courses to address the situation. In Intro to Lit, Lucille Clifton’s poetry; in Early British Literature survey, Aphra Behn’s “Oroonoko”; in British Fantasy, “Perdido Street Station.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "wishes for sons", Aphra Behn, China Miéville, college life, Lucille Clifton, Oroonoko, Perdido Street Station, race tension, racism, St. Mary's College of Maryland Comments closed
My College Owes Its Founding to a Novel
My college, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, is celebrating its 175th birthday this year. The school owes its existence to an 1838 novel, John Pendleton Kennedy’s “Rob of the Bowl.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged archaeological site, John Kennedy Pendleton, Rob of the Bowl, St. Mary's City, St. Mary's College of Maryland Comments closed
Making the Invisible Visible
Tuajuanda Jordan, our college’s newest president, turned to Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” to articulate her vision for the future.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison, St. Mary's College of Maryland, Tuajuanda Jordan Comments closed
The Healing Power of Talking about Race
Race, as we learned from watching a play based on student experiences with the subject, is more painful when we avoid it than we we confront it head-on.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Caleen Jennings, Hear and Now, racism, St. Mary's College of Maryland Comments closed
Mold Causing Problems? Bring in a Ship
Our students, displaced by mold, are being housed in a cruise ship. A campus production of “As You Like It” may have given administrators the idea.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 2000 Leagues under the Sea, As You Like It, Beatles, Education, Herman Melville, Jules Verne, Katherine Anne Porter, Moby Dick, Mold, Ship of Fools, St. Mary's College of Maryland, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Faulkner and a Love for the Liberal Arts
Dr. Joseph Urgo wove William Faulkner into his inauguration speech as the new president of St. Mary’s College. Above all, Urgo said, “St. Mary’s exists in the public trust, offering the love of liberal learning–an impassioned, dedicated, humanistic endeavor—to all segments of society.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Absolom Absolom, Education, Joseph Urgo, St. Mary's College of Maryland, William Faulkner Comments closed
