This week on Required Reading we delve into Gothic Horror and read Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley (possibly revised by Percy Shelley). Not only does this fill our horror quota for October, but allows us to segue into a modern retelling as next week we discuss the Read more…
The narrative is powerful, describing the life under his Royal Navy Officer master, the process of being sold and the purchasing of his own freedom. The part the students read describes the dreaded Middle Passage, the trade route across the middle Atlantic between Africa and the Caribbean which was the Read more…
Films are the way we interact with our culture, at least traditionally. Students today watch less and less long form entertainment, but they chose these films to find themes in. Let’s see what they find. Office Space by Elise Umuhire Office Space is a movie focused around the fictional Peter Read more…
To My Dear and Loving Husband BY ANNE BRADSTREET (1641) If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were loved by wife, then thee. If ever wife was happy in a man, Compare with me, ye women, if you can. I prize thy love more than whole Read more…
Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (excerpt) Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (excerpt) by Lauren Polli The story of Mary Rowlandson written by Mary Rowlandson is a very intriguing and captivating story about Rowlandson’s Puritan town getting attacked by the Native Read more…
One of Mike Burns’ favorites, this painting is shown during schola brevis (the first day of the course), to start the critical thinking of the students. Posing questions like: Why do you see? Why are the colors important? What would you title this piece? What is missing (assume nothing is Read more…
When Pocahontas was put out, with a Native American consultant with fake credentials, Disney decided to age up and sexualize the 10 year old girl to make the historically platonic if not paternal relationship into a romance with (the at-the-time not problematic) heart throb Mel Gibson. Let see what the Read more…
“Born in the U.S.A.” by Phoebe Schmitt “Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen is one of America’s most iconic songs played on the Fourth of July for a patriotic backdrop. However, the song is far from boasting patriotism. Springsteen was born on September 23, 1949, into a working-class family. Read more…
This week, we visit the stars above! We read The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell this episode of Required Reading. In a remarkable piece of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Anthropology and Catholicism, the Sparrow is a story of triumphs and trials and it is all the more incredible for doing so. As we Read more…
“Born in the U.S.A” Song Analysis by Lauren Polli In 1984, famous songwriter, Bruce Springsteen, released “Born in the USA”. The song starts off on a negative note, opening with lines “Born down in a dead man’s town/The first kick I took was when I hit the ground.” Springsteen is Read more…