Core E-Bulletin for Tuesday April 5, 2011

April 5, 2011 at 4:25 pm

Core Lectures this week:
CC102: Professor Lenk on the Gospel of John 4/5
CC106: Professor Warkentin on How does the environment impact the organism? 4/5
CC106: professor Finnerty on How do relationships among organisms evolve? 4/7
CC202: Hallie Speight on Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment 4/5
CC204: Professor Corgan on Inequality in International Relations 4/7

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Events this week…

* THE CORE DIGITAL PROJECT. Help us make a video for the Core website and a video to celebrate the sophomores who have completed two years in Core. Stop by the Core office to sign out a Flip Video camera for a day. Give us your best 2-4 minute take and return the camera and file to the office. We want to see funny, engaging, thoughtful, nostalgic or serious reflections on Core texts and experiences. All videos should be submitted by April 15. The makers of the top 2 video clips in first and second year will each win a Flip Video camera. Edited versions of the files will be shown at the Core Banquet on May 4.

* THE ECOLYMPICS. What can you do to tread more lightly on the environment? It is not too late to participate in the Core Ecolympics, running this week and next, by registering at http://www.bu.edu/core/ecolympics. Check out the calendar for more events: http://www.bu.edu/core/ecolympics/calendar.

* MFA TOURS. CC102 students, please note that guided tours to the MFA have now begun. This week’s tours include:
• Wednesday, April 6, with Prof. Cirulli – Meet in Core office at 4 PM
• Friday, April 8, with Profs. Eckel and Hamill – Meet in Core office at 3 PM
• Sunday, April 9, with Prof. Eckel – Meet at the Museum’s Fenway entrance at 11 AM
Please sign up in CAS 119. All info and the guide can be found at http://www.bu.edu/core/mfa.

* ARISTOPHANES. On Friday, April 8th, see the annual Aristophanes play reading in which students from Core and Classics are pitted against faculty. This year, they will be performing The Wasps. See Profs Eckel, Nelson, Esposito, Roochnik and others appear like you have never seen them before. Come early for pizza and see Fish Worship blues band (Jim Jackson, Brian Jorgensen, Wayne Snyder and Jay Samons). CAS Stone B50, 5 PM for pizza; 5:30 for the band; 6:30 for the show. Free to all.

* BOOK CLUB. Core alumni are invited to attend this month’s EnCore Book Club meeting, to discuss Carl Zimmer’s book, Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea. Wednesday, April 6th, 6 PM, Alumni Lounge, 595 Comm Ave. Register at https://secure.www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/BUAR/event/showEventForm.jsp?form_id=71724.

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Coming Up:
* “The Battle of Algiers,” a film screening presented as part of the Core Film Series. Tuesday, April 12th, CAS 211, pizza at 6 PM followed by the film. See the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi2246247449.

* Global Day of Service, April 16th, sponsored by the Alumni Association and Community Service Center — a great opportunity for students, faculty, and alumni to volunteer in Boston at a variety of sites for one day. Students can register for GDS sites individually, or larger student groups can also sign up and do great service together. To register vist http://www.bu.edu/dayofservice. There are over 40 sites offered, featuring places like the Perkins School for the Blind, Franklin Park Zoo, and Cambridge Community Center. Lunch, transportation, and a t-shirt will be provided. Email bu.dayofservice@gmail.com or contact the Community Service Center at 617-353-4710 with any questions.

* Also on April 16th: Bach’s St. Matthew Passion by the Marsh Chapel Choir and Collegium. Admission is free with valid student ID, location is Marsh Chapel.

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Get connected with Core!
Check out our blog: http://bu.edu/core/blog
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/BUCore; Twitter: http://twitter.com/corecurriculum
Make sure to bookmark the Core calendar at http://www.bu.edu/core/calendar/
Do you have any ideas, or comments about Core activities? Email Professor Kyna Hamill at kyna@bu.edu

By CAS Core Curriculum | Posted in e-bulletin | Tagged | Comments (0)

The Ecolympics on BU Today

April 5, 2011 at 2:22 pm

The Core Curriculum's Ecolympics were recently covered on BU Today, complete with comprehensive explanations on the event as well as an informative video.

The Ecolympics is not a Core Curriculum exclusive event. Jillian Ferraro (CAS’13), one of the event’s organizers says “I believe that everyone can make a difference in bettering our environment. The problem is that not many people know how to start. By competing in Ecolympics, I’m hoping that people will realize that there are little steps they can take that will make a big impact.” Tell everyone you know, Core Student or not, to join in making a difference.

The Ecolympics consists of several events geared toward reducing our carbon footprint and formulating more environmentally conscious habits. For example, Plastic Schmastic cuts down on plastic waste and encourages the usage of eco-friendly alternatives. More information on the types of events and how to sign up can be found at http://www.bu.edu/core/ecolympics/signup/

Be sure to participate in the Ecolympic's external activities as well. There will be a fair-trade seminar presented by the fair-trade group Equal Exchange on Wednesday, April 13, at 6 p.m. Fair-trade chocolate will also be provided, according to Professor Daniel Hudon of the Core Curriculum.

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Analects of the Core: Dostoyevsky on sarcasm

April 1, 2011 at 11:13 am

Sarcasm: the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the privacy of their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded.

- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground



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Calliope’s Cyrano: Tonight!

April 1, 2011 at 8:05 am

The Calliope Project, a campus theater troupe composed of Core students and alumni, is putting up a production of Cyrano de Bergerac as their mainstage show this semester. Last weekend's opening performances were received quite enthusiastically. You have the chance to see the Calliope players in either of the last two shows, either tonight or tomorrow at 7 PM in CGS 511.

Cyrano is directed by Core alumna Elizabeth Ramirez, with assistant directing/ fight directing by James Melo (with advice from Core professors Kyna Hamill and David Green).  The Calliope promoters assures us that it promises to be absolutely spectacular, well worth the price of entry, and is an experience that should not be missed.

Find photos and more information at the Facebook event page.

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Why Take the Core? Part III

April 1, 2011 at 7:15 am

In these few weeks before the freshmen begin registering for their Fall 2011 courses on April 17th, several Core faculty and alumni will be sharing their answers to the question, Why take the Core?

Why Take the Core? Part III: The Skills You'll Develop

Hannah Franke
Core ’12, CAS ‘14

I cannot say enough good things about the Core. Although the first year is an enriching and challenging experience, the second year of the Humanities digs deeper into important questions about the human condition. The second year of Core Humanities covers a wide range of disciplines—I think this is extremely valuable. My time in Core has truly enriched my whole academic experience. I learned how to think critically, to participate in discussions (which really pays off down the road) and to write clear, concise, well-reasoned papers. Second-year Core strengthens the skills you learned in the first year of Core. You also grow much closer to your classmates which is a great change of pace from the big classes in other programs at BU.

By CAS Core Curriculum | Posted in Great Ideas | Tagged | Comments (0)

Why Take the Core? Part II

March 31, 2011 at 10:17 am

In these few weeks before the freshmen begin registering for their Fall 2011 courses on April 17th, several Core faculty and alumni will be sharing their answers to the question, Why take the Core? In the first installment, posted yesterday, Prof. Jay Samons of the Department of Classical Studies placed the Core into a historical context . Below, he'll completes his answer by considering the value of a Core education.

Why Take the Core? Part II: So Why Choose the Core Curriculum?

Loren J. Samons II
Chair, Department of Classical Studies

If you don’t want to risk $50,000 a year on “experimental” education, B.U.’s Core Curriculum provides students with a proven method of education, one that has generated the vast majority of great ideas, great discoveries, and great works of art.

But perhaps there are even more important reasons to choose such an education. The chief quality of a “free” person (the liber of the “liberal arts”), one might argue, is his ability to make and implement choices about his own life. That means he must be fitted out as both an ethical and a rational creature, and one able to acquire the knowledge he needs to make decisions. Of these three areas—reason, ethics, and knowledge—the first is an unchanging quality that can be taught through various means (mathematics, logic, the scientific method, etc.). Ethics, it seems, is either an unchanging set of principles arrived at by reason or through other means (including the irrational) or a changing set of values dependent on culture and circumstances. The argument between these two points of view—one absolute and the other relativistic—is a permanent aspect of the human condition and must be studied both historically and philosophically: that is, one must attempt to understand the nature of the argument as it has existed through the ages and the tools that might be used to answer the question.

Only the third area, knowledge, can be claimed always to depend on the time in which one lives. Knowledge grows or shrinks, is discovered and lost and rediscovered. It comprises technology as well as fundamental facts about the universe. Knowledge may be applied to the study of reason and to the study of ethics (e.g., historical knowledge), but it comprises only one (and arguably not the most important) input for their study.

The best form of “general education,” founded on the principle of the liberal arts, should therefore comprise a course of study that addresses three fundamental areas: reason, ethics, and knowledge. Thus the Core Curriculum strives to provide a student with a baseline of skills and information necessary for her to make rational, ethical, and informed decisions about her own life. More than two millennia of such education have identified certain texts, disciplines, and data that have successfully provided general education. Nevertheless, recognition of the changing world around us and the expansion (and contraction) of knowledge through the ages demands that we continually address the question of whether long-ago or more recently identified tools for providing an “education” continue to do so effectively. This requires humility in the face of those who have gone (and succeeded) before us even as we attempt to meet questions or situations they may not have faced.

In short, the canon of great works and approaches to education is not immutable, but it has been refined by many generations of human experience and validated by the very world in which we currently live. It therefore demands our respect. For that reason, the process of creating a curriculum like that of the Core always looks in two directions: backwards to determine what has worked in the past and forward to determine how new methods or tools might be adopted to meet the same goals. A student educated in Boston University’s Core Curriculum is, therefore, a student poised to confront a changing environment armed with the best of what previous generations have learned and with the skills, curiosity, and character necessary to acquire new knowledge and meet new challenges.

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Click here to read the first part of Prof. Samons' answer to the question, Why take the Core?

By CAS Core Curriculum | Posted in Core Lecturers, Great Personalities | Comments (0)

Analects of the Core: Thoreau on the body of the world

March 31, 2011 at 9:27 am

Here lies the body of this world,
Whose soul alas to hell is hurled.
This golden youth long since was past,
Its silver manhood went as fast,
An iron age drew on at last;
'Tis vain its character to tell,
The several fates which it befell,
What year it died, when 'twill arise,
We only know that here it lies.

- Henry David Thoreau, Epitaph on the World

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Why Take the Core? Part I: Experimental Education

March 30, 2011 at 4:09 pm

In these few weeks before the freshmen begin registering for their Fall 2011 courses on April 17th, several Core faculty and alumni will be sharing their answers to the question, Why take the Core? In this first installment, Prof. Jay Samons of the Department of Classical Studies, places Core in a historical perspective. Tomorrow, he'll give the second half of his argument for continuing with Core into the sophomore year.

Why Take the Core? Part I: Experimental Education

Loren J. Samons II
Chair, Department of Classical Studies

Boston University’s Core Curriculum participates in the only tradition of study that has been proved to produce educated and well-rounded human beings. For over two thousand years, education consisted primarily of the study of language, literature, sciences, and music. By the time of the Roman Empire, such study had come to be known as the “liberal” arts, from the Latin word liber, “a free man.” Such study comprised the subjects and skills necessary for a person who would make his mark on the world by means of his mind, rather than by means of his body.

Stemming from ancient Greece, this form of education dominated the Roman empire and carried into the Middle Ages, where the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy) provided the foundation for a thousand years of learning. With the development of universities (from about the twelfth century), specialized study of subjects like law, theology, and medicine emerged, but the liberal arts continued to serve as the proper subjects for those aspiring to an “education.”

Through the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment, into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries’ industrial and scientific revolutions, the liberal arts continued to provide the basic form of study in virtually all major institutions of education. Because of this, nearly every great philosopher, poet, artist, or scientist who received an education, was educated in the liberal arts. Well into the twentieth century, study of the liberal arts continued to generate the leaders in virtually every field of human endeavor.

Nevertheless, by the middle of the twentieth century new forms of “education” had taken hold in major colleges and universities. Fields unknown to the creators of the liberal arts increasingly dominated undergraduate education: business, management, communication, and education itself (as a science) emerged as powerful and popular forces within the academy. Yet the fact remains that such forms of “education” remain entirely experimental. Since education in the liberal arts has generated over two millennia of empirical data demonstrating its ability to produce intelligent and good people, surely we must wait at least a couple of centuries before pronouncing whether these newer subjects can be equally successful!

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Click here to read the second part of Prof. Samons' answer to the question, Why take the Core?

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Analects of the Core: Burke on delight in the misfortune of others

March 30, 2011 at 3:30 pm

I am convinced we have a degree of delight, and that no small one, in the real misfortunes and pains of others; for let the affection be what it will in appearance, if it does not make us shun such objects, if on the contrary it induces us to approach them, if it makes us dwell upon them, in this case I conceive we must have a delight or pleasure of some species or other in contemplating objects of this kind... Our delight, in cases of this kind, is very greatly heightened, if the sufferer be some excellent person who sinks under an unworthy fortune...For terror is a passion which always produce delight when it does not press too closely; and pity is a passion accompanied with pleasure, because it arises from love and social affection...If this passion was simply painful, we would shun with the greatest care all persons and places that could excite such a passion...The delight we have in such things, hinders us from shunning scenes of misery; and the pain we feel prompts us to relieve ourselves in relieving those who suffer; and all this antecedent to any reasoning, by an instinct that works us to its own purposes without our concurrence.

- Edmund Burke, On the Sublime and Beautiful, ("The Effects of Sympathy in the Distresses of Others")

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Cyrano de Bergerac Trailer

March 29, 2011 at 6:56 pm

From the 2011 production of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac
by The Calliope Project. Sponsored by Boston University's Core Curriculum.

Directed by Elizabeth Ramirez.

Trailer by John Sanderson
with permission from the Hal Leonard Corporation

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