Going to London. It feels big. Like it should be in capital letters. I AM GOING TO LONDON. Maybe an explicative should be thrown in there for effect. You think people are going to be different, everything is going to be different. The minute you cross the ocean and hit land the air itself will …
Category Archives: Courses
GS 554 — Reimagining the Gendered Classics: Huck Finn
Here is a growing list of themes and questions that have arisen during our discussion of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Themes: The cultural image of the teacher/reformer as a heroic savior figure/miracle worker. Huckleberry Finn’s growth as a result of loving relationships rather than instruction. The role of place in grounding identity …
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GS 554 — Reimagining the Gendered Classics: Little Women
Here is a growing list of themes and questions that have arisen during our discussion of Luisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Themes: The gendered nature of toys and products targeted at children (American Girl dolls, Spiderman vs. Disney princess backpacks, etc.). The limits of subversive elements in literature. Questions: What is the relationship between expectations …
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Meganom
There is a mountain next to our hotel. It is called Meganom. It has stood there, towering over us as we went about our lessons, watching over us as we made our daily trips to the beach (to do our homework, naturally). Being CC students, there’s no way we could have let Meganom go …
Gurzuf, Yalta, Sevastopol and More!
Our last Friday in Crimea, we students of Crimean politics and culture embarked on a four day road trip across the southern coast of the peninsula. In typical Colorado College fashion, we managed to see a remarkable amount in such a short period of time. So without further ado, here’s an account of our whirlwind …
GS 554 — Classrooms in Motion: Hip-Hop Based Education
Our discussion of Marc Lamont Hill’s Beats, Rhymes, and Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy and the Politics of Identity produced many themes and questions. Here are a few. Feel free to continue discussion by posting comments. Themes: Teachers being afraid. The importance of storytelling in cultivating meaningful relationships. The various levels of resistance (social, institutional, and …
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GS 554 — Classrooms in Motion: Digital Youth
Our discussion of S. Craig Watkins’s The Young & The Digital: What the Migration to Social-Network Sites, Games, and Anytime, Anywhere Media Means for Our Future spawned a number of thematic elements and questions for further discussion. Themes: The difference between technology as a pedagogical tool or an impressive classroom gimmick. Fear of teachers being …
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GS 554 — Classrooms in Motion: Multiculturalism
It was our privilege to have Dr. Juan Gonzalez visit our institute for two days to provide his insight, personal experiences, and research into culture and ethnicity as it relates to childhood, coming of age, and pedagogy. Here are a few of the subjects we’ve touched on in class discussion with links courtesy of Dr. …
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GS 554 — Constructing Youth
It’s day two of the summer Experienced Teacher Institute, “Coming of Age: The Culture and Literature of Youth in America.” Participants are reading and discussing selections from Huck’s Raft: A History of American Childhood by Steven Mintz. Mintz’s history of childhood in America presents and challenges the following five myths: The notion of childhood as …
Crimean Subbotnik
In the early days of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin instituted Subbotniks, or Saturdays devoting to volunteering and furthering of the public good. In that grand tradition, led by our fearless professors, we the students of Colorado College devoted this Monday afternoon to a Subbotnik worthy of the name. (The name itself comes from the …
