After reading the chapters by Thusen and especially Fisher, it would seem that Christian social action isn't as mainstream today as it was back in the early twentieth century. I'm not sure if I can think of any characters today who would parallel the highly political Father Coghlin or Father Duffy, or Al Smith, who ran against Herbert Hoover for office and whose Catholic religion was very controversial. It seems that today, government social programs have overshadowed the Christian social movement, and perhaps taken the wind out of it's sails, as they've decreased the necessity of such a movement. But I thought it was interesting when Dorothy Day stated her disapproval of government social programs, saying that they enslaved the poor in a dependant relationship with the federal government. This stood out to me, as most workers fighting for the poor and suffering support federal social programs. Along with this, it seemed that while Catholics in the early twentieth century spanned the political spectrum, more were aligned with a liberal viewpoint. Today, on the other hand, Catholics still span the political spectrum, but I would estimate that more align themselves with a more conservative way of thinking. This change also interested me.
But politics and social programs aside, Catholics and other Christians today are certainly still concerned with the welfare of the poor. This is exemplified in our own Loras college, with the many social trips that students have taken around the world. And even around the Dubuque community, Loras students participate in service for the poor. The Christian churches around the community still do a small part in social service, but I feel that it just isn't as strong as it was back in the early twentieth century, as described by Thusen and Fisher. You certainly don't see anything like what Dorothy Day started today. But at the same time, we aren't in the throes of a Great Depression like in the '30s (at least, not yet).
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Hypothetical local history project
A local environment that I might try to write a history about would be my home of Mt. Greenwood, a neighborhood in Chicago. I would put together factual data by looking at records—such as when the neighborhood was founded, when it became part of Chicago, who was mayor when it became part of Chicago, who have been the Chicago mayors since, When was the Mt. Greenwood grammar school established, when was the Agricultural High School established, why is there a public agricultural high school in Chicago, etc. Along with the public schools, I would look up the history on private institutions, such as St. Christina, the Catholic grammar school. I would try to find statistics on the demographic break-down of the neighborhood, how it evolved (if it evolved) over the years, and so on and so forth. Getting the dry, black and white statistical data really wouldn’t be a problem. What would become more complicated (but more fun) would be coloring in the rest of the history, filling it in with personal stories. One aspect I could focus on might be the high percentage of Chicago police and firefighters that live in Mt. Greenwood, and why it is the case that so many of them live there. To investigate this, I could talk to and interview police and firefighters who live in the neighborhood and get their take on it. I could also talk to people at the Agricultural School about the farm field that they own, which is the last farm field in Chicago.
I could also talk to senior citizens who have lived in Mt. Greenwood their whole lives, and what it was like growing up there, and how it’s changed. I remember walking my dog—a sporting breed—in the park last year and meeting an old man who started telling me about his youth. He said that the strip mall less than a mile away from my house used to be a pond, and around it there was a field full of pheasants. They used to go bird hunting in the field, and one time a police officer even stopped traffic for them so that their dog could run into the street and retrieve a downed bird. Hearing this old man’s story amazed me…the field he described is now a parking lot, the pond has been drained to build a strip mall, and there is nowhere to bird-hunt legally within at least an hour’s drive (probably more) of my house. It was like he was describing a whole different world to me. I never would have guessed that he was actually describing my home town. Just hearing this story really made me realize how much drastic change a person witnesses in his/her lifetime. It made me wonder, when I’m an old man, how much the world will have changed from how it is now.
It is these kinds of stories that I would try to find to bring color and life to my history. The obstacles, of course, would occur when I would need to go further back in time than any living person could remember. I would have to rely on stories and histories that have been recorded, and as Kammen points out, any recorder of history is going to be unable to avoid bias in his/her writing. Even a primary source like the man in the park that I talked to is going to give his own version of the story. For example, a driver stopped by the police officer so that the dog could retrieve a bird might have thought that the whole situation was ridiculous, and might have been happy to see such activity put to an end.
In any case, any personal testimony or stories that I include in my history, either taken from real people or from writings, I would need to take in with a grain of salt, and try to understand the environment and circumstances from which a given source was coming.
As far as the format of how I would write it, that would probably be decided depending on the kind of information I discovered, and what factors I felt played the largest role in Mt. Greenwood being the neighborhood it is today. The logical place might be to start with the neighborhood’s founding, and go from there.
I could also talk to senior citizens who have lived in Mt. Greenwood their whole lives, and what it was like growing up there, and how it’s changed. I remember walking my dog—a sporting breed—in the park last year and meeting an old man who started telling me about his youth. He said that the strip mall less than a mile away from my house used to be a pond, and around it there was a field full of pheasants. They used to go bird hunting in the field, and one time a police officer even stopped traffic for them so that their dog could run into the street and retrieve a downed bird. Hearing this old man’s story amazed me…the field he described is now a parking lot, the pond has been drained to build a strip mall, and there is nowhere to bird-hunt legally within at least an hour’s drive (probably more) of my house. It was like he was describing a whole different world to me. I never would have guessed that he was actually describing my home town. Just hearing this story really made me realize how much drastic change a person witnesses in his/her lifetime. It made me wonder, when I’m an old man, how much the world will have changed from how it is now.
It is these kinds of stories that I would try to find to bring color and life to my history. The obstacles, of course, would occur when I would need to go further back in time than any living person could remember. I would have to rely on stories and histories that have been recorded, and as Kammen points out, any recorder of history is going to be unable to avoid bias in his/her writing. Even a primary source like the man in the park that I talked to is going to give his own version of the story. For example, a driver stopped by the police officer so that the dog could retrieve a bird might have thought that the whole situation was ridiculous, and might have been happy to see such activity put to an end.
In any case, any personal testimony or stories that I include in my history, either taken from real people or from writings, I would need to take in with a grain of salt, and try to understand the environment and circumstances from which a given source was coming.
As far as the format of how I would write it, that would probably be decided depending on the kind of information I discovered, and what factors I felt played the largest role in Mt. Greenwood being the neighborhood it is today. The logical place might be to start with the neighborhood’s founding, and go from there.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Nussbaum reading
I wasn't exactly sure what the term "Liberal Arts" meant before coming to Loras, but after three years here, I think that having received this type of education has been invaluable. To me, being educated at a Liberal Arts school means being well-rounded. It is what makes the difference between a "college" and a "trade school."
Nussbaum mentioned how in Europe, students pick from a young age what field they want to go into, and what line of work they want to follow, and then the remainder of their education is studying specifically for that line of work. I remember hearing the same thing from Spanish students when I was in Spain, and talking about our schools. They were surprised to hear about how we really don't need to choose what we're going to do for a living--well, sometimes even until after college graduation.
I'm glad that we have our Liberal Arts college system here in the U.S., because it not only gives students flexibility and allows them to wait until they better know themselves before deciding how they want to spend the rest of their lives, but also because it better prepares students for anything that might come their way. A Liberal Arts education challenges you to think critically, and to think outside the box. It requires you to take a wide variety of courses, in addition to your declared major. This continues to help students after graduation and throughout life, as they come out well rounded and better able to handle most challenges that come their way.
Martha Nussbaum also talks about how Liberal Arts colleges challenge students to rethink their values that they had before coming in. This of course, she says, might be a concern to parents who have instilled their own values in their children, and don't want to see those values challenged. Nussbaum has left-wing challengers too, who worry that "argument is subversive of democratic values."
While I agree with much of what Nussbaum talks about--how students should be open-minded, should be challenged in their beliefs and forced to defend or rethink the values passed onto them by their parents--I think that this is not entirely the case with our actual college system. In chapter 1, Nussbaum talks about how campuses "'sting' students into rethinking their values." However, if a student enters already with progressive, liberal values, I doubt that that student would really be "stung" in the same way a more moderate or conservative student might. The ideal situation would be if professors were all neutral (at least on the outside) and played the devil's advocate for both sides, challenging a student's values regardless of whether that student were conservative or liberal. But Academia as a whole is, by nature, made up mainly of left-minded people, and the values of liberal-minded students are normaly encouraged and fueled, while the values of conservative-minded students are challgenged and, as often becomes the case, forced into suppression. As for moderate students, or students who come into college without a foothold in either progressim or conservatism, they tend to leave more liberal-minded as well.
Aside from this, however, the Liberal Arts education is a positive thing, and in my opinion is invaluable to a student's preparation for life in general. It also readys students for service, as they have already been taught about and exposed to other cultures in their classes. Also, they have normally read books or other works that educate them about the situation of the impoverished and lower-class. So when they enter impoverisehd neighborhoods to do service, they have an appreciation for the less fortunate that they might not have had before.
We can see from the many service trips done by Loras students that Liberal Arts college students do take a very real interest in service, which I think is a testament to the effectiveness of the Liberal Arts system.
Nussbaum mentioned how in Europe, students pick from a young age what field they want to go into, and what line of work they want to follow, and then the remainder of their education is studying specifically for that line of work. I remember hearing the same thing from Spanish students when I was in Spain, and talking about our schools. They were surprised to hear about how we really don't need to choose what we're going to do for a living--well, sometimes even until after college graduation.
I'm glad that we have our Liberal Arts college system here in the U.S., because it not only gives students flexibility and allows them to wait until they better know themselves before deciding how they want to spend the rest of their lives, but also because it better prepares students for anything that might come their way. A Liberal Arts education challenges you to think critically, and to think outside the box. It requires you to take a wide variety of courses, in addition to your declared major. This continues to help students after graduation and throughout life, as they come out well rounded and better able to handle most challenges that come their way.
Martha Nussbaum also talks about how Liberal Arts colleges challenge students to rethink their values that they had before coming in. This of course, she says, might be a concern to parents who have instilled their own values in their children, and don't want to see those values challenged. Nussbaum has left-wing challengers too, who worry that "argument is subversive of democratic values."
While I agree with much of what Nussbaum talks about--how students should be open-minded, should be challenged in their beliefs and forced to defend or rethink the values passed onto them by their parents--I think that this is not entirely the case with our actual college system. In chapter 1, Nussbaum talks about how campuses "'sting' students into rethinking their values." However, if a student enters already with progressive, liberal values, I doubt that that student would really be "stung" in the same way a more moderate or conservative student might. The ideal situation would be if professors were all neutral (at least on the outside) and played the devil's advocate for both sides, challenging a student's values regardless of whether that student were conservative or liberal. But Academia as a whole is, by nature, made up mainly of left-minded people, and the values of liberal-minded students are normaly encouraged and fueled, while the values of conservative-minded students are challgenged and, as often becomes the case, forced into suppression. As for moderate students, or students who come into college without a foothold in either progressim or conservatism, they tend to leave more liberal-minded as well.
Aside from this, however, the Liberal Arts education is a positive thing, and in my opinion is invaluable to a student's preparation for life in general. It also readys students for service, as they have already been taught about and exposed to other cultures in their classes. Also, they have normally read books or other works that educate them about the situation of the impoverished and lower-class. So when they enter impoverisehd neighborhoods to do service, they have an appreciation for the less fortunate that they might not have had before.
We can see from the many service trips done by Loras students that Liberal Arts college students do take a very real interest in service, which I think is a testament to the effectiveness of the Liberal Arts system.
Monday, September 7, 2009
1st post
When I first thought about what service work I've done in the past, I didn't think I'd have anything to say. I certainly haven't done anything too fancy, like going abroad to poorer countries to build houses or anything like that, but I realize that I have done a little around my community.
When I was in grammar school, I used to go every so often with a school group to a foster home. We would hang out with the foster kids for a day, play ball with them, eat dinner with them. A number of them were handicapped or had other disibilities, such as one boy who was blind. We basically would interact with them for the day, and everyone would really enjoy it.
Another thing I used to do when I was younger was go around to different nursing homes and play my violin for elderly people. Again, the people living in the homes seemed to really enjoy it, and the nurses who worked there used to tell me how much they liked it. It just felt good to know that I was making some of them happy.
Something that I'm looking forward to with this project is, first of all, working with a pastor of a different Christian religion. I've gone to a Catholic grammar school, high school, and now college, so to be able to work with someone from the Immanual Congregational United Church of Christ is going to be something unique for me. Even when I studied abroad for 4 months, I was living in a Catholic country. As a personal goal, I just want to learn about Pastor Strickler's branch of Christianity and grow as an individual through this learning experience.
Probably the main goal that I have, however, is to make a difference in the community. I am looking forward to meeting Pastor Sue, and getting on board with her efforts to immprove the community.
When I was in grammar school, I used to go every so often with a school group to a foster home. We would hang out with the foster kids for a day, play ball with them, eat dinner with them. A number of them were handicapped or had other disibilities, such as one boy who was blind. We basically would interact with them for the day, and everyone would really enjoy it.
Another thing I used to do when I was younger was go around to different nursing homes and play my violin for elderly people. Again, the people living in the homes seemed to really enjoy it, and the nurses who worked there used to tell me how much they liked it. It just felt good to know that I was making some of them happy.
Something that I'm looking forward to with this project is, first of all, working with a pastor of a different Christian religion. I've gone to a Catholic grammar school, high school, and now college, so to be able to work with someone from the Immanual Congregational United Church of Christ is going to be something unique for me. Even when I studied abroad for 4 months, I was living in a Catholic country. As a personal goal, I just want to learn about Pastor Strickler's branch of Christianity and grow as an individual through this learning experience.
Probably the main goal that I have, however, is to make a difference in the community. I am looking forward to meeting Pastor Sue, and getting on board with her efforts to immprove the community.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)