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Editor: Seth Ford,
Fords@grinnell.edu
Web pages maintained by pricel@grinnell.edu |
A Statement From the Chair
By: Marci Sortor
The campus might not look much different, but during the summer
the sidewalks east of Carnegie and ARH were torn up and pipes
were laid. The buildings shook for days as the concrete was broken
up; for weeks we had to clamber over heaps of dirt where the
sidewalks once lay. On the west side, these two buildings were
almost completely blocked by window-washing machinery. Then,
just a few days before students began to arrive, everything was
put back together. Only the new grass alongside the sidewalk
indicates that anything has changed.
The Department of History has been shaking things up and putting
them back together too. This past summer the members of the department
finished up our work on HIS 195: “Cultural Encounters in
History.” A prominent outside reviewer gave the course his
endorsement, and we are in the process of trying it out. Mr.
Drake and Ms. Brown are taking it on its trial flight this fall
semester. Mr. Hsieh and Mr. Silva will give it a second trial
run in the spring semester. “Cultural Encounters in History”
represents the first stage in a thoroughgoing reconsideration
of the history curriculum. Should the new course be successful,
the department will then turn its attention to our 200-level
and 300-level offerings. You can expect a bit of dust and new
construction in the next two or three years. College buildings
need regular repairs and renovation if they are to keep standing
year after year; so does the history curriculum.
I would like to extend my best wishes to each of you for a
worthwhile and challenging semester. I also would like to welcome
the members of the SEPC: John Aerni, Greta Bliss, Josh Blue,
Jordan Esbrook, Regan Golden-McNerny, Gabe Rodriguez, Tyler St.-Peter,
Jason Stohler, and Julian Zebot. If you don’t know all of
them personally, check out their picture on the SEPC page of
the History Department Web-site. |
