Tag Archives: culture

In Celebration of Black History Month

It has, indeed, been a long and cold January for us all, literally so for far too many of us, struggling to heat homes, caught in a system full of bureaucracy and lacking in compassion. As we enter the month of February, the cold harshness of this system appropriately positions us to enter Black HistoryContinue reading “In Celebration of Black History Month”

Unlearning, Relearning, and Redefining Reconciliation

Messiah’s theme this year is “reconciliation” and as such, it’s a topic that has come up several times over the course of the semester, whether it be during class discussions, lectures, or even just normal conversation amongst friends. However, the definition of the term tends to be a little murky, especially when it is beingContinue reading “Unlearning, Relearning, and Redefining Reconciliation”

Missions from a Humanities’ Perspective

We were dancing under the late afternoon sun. Sweaty and giggling, multiple little Haitian girls grabbed hold of me as we spun around, again and again. Afterward, we all dropped to the ground, exhausted but smiling up at the sun. Two of the girls crawled in my lap and promptly fell asleep. I held themContinue reading “Missions from a Humanities’ Perspective”

Notes on the Ancient Egyptian Art Wing (i.e. the Stolen Art Wing)

The other week, I was walking around the Brooklyn Museum with an artist friend of mine, she armed with her sketchbook and a pen, and I with a pencil and my notebook. We were both creating sketches and taking notes of the things we saw and admired.The entire first floor of the museum is currentlyContinue reading “Notes on the Ancient Egyptian Art Wing (i.e. the Stolen Art Wing)”

Holy Places and Justice: My Summer Spent at an African Burial Ground

I have often been in touch with the importance of place. Recognizing places of pain and places of freedom. Place is important to me. But I am not always in tune, nor do I always know the significance of the places I inhabit or encounter. This summer, I reintroduced myself to a place on aContinue reading “Holy Places and Justice: My Summer Spent at an African Burial Ground”

The Freedom to Speak Your Mother Tongue

As we prepare for this year’s Humanities Symposium, Conversations on Freedom, I’ve been reflecting on some of the freedoms we often take for granted. Language is a fundamental aspect of the human experience. It is a vehicle for self-expression and transmission of cultural knowledge. It is the means by which we make sense of theContinue reading “The Freedom to Speak Your Mother Tongue”

The Show Must Go On: Arts in the Time of Pandemic

If you’ve ever been involved in theatre, you may have heard this phrase used. Whether you’re the high school actor making his first stage debut, the musician practicing to play in the pit, or the theatre parent that’s been recruited to help build sets, you know what this means. Essentially, the show will go on, regardlessContinue reading “The Show Must Go On: Arts in the Time of Pandemic”

The Stories We Tell

For thousands of years, human beings have kept their culture alive through storytelling. It’s how we connect with each other and understand the world around us. Stories are a record of life, keeping a memory alive long after their origin is gone. In the most basic sense, stories are our gateway to the past, allowingContinue reading “The Stories We Tell”

In the Pursuit of Curiosity

Curiosity noun, plural cu·ri·os·i·ties. 1. The desire to learn or know about anything; inquisitiveness When I was young I wanted to be an astronaut. Well, I actually wanted to an oceanographer, marine biologist, astronomer who also spent some time in space. This rather odd hodgepodge of future occupations stemmed from an insatiable desire to discover the unknown. The hidden worlds of the deep sea andContinue reading “In the Pursuit of Curiosity”