Sacrificing Isaac: A Personal Reflection

            Written by Very Rev. Nathan D. Baxter, Dean of Washington National Cathedral,   November 14, 1999  “And God said to Abraham take your son, Isaac, …whom you love and go to the land of Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice. So Abraham rose early in the morning and took his son Isaac. [And when he had built the altar he laid

Reading as Sacred Practice

A few weeks ago I attended my first Christianity and Literature Conference at Harvard Divinity School, and I was delighted. In contrast to some academic conferences, this one was filled with equal parts intellectual rigor and generosity. I attended really smart presentations on Chaucer, John Donne, Flannery O’Connor, Alice Walker, and Marilynne Robinson and gave

The Public and the Importance of Legend

In Historiography, the senior history class was tasked to read an article by Robert Darnton called the Peasants Tell Tales: The Meaning of Mother Goose. In this article Darnton explores how the folklore of everyday French men and women in late medieval ages provides the modern reader a glimpse into the difficulties and beliefs of the people in that society. The folklore, the characters within the tales, and

Oral History- A Lesson from Joyce Parker

“Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events.” Oral History Association *** In the Humanities Fellowship Program I help coordinate projects for the Oral History team. This team caught my interest because I enjoy connecting with

I Don’t Raise Weak Girls

On October 22 this semester, the Multicultural Council held a discussion about masculinity and femininity, and the various factors which contribute to our perceptions of it. I listened to each panel member discuss the ways their image of gender and gender roles affected their concept of self and others, leading me to uncover what constitutes

The Heart of Storytelling

Storytelling has existed since the beginning of communication. Oral storytelling was how people kept track of their ancestors and family identities. Every person acted as a historian of sorts, preserving their family’s histories within their minds in order to pass on to the future generations, just as the stories were passed on to them. As

Finding Self-Expression Through Writing

When I was in the ninth grade, I wrote my first poem. Before then, I was not much of a writer. I had already completed a few (moderately terrible) short stories, and a couple Mother’s Day acrostics here and there, but this poem was different. It was my first piece that did not start with,

Home as Hospitality

The theme for this year’s Humanities Symposium is “Home,” and here at the Center for Public Humanities, we have been critically thinking about what home means, both for communities and individuals. Throughout that week (February 19-26), numerous people shared about this topic from many perspectives, and now Humanities Fellow Elisabeth Ivey will share her own reflection

For When You Can’t Find Home

The theme for this year’s Humanities Symposium is “Home,” and here at the Center for Public Humanities we have been critically thinking about what home means, both for communities and individuals. As the Humanities Symposium approaches, you will have the chance to hear from our very own Fellows about this subject. Here is a reflection from

A Borrowed Anguish

The year 1851 marked a monumental change in both the development of American literature and in the abolitionist movement. At the time, slavery was both prevalent and popular, and although the owning of slaves was illegal in many Northern states, economic reasons and greed compelled the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850. This