September 18, 2010

Today’s lecture was called The Eloquence of the Scribes: Initiation, Expectations, and Mastery- Continuing the Legacy of Howard University.  The lecturer was Dr. Benjamin. Her presentation was mostly about the important buildings on campus, the scribes they were named after, and information about the scribes.

To begin, Dr. Benjamin introduced the word scribe, the history of scribes, and 21^st century scribes. She stated that scribes were people that kept record of something by writing it manually (with their hand.) According to Dr. Benjamin, scribes have been around since ancient Egypt. The decline of scribes is due to the type-writer and printing techniques.

 The civilizations that were known to have/ produce scribbles were very literate. The scribes were very important members of these societies. Their job titles ranged from royal scribes to anonymous scribes, and were found in every field.

Some 21^st century scribes that Dr. Benjamin named are General Oliver Otis Howard, Inabel Burns Lindsey, and Prudence Crandall.  Although she named many more scribes, these three stuck out to me. Howard University is named after General Oliver Otis Howard because of his many contributions to the founding of Howard University.  Inabel Burns was the first dean of the School of Social Work, and she was also the first female dean in Washington D.C. Likewise Prudence Crandall also made history. She created the first school for African American girls.

Overall I enjoyed this presentation. Unlike many lecturers before her in this class, she actually made it past the first slide of her slideshow. I learned about the different buildings on Howard’s campus and the people they were named after.

September 8, 2010 Lecture

Topic: Abandonment, Dismemberment and Reawakening: The History and Legacy of Howard University

The lecture this week was giving by Dr. Georgia M. Dunston. She's from the Microbiology Department and she specializes in the Human Genome. Although Dr. Dunston never made it passed her introduction, I learned alot of insightful information that applied biology to our everyday lives. Dr. Dunston used information from the Human Genome Project and related it to the black community. She begins the lecture by stating that our genome holds knowledge. The knowledge that she's speaking about applies not only to our family's roots but also to the ancestral roots of mankind. According to Dr. Dunston, mankind's roots were founded in Africa, the motherland. Africa is known to the be the motherland of African-Americans but it is also the motherland of every race, because life itself began in Africa.

She also discussed that the human genome holds energy. Its the disturbance in this energy that tells us what we are meant to be. The thing that disturbs your inner peace is what your predestined to change. For example, the human condition disturbs my peace. I often find myself wishing that I could save humanity all by myself.

I enjoyed the lecture. Dr. Dunston said that we are all living our ancestor's dreams'. That statement really touched me because all my life I have been striving to be successful in life because I didnt want the death of my ancestors and their life long fight for our right's to be in vain.

**^_^ *September 1, 2010* ~Kayla Blackburn~

Yesterday's lecture was called Learning, Wisdom, and The African Experience. 
Objectives:

• reflect on African Foundations for Intellectual Work at Howard and in the Human Community
• sketch outline that traces the connection between learning and wisdom
• open personal pathway for engagement and renewal

1.  I learned about Djehuty and his sister/ wife Seshat. Seshat invented numbers while her husband/brother invented letters. Both of them are of African ancestory.
2.  I also learned the three authorities in the classroom: teacher, text, and student. All three of these authorities rely on each other and if one fall short, its up to the remaining two to pick up the slack to progress the learning experience in the classroom.
3.  After sitting in this lecture I made a choice to go back home upon graduation and help bring up my community. I always thought that I wouldn't go back home because there's only crime, corruption, and a bad economy in Memphis. Those same reasons that were preventing me from going home is now pushing me towards home. The speaker said that learning is no good if only your benefited by it. Many organizations gave me scholarships so that I can go off and recieve an education else where so that I may come back and use my education and college experience to better my community.