Author: Jordan Schucker

Students Having a Study Session

On Monday the students headed back to the classroom to continue their studies. They dove into “Mission of the War” (1864) by Frederick Douglass, “Perils of the Hour” (1864) by Anna Dickinson, and “Blind Memorandum” (1864) by Abraham Lincoln. During this lecture, the students also received their teams for the Lincoln-Douglass debate on the final day of the seminar. Professor Pinsker flipped a coin to determine which team of students would defend the viewpoints of the moderate Abraham Lincoln, and which would argue for the radical strategies of Frederick Douglass. After some insightful discussion in their small group sessions, they headed to the cafeteria for lunch. In the afternoon, they listened intently as the graduate TA’s led them through a session on their Close Reading projects, which would be due just 24 hours later. They also reconvened with their teams and their assigned TA’s to strategize for the upcoming debate.

Monday evening was calm. Nearly every student worked diligently to make significant progress on their assignments, with all hands on deck from the seminar staff to ensure they received thorough guidance. This week will be busy as students wrap up their Close Reading assignments, head to Washington D.C. on Wednesday, and prepare for the intense Lincoln-Douglass debates at the end of the week.

Posing Outside of Old West

Friday marked the end of the first school week of the Knowledge for Freedom Seminar. Students had been working hard for the past four days to understand their documents and upcoming assignments, so by the afternoon they deserved a break in the form of fun activities. After an engaging presentation by the League of Women Voters, the students gathered in the downstairs common room back at the dorm to receive their instructions for the impending scavenger hunt. This scavenger hunt was not ordinary. It revolved around the Dickinson College campus and, more specifically, the Dickinson & Slavery report that each student had received upon their arrival to campus.

Pointing to Confederate Shell Damage

Each team consisted of 3-4 students and one RA/TA. They had to solve clues and take a creative photo at each of the respective spots, examples of which you can see below. The scavenger hunt was tiring, but successful. Many teams chose to run to each of their clue locations, leaving many students (and all the TAs) sweaty and worn out.

Thankfully, the night ended calmly with the movie Lincoln, which students viewed in an on-campus auditorium. This viewing was timely, with students watching Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of President Lincoln just hours before traveling to Gettysburg National Military Park for an exciting Saturday field trip. We hope to see you back here tomorrow as we recap the adventures of the weekend.

Avoiding the Seal on Britton Plaza

Welcome to the first post of the 2023 Teagle Seminar Blog, my name is Jordan Schucker and I am an undergraduate intern with the House Divided Project. My fellow interns–Forbes, Henry, Etsub–and I will be creating posts every morning about the previous day’s activities.

High Street Dorm (Architect Magazine)

Yesterday was dedicated to getting the students settled into the program. They moved into their rooms in the High Street Residence Hall until we reconvened in the common room downstairs for a brief meeting. After we discussed the basic rules of the program, we headed to the cafeteria for our first meal as a group. We then returned to the dorm and played “Two Truths and a Lie” as an icebreaker. We also made sure to set up everyone’s laptops and phones with the Dickinson WiFi network so they could get started on their reading assignments for the night. In the evening, the students went for a walk together, played a game of Ultimate Frisbee, and hung out in the common rooms.

Overall, the Teagle Seminar staff is excited to work with this group of 24 students for the next two weeks. We hope you will continue to follow along for Seminar updates in the days to come.