Category: Seminar Blog

On Monday the students woke up, grabbed breakfast and headed to their first lecture with Professor Pinsker and later Dr. Mealy. They investigated Phillis Wheatley’s  “On Being Brought From Africa (1773)” and analyzed Thomas Jefferson’s  “Declaration of Independence (1776).” Using the two historical texts the students then synthesized their understanding in a hashtag format.

Morning Lecture with Professor Pinsker

After lunch the students got a tour of Dickinson with an admissions tour guide. Questions ranged from “What’s the significance of the mermaid?” to “What study abroad programs does Dickinson offer?” to “What’s your class schedule like?” One student even remarked that Dickinson reminded her of home and how she would love to attend the college.

Students on the Admission Tour

During our tour, my group got to see a sneak peak of the planetarium in action. Professor Morgan, from the Physics and Astronomy department, tried to recruit them to the dark side and become scientists. Unfortunately for him we only have budding historians in our midst. Later that day students and staff gathered together to go to a local ice cream shop called Massey’s. Everyone had a great time and some were even deciding what flavors they’d get next week. Once we got back to our dorms the students read for tomorrow’s lecture and discussed what Tuesday’s debate was going to look like.

Exploring the local ice cream scene

Students and staff at the dining hall for dinner

Students finally arrived at Dickinson for the Knowledge for Freedom seminar on Sunday. After unpacking their things, they met with our staff, where we (attempted) to set up the wifi connection, went over the rules, and walked to dinner at Dickinson’s cafeteria. After dinner, students and staff returned to the dorms and participated in icebreakers to get to know each other. Finally, students set off on their own to complete homework, hang out around campus, or a combination of both before the night was over.

Overall, a very fun day, which helped to get students ready for the first day of classes on Monday.

This summer our seminar blog will include daily posts from our undergraduate interns (Henry Booth, Sarah Mash, and Etsub Taye) and occasional posts from our 17 high school participants.  We launched the Knowledge for Freedom program at Dickinson College in summer 2020 with support from the Teagle Foundation in New York.  Over the past four years, we have enrolled nearly 70 students total in what has consistently been a wonderful experience.  This summer, our participants will travel to the State Capitol in Harrisburg, the Old Courthouse in Carlisle, the battlefield at Gettysburg, and various sites in Washington, DC, including the Lincoln Memorial, MLK Memorial, National Archives, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History, and the Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park.  Our culminating activity will be a Team Lincoln vs. Team (Frederick) Douglass parliamentary-style debate with a special private showing of the original lectern from the Gettysburg Address platform.  Students will work hard but also have plenty of fun.  We can’t wait for another great experience!

Our 2023 participants at the Eternal Light memorial in Gettysburg