African Burial Ground Trip

The trip to the African Burial Ground was such an eye opener. This was my first time both hearing about the burial ground and going for a tour although i'm from New York City.When we first arrived at the national monument we were greeted by a very enthuastic tour guide and before we begin Dr. Carr gave us some background information on the Africans buried at the memorial site.So he recited a libation for our ancestors and then the tour guide began. I learned so much about the Africans apart of the transatlantic slave trade in New York City, the diversity within the African community seen in the items that the Africans were buried with and the outside memorial full of knowledge with a cosmograph centered in the middle of it with African symbols around the inner walls pointing towards the rising sun in the same direction as the ancestors that were buried. Inside the monument we watched a video based on the lives of Africans in NYC from the 17th and 18th centuries to the discovery of the bodies at the burial site to the protest and celebration of our ancestors being recognized and ceremony starting at our beloved Howard University to NYC for the bodies coming home. The inside of the monument was very nice and there were pictures and quotes from the 17th and 18th centuries up to the celebration of the opening of the monument and one quote that caught my attention was by Maya Angelou "You may bury me in the bottom of Manhattan.I will rise.My people will get me.I will rise out of the huts of history's shame." Throughout the entire trip I felt as though I was in a history class with the wealth of knowledge our tour guide and Dr.Carr were sharing with us. All in all I enjoyed and learned so much from the trip and the mini visit to 125th wasn't a bad look either.

E-Portfolio #2-Dr. Dunston

Dr. Georgia M. Dunston from the Department of Microbiology & National Human Genome Center at Howard's College of Medicine delivered her lecture for the Freshman Seminar class on September 9th. Though she was very quiet throughout her speech, she was very happy to be there and give her message to the freshman class. Her oration was entitled, "Abandonment, Dismemberment, and Reawakening: The History and Legacy of Howard University", but she talked mostly about her deeper message about the Human Genome. According to Dr. Dunston, this genome carries all the information to acquire knowledge and further wisdom. Dr. Dunston stressed the importance of the human genome, and that as students we must use it properly to become the best we can. Like many of the other professors and adults at Howard, Dr. Dunston wanted to speak to us very explicitly about working to our fullest potential. It has become my understanding that this is the aim of the lectures. In our four years at Howard University, we will be fed and led to an abundance of information that can either hinder or help us. It is our job, as Dr. Dunston said, to make good, sound choices what will aid us in our journey through knowledge. Because knowledge is what will help us get through the many pressing issues of the time. Dr. Dunston emphasized the medical problems of our age, such as cancer and AIDS that must be remedied by our generation. We have entered the world of higher education at a prime time and place in the world, and this lecture motivated me to take advantage of that.

E-Portfolio Entry #1-Dr. Carr's Lecture

n September 2nd, in our second week of formal classes, Dr. Carr delivered the first lecture of six to the Freshman Seminar class. His message, "Learning, Wisdom, and the African World Experience" was very passionately conveyed through Dr. Carr's booming voice and excitable articulation. Though I walked into the class about ten minutes late, I was taken right into the world of ancient Egyptian knowledge and the hieroglyphic meanings that Dr. Carr expertly transcribed. Values such as ma'at, (which translates to "truth") and Medew Nefer ("good speech") are things that were stressed in Egyptian teachings and are also held in high esteem at Howard. Wisdom, which is what builds upon the foundation of knowledge, is the next step in acquiring a good education. Employing wisdom means to knowing exactly what to do with the knowledge you gained. This is something the ancient Egyptians understood very thoroughly, but their understanding of such an important postulate for success was shielded by historians who wanted to display their own version of history. Dr. Carr emphasizes that it is imperative for Howard students to know where they came from, and to therefore believe in their own potential and to, most importantly, exercise it. Overall, I really enjoyed Dr. Carr's lecture. It was extremely informative and motivating. It made me want to go the library and learn! I can tell Dr. Carr is very enthusiastic about African and African American history and culture; I wish my other professors were as fiery as he is. His lecture made me look forward to the others to come, and hope that they were all as interesting and inspiring.

E-Portfolio #6 Dr. Williams (10.8.10)

This week, we had the pleasure of having Dr. Dana Williams give a lecture for us. I was happy to finally know who this woman was, because I had seen her in class often. Dr. Williams offered Freshman Seminar students an abundance of valuable information, for which I was very appreciative. For those who were confused about the class to begin with (like myself), Dr. Williams did much clarification as well as provided additional knowledge for doing well in Freshman Seminar. She approached the subject of our group project that we will be starting soon, and gave us insight into how we will be addressing the issues we will be presenting. Methods for research and questioning were discussed, as well as techniques for broaching the subject itself. Dr. Williams then went on to answer questions and clarify how the class will be carried out from then on. As the head of the English department here, I felt Dr. Williams was very eloquent in her delivery of the information. She displayed everything that was expected of us eloquently and clearly. I was very unsure about the research group project, so I'm very glad she demonstrated how to effectively execute the assignment. Despite the amount of work we were presented with, Dr. Williams spoke of the project as if we are all capable of getting a good grade on it. This made me feel a bit at ease about the entire thing, and almost excited to get started. Overall, Dr. Williams articulated very deliberately what we as Freshman Seminar students were to achieve within the next few weeks, and left me feeling determined to get it done.

E-Portfolio Entry #6. Dr Williams' Lecture 10-7-10

Dr. Dana A Williams came to speak to our class on October 7, 2010.  Dr. Williams is the department chair of the English department at Howard University. She began the class by continuing the tradition began by Dr.Gbadgesin which was to pay homage to those who came before her, with her, and after her. This was interesting in that it showed that Dr. Williams really cared about what other lecturers did and said. Dr. Williams then went over the research project that we are going to in class. She then further went over the different types and processes of research and gave some examples that we could do for our project. Dr. Williams’ explanation of all of this was extremely important to me because I had so many questions about the research project and she answered all of my questions. Also, Dr. Williams then went over and read different blog posts of others which gave great insight as to what other people were saying and doing.  I found this extremely interesting and informative and a great addition to the presentation. We also reviewed in class the scheme for the rest of the year, which included the amount of blog posts we need by the end of the semester, and the other factors that affect our grade in freshman seminar. This was very helpful because I was able to create a plan for having a successful rest of the semester in freshman seminar. Overall, Dr. Willams’ presentation was informative and interesting and I was extremely happy to finally feel caught up and informed with everything in our freshman seminar class.

E-Portfolio Entry #5: Dr Gbadegesin's Lecture 9-30-10

Dr. Gbadegesin came to lecture our class on 9/30/10.  He is a professor and associate dean here at Howard University in the college of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Gbadegesin came into our class and first paid respect to those who came before him, after him, and to us. I found this to be an extremely interesting and effective introduction technique that drew me in to what his lecture was going to be about. Dr. Gbadegesin then started to discuss the story of Iwa, and then he used this story to relay the morals of the story which was about being yourself and your character because those are the only things that truly last. This message, I found was extremely important to think about because in today’s society, character truly isn’t valued as much as other things like money and beauty. It amazed me how an ancient story was able to still apply truly to today’s world and attitude on how to act. Dr. Gbadegesin then moved on to discuss the precursor as he stated, of the Ten Commandments, the “Principles of Ma’at”. Dr. Gbadegesin explained how these carried the same principles of the Ten Commandments and his explanation of they truly could be the precursor to them was truly interesting and plausible. These principles had great and important messages for all of us to listen to, and be reminded of.  I really enjoyed listening to Dr. Gbadegesin’s lecture because his speaking skills were great and he was able to keep the whole class interested the entire time. 

E-Portofolio #5: Dr. Segun Gbadegesin (9.30.10)

September 30th's Freshman Seminar lecture presented Dr. Gbadegesin with the topic of "Self Actualization and Communal Responsibility". Before he begins to delve into his topic though, he pays homage to important people and figures that guide our lives. Also, something that I appreciated was that he payed homage to us, the class of 2014. Dr. Gbadegesin then tells the class the story of Iwa, a tale from his childhood that teaches very valuable morals. To summarize, Iwa, a woman who represented existence and character, married Orunmila . She warned him numerous times that it was imperative that he not stress him out. However, he did and thus lost Iwa. Along with his wife, Orunmila began to lose luck and knew it was a direct consequence of his actions towards Iwa. He then sought out to find her, and when he did they continued they blissful life together. The most obvious thing one can learn from the story is to treat others with respect along with the value of appreciation. Dr. Gbadegesin, however, is more concentrated on the representations of the characters; who you are is important, according to him. After this concept has sunk in, the discussion then turns to the history of who we are as a people. As Dr. Carr has expressed to us, many principles of learning, philosophy and ethics came from ancient Egypt. The Goddess Ma'at is introduced, and her principles of moral righteousness are shown to mirror the Ten Commandments with which we are so familiar. All of the ideals of Ma'at, however, urge people to remake themselves. Dr. Gbadegesin then says that this is what he urges us to do at this most opportune time in our lives at the university with the most opportunities.