With the Rennaissance done, and a semester of enlightenment ahead of us, The Collegian offers campus 10 ideas –– rediscovered from antiquity –– for future CCA topics.
1.Why Obama is wrong
It’s what we all, most of all the “Friends of the College,” really want. In all seriousness, Obama just had a terrible year with the NSA, IRS, Benghazi, and the healthcare rollout.
2. The history of Hillsdale College
Accounts of Hillsdale College’s history hit familiar beats: founded in 1844 by Free-Will Baptists, high Civil War per-capita soldier contributions, rejecting federal funding after a bitter legal battle. But what fascinating — and surprising — historical anecdotes fill the massive gaps in this narrative? The college community would benefit from discovering.
3. Beyoncé
See “From the Archives.”
4. The Roarin’ ’20s and Prohibition
When the film adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” was released in May 2013, interest in the roaring ’20s and Prohibition skyrocketed. Because everyone seems to love dressing up as Daisy and Gatsby, a CCA offers the perfect opportunity to put on those flappers, feathers, and bow-ties.
5. Napoleon Bonaparte
He invaded Russia. He laid siege to everything under the sun, and it took exile on a desolate island to keep him from following in Alexander the Great’s footsteps. Also, it takes a lot for a 5’ 6” man to look imposing, but he managed it.
6. Pulitzer-Prize-winning authors
Not only is it an excuse for Southern literature enthusiasts to indulge their affection for Cormac McCarthy and Marilynne Robinson, but Bob Dylan’s 2008 appearance in the Special Awards category would give us the opportunity to revisit Highway 61. And who wouldn’t want that?
7. Children’s literature
As anyone who’s taken Professor of Education Daniel Coupland’s class can tell you, literature written for children is filled with material worthy of the scholarly halls of Hillsdale. Although, let’s be honest. It would basically be a ploy to get Anthony Esolen back.
8. Fantasy films.
We had a “Science Fiction Films of the 1950s” CCA in the spring of 2012. Why not complement it with a fantasy film CCA? The genre never enjoyed a specific decade of prominence, but has had hits in every decade of cinema that have shaped our culture and imaginations.
9. The new media
In the lifetime of current Hillsdale students, newspapers have gone from profitable staples of every household to entities struggling to survive, cable news has invaded airports and doctors’ offices, and the Internet has changed how we consume news. With everyone trying to predict what comes next, we should make our own prognostications.
10. Marx
We’re overdosing on free markets, people. Why not dispel the strawman approach to Marx and engage in a bit of friendly communist debate? Set aside the supply and demand graphs and pick up the “Manifesto” –– let’s not be close-minded, folks.