I absolutely love spring at McDaniel. If I am going to be perfectly honest with myself, one of the reasons why I studied abroad in the fall was so that I could be at McDaniel during the spring. I definitely appreciate the spring weather, but my favorite aspects about this semester are the lectures that take place at McDaniel. Over the past week, I have been able to attend four different talks that were truly thought provoking and educational.
Each academic department and honors society usually brings a speaker to campus during this semester. For example, last Wednesday, I attended a lecture hosted by the German Club. The lecture was titled, “After Happily Ever After: Grimm Realities in the Fairy Tale Kingdom,” and was presented by Dr. Walter Rankin from Georgetown University.
Dr. Rankin was a very animated speaker and for the first half of his talk, he discussed the history and cultural uniqueness of the Grimm Brothers. During the second half, Dr. Rankin created connections between the themes in the Grimm Brothers’ tales and elements in the film, “Gone Girl.” One of the most interesting points Dr. Rankin brought to my attention was the American obsession with the question “why?” This can be seen today as we have a plethora of movies that include backstories. We even have whole movies dedicated to backstories (think “Maleficent”).
I am always amazed at the variety of lectures that McDaniel hosts every semester. While I want to hear every talk, unfortunately time makes this impossible. I do consider myself lucky to attend a school where these lecturers and topics are available to students.
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