A Blog on McConnell Center Life

On Friday, February 18, Mr. John Granger paid a visit to the McConnell Center. A noted scholar in the developing field of Harry Potter studies, Mr. Granger shared some of his ideas and observations about J.K. Rowling's work with McConnell scholars as well as other students on campus. One of his observations was especially pertinent to the freshmen and sophomore scholars who are currently studying Plato's The Republic . According to Plato, the human soul is composed of three distinct parts: the reasoning part, the high-spirited part, and the desiring part. When these three parts work harmoniously with one another, the soul is balanced and truly practices justice. J.K. Rowling, Granger argues, purposely used this theory when constructing her characters in order to create balance within the novels. We see Hermione who serves as the voice of reason throughout the series, Harry whose brave and noble spirit guides his actions, and Ron whose desires and appetites often heavily in...

On February 17, Dr. Vigen Guroian visited the McConnell Center for a discussion on Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life, an autobiography by C.S. Lewis. Dr. Guroian explained how C.S. Lewis went to three main stages until he finally embraced God: atheism, theism, and Christianity. While many may not see great difference between the latter two, Dr. Guroian explained that theism refers to a belief in God without necessarily embracing religion, while Christianity was a strong religious route to a more pure form of belief in God in Lewis's eyes. Furthermore, I recommend this autobiography, especially to anyone who is having doubts in faith. One will truly be surprised by what C.S. Lewis sees as joy. "C.S. Lewis is a great inspiration and his autobiography is very heartwarming. And I found Dr. Guroian's lecture very insightful." - Melissa Moore "The idea that true joy can only be experienced when we're not thinking about it makes me wonder if I need to sto...

Yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden visited the University of Louisville at the Brown and Williamson Club in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. While the Vice President was scheduled to speak at 11:30 AM, he was delayed by the breaking news of a VP in Egypt announcing that Hosni Mubarak was stepping down as President of Egypt. Around 12, Biden began his speech. The speech ranged from talking about Egypt to the promise of America's Generation Y. Perhaps the most inspiring portion of the speech came when Biden looked dirdtly into the cameras and called on the people of Iran. " I say to our Iranian friends, let your people march, let your people speak, release your people from jail, let them have a voice". The private session after the speech was just as lively with scholars engaging the VP on an even wider range of subjects. Senior Chelsey Hall said that Biden was certainly a man with "a heart for the American People". VP Biden was open and lively with the Schola...

By: Michael Zeller Now that my colleague has provided some praise for Mrs. Burleigh's lecture, I will provide some criticism. The lecture was informative to a point (though redundant in several instances) and offered some positive additions to Scholars' knowledge of John Adams. For the greater portion of the lecture, Mrs. Burleigh presented sound, objective historical fact and analysis. And certainly, this portion was well-received and widely appreciated. However, Mrs. Burleigh's sporadic deviations from purely historical commentary (specifically, John Adams) were a different matter. Nearly half way through her lecture, she mentioned Adams's advocacy for religious education, contending that it was necessary for a sustainable republic. While she mentioned that some of Adams's colleagues - namely, Washington and Jefferson - differed with him on this point, she undeniably favored Adams's view of the matter. She said something along the lines of: 'None of the ot...

During our discussion with Anne Husted Burleigh about her biography of John Adams she mentioned the importance of the fact that the members of the constitutional convention had all read essentially the same great books. These included works such as the Bible, Shakespeare, Plato, Locke, and Cicero. She mentioned that in a way "you are a result of the books you read," and that this shared education created a "common culture" among the founders. These books served both as inspiration for the ideas behind the creation of the constitution, as well as providing a sense of unity and brotherhood among those writing it. This made us think of a connection to the McConnell Center. During our studies here, each scholar will read most of the same books as the other scholars. This aids our learning because we have common points of reference, as well as the ability to make connections to past works and to other scholars. "Which is more rewarding, having a conversation with a ...