A Blog on McConnell Center Life

On August 26, 2011, the McConnell Center presented a seminar on The Ballad of the White Horse by renowned English author G.K. Chesterton. Our guest speaker for the evening was Professor William Campell. It was interesting having a professor of economics lecture about British history and literature. His passion for English history, especially about Alfred the Great, was very noticeable, as was his espousal for politically conservative public policy. The Ballad of the White Horse received quite a positive reaction from the scholars. During the seminar, we discussed the imagery and semantics utilized by Chesterton, which presented a narration of warfare, brutality, and gore as a beautiful tale of wisdom, nobility, honor, and respect. However, Professor Campbell, in my personal opinion, presented the story in an overly positive light. While Chesterton’s imagery and use of religious morality is seemingly virtuous, one must not forget that the tale is about religious warfare and intoler...

When I was home-schooled, much of my learning experience was devoted to ancient civilizations. The ancient Greeks intrigued me because of the homogenous mix of industry and philosophy that was their culture. So, when I was given the opportunity to travel to Greece with well-respected professors of religious studies and history from Western Kentucky University, I jumped at the chance. Throughout the McConnell Scholars program, as a scholar, one is encouraged to learn to think well and to embrace a liberal education. It is possible to argue that the ancient Greeks practically started the tradition of liberal education. It was within their culture that philosophy thrived, reaching its pinnacle in great minds such as Pythagoras, Socrates, Aristotle and Plato. Thus, at this point, it is useful to say that my study abroad trip to Greece served to take me to the source of what I was learning at the McConnell Center and to build upon what I had learned previously. On its own, s...