CCA goes to war
Speaker breaks lef, Medved to the rescue; 30 students waiting
John Krudy
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News
This week presented a surprise for Center for Constructive Alternatives organizers: Peter Collier of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture broke his leg in a car accident last week and can no longer attend as planned.
"We got Michael Medved to come, but the title of his talk is still undecided," said Kim Tedders, executive secretary for external affairs.
This first CCA of the 2007-2008 academic year will explore "The Vietnam War: History and Enduring Significance." Starting Sept. 9 at 9 p.m., the event will feature speeches about the war and its interpretation by seven authors and historians. Both conservatives and liberals consider this war a turning point in American domestic politics and international policy.
"I've been kicking around the idea of a Vietnam CCA with Doug Jeffries since we started working here seven years ago," said Director of Seminars Timothy Caspar. "We had a CCA on World War II a few years ago, and we thought it was time to cover another
big American war."
The topic has proven popular among Hillsdale College students.
"We have about 30 students still on the waiting list, and probably not many will get in," Tedders said. "We knew it would be popular with students and the community. There's no way we can take more. When it comes down to it, grading 275 papers is a big job, so we have to limit it somewhere."
The work before a CCA, however, is far more strenuous than what happens afterward. "We started planning last year, and now it's really busy," Tedders said, pointing out that three quarters of her two desks were covered with papers expressly devoted to the seminar.
The year it takes to prepare a CCA usually means its topic cannot perfectly coincide with current events. Caspar said that the Vietnam War topic was not chosen because of the Iraq War. "Our inspiration was the surge in revisionist scholarship on Vietnam," said Caspar.
"President Bush made [this topic] relevant with his recent comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq, but that wasn't really a concern. We just looked for good books and called the authors."
"We got Michael Medved to come, but the title of his talk is still undecided," said Kim Tedders, executive secretary for external affairs.
This first CCA of the 2007-2008 academic year will explore "The Vietnam War: History and Enduring Significance." Starting Sept. 9 at 9 p.m., the event will feature speeches about the war and its interpretation by seven authors and historians. Both conservatives and liberals consider this war a turning point in American domestic politics and international policy.
"I've been kicking around the idea of a Vietnam CCA with Doug Jeffries since we started working here seven years ago," said Director of Seminars Timothy Caspar. "We had a CCA on World War II a few years ago, and we thought it was time to cover another
big American war."
The topic has proven popular among Hillsdale College students.
"We have about 30 students still on the waiting list, and probably not many will get in," Tedders said. "We knew it would be popular with students and the community. There's no way we can take more. When it comes down to it, grading 275 papers is a big job, so we have to limit it somewhere."
The work before a CCA, however, is far more strenuous than what happens afterward. "We started planning last year, and now it's really busy," Tedders said, pointing out that three quarters of her two desks were covered with papers expressly devoted to the seminar.
The year it takes to prepare a CCA usually means its topic cannot perfectly coincide with current events. Caspar said that the Vietnam War topic was not chosen because of the Iraq War. "Our inspiration was the surge in revisionist scholarship on Vietnam," said Caspar.
"President Bush made [this topic] relevant with his recent comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq, but that wasn't really a concern. We just looked for good books and called the authors."
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