CULTURE PRESENTATIONS

(Or Getting Up Earlier Wasn't the Only Thing That Was Different That Day)

June 16 and 17. Two days of one presentation after another. I was actually surprised by how well this idea has worked out. Whenever my classes were filled with presentations in high school, everybody's attention would jump right out of the window and not come back until the break (and even then limp in very slowly). I don't think this happened here, at least not to me.


Perhaps because the presentations were quite short. Perhaps because we didn't have to sit still and listen to one thing after another the whole day without taking a few minutes to breathe and stretch our legs. Or perhaps it was because they varied in topic so much. And speaking of topics, here are the presentations I went to see.

Irish Culture:

• Polar Opposites—Northern Ireland and Basque Conflict,
• Irish Intelligence at Its Peak,
• Irish Influences on C. S. Lewi's Work.

American Culture: 

• Christian Colleges And Universities,
• American Sign Language,
• Captain America And Propaganda,
• Same-Sex Marriage, 
• The Boston Tea Party,
• Native American Languages,
• America's Gun Culture—Why Are Americans So Obsessed with Guns,
• Massacre at Virginia Tech,
• The Role of Religion in the US Education System.

And here are the five topics I've decided to be tested on:

• Christian Colleges And Universities,
• The Role of Religion in the US Education System,
• Captain America And Propaganda,
• Same-Sex Marriage, 
• Native American Languages. 

Why these topics? Aside from the fact I found them interesting? As far as the first two are concerned, I guess I it's surprising to hear how far human stupidity stubbornness can go. That, and I know a thing or two about Christianity, and I really can't understand how some people can get certain meanings or understandings from the Bible... But let's not go any further into this. 

Choosing Captain America has a lot to do with my being a Marvel fan. Which, admittedly, is not a very deep and profound reason, but I hope it'll do. Same-Sex Marriage because I fully support it and hope LGBT people will get to see equality someday, and Native American Languages because hey, I study languages, might as well learn something about non-Indo-European ones (and because those three-miles-long Cherokee words are totally awesome).