Month: September 2020

Elie Wiesel (1928)

Wiesel is a Romanian-American Jewish author, lecturer, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. As a teen, he was imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps—Auschwitz and later Buchenwald—where his family perished. After the war, he became a journalist and later settled in the US. His extensive works, including his most famous novel, Night, focus on keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. Yet, for years after the war, Wiesel refused to write about his experiences. What changed his mind? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Henry V

Determined to regain the lands in France once held by his ancestors, King Henry V of England rekindled the Hundred Years’ War and all but conquered France. His continuing victories—including his stunning success at the Battle of Agincourt—forced the French to sign a 1420 treaty naming him heir to the throne. However, he died two months before the French king and thus did not inherit the crown. At 16, Henry was shot in the face with an arrow. How did his physician remove it and save his life? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Tura Michele Fair

On St. Michael’s Day in Augsburg, Bavaria, there is an annual fair that attracts visitors from all over Germany. One of the fair’s chief attractions is the appearance of figures representing the Archangel Michael and the Devil that are built into the foundation of Perlach Turm, or Tower (called Tura in local dialect). Whenever the tower bell strikes on St. Michael’s Day, the Archangel appears and stabs with his pointed spear at the Devil writhing at his feet. For four centuries spectators have gathered around the Tura to watch the symbolic drama reenacted on St. Michael’s Day. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Orc

Poet and artist William Blake is known for the complex mythology he created in his Prophetic Books. Among the characters that take shape in these writings is Orc, a positive figure symbolizing rebellion, passion, freedom, and revolution. He stands opposed to Urizen, a figure of order and tradition. Through characters such as these Blake analyzes the American and French revolutions, which took place during his lifetime. Orc’s life, which ends in rebirth, bears parallels to what religious figures? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Flâneur

Derived from the French verb flâner, meaning “to stroll,” a flâneur is one who walks without a destination. Refined by French poet Charles Baudelaire, the idea of the flâneur as a person who travels a city on foot in order to experience it has been embraced by thinkers in fields such as photography and urban planning. Disengaged yet aware, the flâneur wanders without any purpose except to observe without interacting. In Canadian French, what negative connotation does flâner carry? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Cabrillo Festival

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was the Portuguese explorer who discovered California on September 28, 1542, when he sailed into the bay that would eventually be called San Diego. In the San Diego area, Cabrillo Day celebrations were relatively modest until the early 1960s, when the week-long Cabrillo Festival became a yearly event. Activities include Portuguese-American music and dancing, the placing of a wreath at the base of Cabrillo’s statue on Point Loma, and a costumed reenactment of the discovery of San Diego Bay. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Siege Tower

Dating to antiquity, siege towers were large, portable structures that aided soldiers in scaling defensive walls and shielded them as they did so. The massive towers were filled with soldiers and then wheeled up to the walls of a besieged fortress, whereupon gangplanks would be lowered to allow the invading force access. Archers and catapults were often positioned on top of the towers so that they could fire upon enemies during an assault. What protected the wooden towers from flaming arrows? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary