Month: March 2023

Who Shot J.R.? (1980)

The 1980 season finale of the popular prime-time soap opera Dallas ended with the show’s central character—J.R. Ewing, a greedy, scheming oil baron—being shot by an unknown assailant. The cliffhanger left viewers wondering for months whether he would survive and which of his many enemies had pulled the trigger. The episode that revealed the culprit became one of the highest rated television shows in history, drawing an estimated 83 million viewers. So, who shot J.R.? Discuss

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685)

One of the greatest and most influential composers of the Western world, Bach created masterful works in almost every musical form known in his period. During his lifetime, Bach was better known as an organist than as a composer, and his works, which include the Brandenburg Concertos, four orchestral suites, and more than 200 church cantatas, were not fully appreciated until long after his death. Bach is the most represented composer on the Voyager Golden Record, which is what? Discuss

"La Marseillaise"

“La Marseillaise” is the national anthem of France. It was written and composed in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle and became the rallying cry of the French Revolution. Originally known as the “Marching Song of the Rhine Army,” it got its present name because it was first sung on the streets of Paris by troops from Marseille. The words of what famous revolutionary song written in 1870 were intended to be sung to the melody of “La Marseillaise”? Discuss

The Subway Sarin Incident (1995)

On March 20, 1995, members of the Japanese religious sect Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas, a nerve agent, on several lines of the Tokyo Metro system in five coordinated attacks, killing 12 and injuring thousands. Carrying homemade liquid sarin packaged in plastic bags, the perpetrators boarded the trains, punctured the packets, and left them to vaporize on the car floors. More than 10 Aum members were sentenced to death for their involvement in the incident. What was the group’s motive? Discuss

Ovid (43 BCE)

Publius Ovidius Naso, a Roman poet better known as Ovid, is ranked alongside Virgil, Horace, and others as one of the canonical poets of Latin literature. He was a great storyteller whose writings generally deal with the themes of love, mythology, and exile. No other Latin poet wrote so naturally in verse or with such sustained wit, and his works had a decisive influence on European art and literature for centuries. Why did Augustus banish Ovid in 8 CE? Discuss

Phi Beta Kappa

Phi Beta Kappa is an academic honor society with the mission of “fostering and recognizing excellence” in undergraduate liberal arts and sciences. Founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776, it is the oldest such society in the US and today boasts 283 chapters and over half a million living members. Its symbol is a golden key engraved with the image of a pointing finger, the Greek letters from which the society takes its name, and three stars. What principles do these stars represent? Discuss