Wednesday, February 24, 2010

.....But It's Such An Unattractive Language


Whenever I tell someone I'm majoring in German, I usually get the same three reactions: "Sprechen Sie Deutsch? That's all I know!," "German? But it's such an unattractive language.," or "Can you speak German?" The last one is my favorite. I can't help but answer with "No, I don't know a single word. I'm majoring in it just for kicks."

German is definitely not one of the Romantic languages of the world; I can't argue with that. My reason for choosing it as my major is simple: I used to know it.

Living in Germany when I was itty bitty sparked my interest and it still hasn't lost its appeal after all these years.

Image courtesy of

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

McCain Library Special Collections


The McCain Library has many special collections available to faculty/staff and students. The collection that interested me the most was the historical manuscript collections. These are personal letters, diaries, photographs, and many other items belonging to historical people or organizations. Some are well-known, others are not. These manuscripts give the reader an insight into the writer’s emotions or feelings toward a particular subject or event.
Examples include: letters from Nelson H. Bailey documenting his experiences in the Civil War, personal letters between a Confederate soldier and his family, and a Camp Shelby historical collection. This collection is good for doing research on a person or organization and it is also perfect for those who are curious about people’s lives from the past or are interested in seeing first-hand accounts of historical events such as the Civil War. I really enjoyed looking at this special collection.