Evolution of an induction programme.

The Bootstrap Programme is a department-specific induction programme that has run for three years. Initially Bootstrap was a short programme used to help students get to know their peers and a few members of the lecturing staff. The programme was designed to provide students with a degree of comfort in their new learning environment. The induction programme has evolved into a programme that is also intended to help students to better understand what computer science is and how the department’s research will enhance their degree

Ten Weeks at Manassas

My heart was pounding, my breath was shallow, and I wanted nothing more than to begin so that it would all be over sooner. No, I was not preparing to jump from a plane. Nothing so dramatic. I was preparing myself to give a tour of Henry Hill detailing the position’s salient importance in the First Battle of Manassas. [excerpt

Service-Learning – preparing students for leadership

This paper explores ways in which participating in a service-learning program can enhance student leadership in secondary schools. The research is based on the perceptions of teachers who coordinate service-learning in eleven Catholic secondary schools in Western Australia. The paper initially examines literature on student leadership, servant leadership and service-learning. The research methodology is then summarized, in particular, the rationale for using Catholic schools, an indication of the range of schools involved, and an outline of the questionnaire. Teacher perceptions are considered, initially in the contexts of the Structure of Service-Learning and Rationale for Service-Learning. This is followed by teacher perceptions on how service-learning develops student leadership, along with specific cases which illustrate this development. Finally, the paper looks at implications for improving student leadership in schools, especially given the fact that the Department of Education and Training in Western Australia has this year begun to introduce community service as part of the school curriculum

Maybe, Maybe Not: The Tao of History

Many years ago, I read an old Chinese parable in one of my brother’s books. I haven’t been able to determine its precise origins, but it goes something like this: One day, a farmer’s only horse broke loose and ran away from his stable. “What bad luck,” the farmer’s neighbors said to him. But the farmer merely replied, “Maybe, maybe not.”... [excerpt

Warriors of Dauphin County: The 127th Pennsylvania Volunteers

When Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin charged the men of his state to enlist in July 1862, he was desperate for soldiers to fill the federal quota set for Pennsylvania. Heeding the call, William Jennings – citizen of Harrisburg and then the Adjutant of Camp Curtin – approached the governor to proffer his services to state and nation. Curtin acceded; if Jennings could form a regiment, the ambitious young officer would be granted its colonelcy. [excerpt

Searching for Stevens

You haven’t seen much from me yet this semester. For this I apologize. I have been knee-deep in preliminary research for a special project I’m working on for the blog – one that can’t be completed until the weather breaks. I originally meant to learn just enough about the topic of this project to share a brief overview with you all, but, as sometimes happens during the research process, I’ve become a little obsessed with the central figure of my research: one Congressman Thaddeus Stevens. [excerpt

Understanding the Civil War and Its Place in the American Mind

Perhaps it is because I have spent so much time with people for whom the Civil War is a life choice, but I confess, there are times when I wonder if we—myself included—sometimes get carried away by our fierce and noble passion for the past. The Civil War is, of course, incredibly important both in its own right and in the long context of American history. But I do wonder if an overly-zealous fascination with the Civil War, especially if it becomes too single-minded, can distract us from other important moments in history, as well as from other types of worthy understandings from other fields of study. [excerpt

Richard D. Dunphy and The Prices and Prizes of War

Like many immigrants during the mid-nineteenth century, Irishman Richard D. Dunphy served his new country in the Civil War, albeit not entirely willingly. The wounds he sustained during the war were grave, including the loss of both arms. He received some reward for his sacrifice from his country: a monthly pension, a Medal of Honor, and a notability lacked by other faceless coal heavers. As with other great conflicts, the war played a pivotal role in the lives of its participants, especially in the case of Richard Dunphy. [excerpt

The Saint Patrick’s Battalion: Loyalty, Nativism, and Identity in the Nineteenth Century and Today

Two decades before the Irish Brigade covered itself with glory, an earlier unit of Irish immigrants had won renown for its service during the Mexican American War. Calling themselves the Saint Patrick’s Battalion, these men marched under a flag of brilliant emerald decorated with Irish motifs: a harp, a shamrock, and the image of Saint Patrick [excerpt]