Happy Christmas to All

Happy Christmas

As the sun sets in Waverly, IA, we begin our celebration of Christmas.  It is cold and supposed to snow, but the houses are warm and everything smells delicious.  We wish you a great Christmas, a Merry New Year, and safe travels back to campus, or wherever you may be.

Mariah Birgen

Scholars Director

2013 Scholars Christmas Book Club

The book has been chosen.  Please go to the Google form to sign up.

It is The Book Thief.  Now, this book is being turned into a movie, but as you know just because a book and a movie have the same name, that doesn't mean they are very similar.

The extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller that will be in movie theaters on November 15, 2013, Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul.
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

However, Dr. Birgen has decided that some of you have already read The Book Thief, so there is another option which she is considering using next year in IS 101.

Stately oaks, ivy-covered walls, the opposite sex — these are the things that likely come to mind for most Americans when they think about the "nature" of college. But the real nature of college is hidden in plain sight: it’s flowing out of the keg, it’s woven into the mascots on our T-shirts. Engaging in a deep and richly entertaining study of "campus ecology," The Nature of College explores one day in the life of the average student, questioning what "natural" is and what "common sense" is really good for and weighing the collective impacts of the everyday. In the end, this fascinating, highly original book rediscovers and repurposes the great and timeless opportunity presented by college: to study the American way of life, and to develop a more sustainable, better way to live.

Christmas Break Book Club

Last Christmas, we experimented with a Christmas Break Book Club for Scholars.  We all got copies of The Last Lecture, read the book over break, and then got together a couple of times in the Winter Term.  Things that worked well were the book and the initial discussions, but as the term progressed, we found it harder and harder to meet.  So ...

Christmas Break Book Club V 2.0

A Scholars Alumnus sent me the buzzfeed post, 26 books That Will Change The Way You See The World.  Since I am impressed with the ones I have read and the previous book was on the list, we will choose one of these books to read.  Somehow.  Then, students will sign up for the book club and the program will purchase copies of the book for you.  We will read the book over break and have either a Facebook group or a group blog to discuss the book as we read (this is going to depend on if everyone is on Facebook).  We will meet once during the first two weeks of Winter Term and then pass on our books to someone else who we think should read it with the instructions to do likewise.  Alumni are welcome to join us, but they will need to get their own copy of the book and we can't pay to bring you to campus in January.

So, how do you get involved?  Please help us choose a book.  Go to this link or, if it works for you, fill out the form below (they are the same).

Partners in the Parks

Now that Dr. Birgen is back from the National Conference, the next few blog posts will be items of interest to students.  The first is:

Partners in the Park

This is a collaboration between the National Park Service and the National Collegiate Honors Council, of which Wartburg is a member.  Students travel to a National Park for a week and study the location using the techniques of City as Text.  The costs are quite reasonable and the education is priceless.  This year there is a new opportunity to participate the day after Christmas in Florida in the Everglades.

Proposed Projects for 2014
1. Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO (Aug 2-9)
2. Buffalo National River, AR (May 12-18)
3. Everglades Nat. Park, FL (Dec 26-Jan 1 2013)
4. Glacier National Park, MT (Aug 11-16)
5. GC-Parashant Nat, Mon, AZ (May 26-31)
6. Olympic National Park, WA (Aug 5-11) 
7. Sequoia National Park, CA (Aug 5-10)
8. Shenandoah Nat. Park, VA (May 18-23) 

Christmas Break Book Club

It is time to start thinking about what book to read over Christmas Break.  Last year, we chose The Last Lecture and it was popular enough that it should go in a rotation and come back in a few years.  But, perhaps not this year.  Something completely different might be Five Days at Memorial which is about a hospital in the center of the Katrina damage and the decisions they made in the name of triage.

Check out NPR's author interview and book review and let me know if you think it could be good.  Or, if you have another suggestion, give me that as well.  Comments welcome.