Dr. Felder's Lecture

This weeks lecture was very interesting. Most importantly it caught my attention and kept it. Dr. Felder started off on the topic of Africa, and how Europeans have tried to overshadow Africa. A lot of European scholars try to put themselves before ancient Egypt; and make it seem as if Africans had no history. History has been distorted by Europe and their historiography. During his lecture he referred to Genesis 2-14 a lot, which is about the Garden of Eden. He talked about Adam and Eve and how they both have freedom; as they were exercising their freedom Adam makes the wrong choice. As well as Genesis 1-11 which is about "Crime and Punishment". He explained that "Justice is about right relationships". It is balance and fairness, and when things are as they aught to be. He then gave us the three norms and understanding: 1) The Torah: which is the norm for justice or law 2)The Prophets 3) Warnings and/or Oracles. He then went on to talk about Sojourner Truth, who stood for the freedom of her people and women. She was apart of the AME Zion's church. She had a great sense of destiny and courage. He stated that she was a "compelling example of one who practices freedom". At the end he recited Truth's infamous "Ain't I a Woman" speech. Overall I thought that this Lecture was really good. I appreciated his enthusiasm, because a lot of lectures tend to be boring when the speaker has no passion or life.

By: Morgan Nicholas

Dr. Felders lecture was very intresting. In his class we learnt about a more religious side of the African people. I have never heard many of things he spoke about. It was very intresting to learn about although i am not christian i still enjoyed it. he spoke about how we are not slaves because we didnt come from slavery. "We are the children of before yesterday and after tomorrow." yesterday was slavery, we came from before then and it is proven in the bible. In the bible in genesis, the two rivers referred to as being part of the garden of eden, are the blue nile and the white nile river. this is where the early river valley civilization and mesoptamia were found. those people are people of african decent. those civilizations were before the roman empire and greece etc. therefore africans were not meant to be slaves. He spoke about Sojourner Truth and sadly I must admit I didn't know much about her. From her quotes and speeches i was able to catch a brief glimpse of her. And she appears to be a witty and clever woman. listening to his lecture was enjoyable and i wish i could have learnt more from him and heard more from him. Lastly, I must say I truly enjoyed this class. It was inspirational. This school is different from others. How many students can say in their freshman seminar they learned about their history? I assure you not many and for that Dr. Felder’s class was enjoyable.

Dr. Taylors speech

In this weeks (9/12) freshman seminar class we explored the history of African Americans. We learnt about famous black people. Donald Walters and his book, that describes the struggle a black president would have to go through. He made this prediction about 30-40 years before President Obama became president. We learnt about Phylicia Rashad. She is presently opening the stage in a performace called every tongue confess. Also, the Anacostia community museum has an exhibition “word, shout song.” Lastly, some of us received the remake of “The tortoise and the hare,” it was intresting to sit own and think on the differences between the new and the old version. What was the point of it being updated and other things like that.

This class was so refreshing because it teaches more about our history than just slavery. Before this class i did not know about Zora Neale Hurston or Donald Walters.

Lastly, I must say I truly enjoyed this class. It was inspirational. She spoke about our generation and the direction we were going in and about hw we are the future.This school, being an HBCU, is different from others. How many students can say in their freshman seminar they learned about their brothers and sisters? I assure you not many and for that this class was really great!

Dr.Felder's Lecture

Dr. Felders discussed the religious practices of African people. I was immediately interested because of my recent decision to stop practicing Christianity. In some way his lecture answered question that were left unanswered.  I love that he told the class that our history fails to begin during slavery. If that was the case, our history begins with trauma. He also explains the African Stolen Legacy. I was already familiar with the subject from personal research, but coming from a majority school, it failed to be the hot topic in comparison to Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great. I was happy to see many of peers learn that our ancestors contributed to the world as well. Some of us came to Howard thinking that our people greatest contribution was peanut butter and light bulbs but it goes so much deeper than that. For Dr. Felder to reiterate that made his lecture that much deeper. He explains that African civilizations served as a Mecca (Ironic, right?) for following civilizations. For example, historian praises the Greeks for their strides but guess who they pay homage to? AFRIKA! During his lecture, my mind wondered off. I couldn’t help but question after 13 years in my primary education didn’t I learn this in school, especially AP courses seeing that they “go into detail.” And how would Black America be if every one of us was taught our history, before slavery.  Would there be fewer crimes committed by black males? Would black females regain value in the eyes of the majority? 

Dr. Traylor's Lecture

Last weeks lecture, given by Dr. Traylor, was extremely confusing to me. In the beginning of class we were given a book, which was tittled," The Tortoise and The Hare". When I saw her walk in, I thought it was going to be an interesting speech, and don't get me wrong it was very interesting. However it was hard to understand exactly what she was talking about. She began to talk about our generation and the direction it was going in. A few of her topics did not really pertain to her main point and for a lot of them I had no clue what she was talking about. She even began to sing songs, which got every one's attention. Towards the end of Dr. Traylor's lecture, she began to give assignments, lots of assignments. One of them was to attend the play, "Every Tongue Confess", staring Howard Alum, Phylicia Rashad. Dr. Traylor's lecture was the funnest lecture yet. At first, I didn't understand why she was giving us so many assignments, but as I thought about it; I felt it was because she wanted us to not only read about our culture, or just simply hear about it from our elders; She wanted us to experience it for ourselves. In the end, I appreciated Dr. Traylor and the lecture that she gave.

By: Morgan Nicholas

Lecture #3: Dr. Traylor: The Eloquence of Scribes

During Dr. Traylor’s lecture, I was lost almost completely. I didn’t understand the point that she was getting at. At one point I know she was talking about how, for generations, people came to Howard to advance their education and we, the freshman, are next in line for such a long line of history. Throughout the lecture, I felt as though Dr. Traylor was walking around the main points that were supposed to be made. She touched on points that I felt were irrelevant and I didn’t understand how or why they tied into the main lecture. I do know for sure that her lecture was indeed entertaining. She even went to the extent of reciting a song by the new boys and defining for the class the meaning of “dumbassification”. During the closing of the lecture, my attention was waning and Dr. Traylor soon started to give several assignments pertaining to black culture as well as the Diaspora of us as a people. I can honestly say that at first I was upset but I realized that she did it all for good reason. I feel as though she wanted us to learn about our culture through items we can absorb with our senses. In conclusion, I enjoyed her lecture and I wish I knew what I was to take notes on. All in all, she did instill in me the knowledge of the people who contributed to the ever growing history of Howard University.

----By: Crystal Fraser

Lecture #2: Dr. Dunston: Abandonment, Dismemberment and Reawakening

Dr. Dunston’s lecture focused mainly on the simple fact and task of “Learning to Acquire Wisdom.” Throughout her lecture on Abandonment, Dismemberment and Reawakening, Dr. Dunston raised several questions pertaining to the black community. She also pointed out that every problem is a lack of knowledge. She also stated that as the next generation, we, the students of Howard University, need to work hard to make a difference in our community as well as the world. One of the main questions she asked was, “What are the main problems that I’ve come across since I got to Howard?” At first, I wasn’t too sure what she was talking about. But when I thought about it more in depth, I realized that the District of Columbia, although it is the nation’s capital, is poverty stricken. What I also realized is that there are plenty of people who talk about change but aren’t about the change they speak of.

Dr. Dunston also made it very clear that it is imperative to understand the changes on the insides of society before focus is directed towards the changes on the outside. Examination of your thoughts was crucial and we shouldn’t abandon the African roots that we are tied to indefinitely. Personally, I can never forget where I come from because I have plenty of people who make it a personal goal to instill in me the knowledge of my people way before my time. It is also a personal goal of mine to instill the knowledge that I have acquired to the generations that are destined to come after my own.

---- By: Crystal Fraser

Dr. Traylor’s Lecture

I must admit when she walked in the room I knew that the lecture was going to be pretty interesting. Then when we started receiving the Tortoise and the Hare books it was confirmed that this lecture was going to be different from the others. She began to say that we possess powers, so right then and there being the realist that I am I automatically looked at her like she was crazy. Then she later stated a quote that sticks with me up until this day. She said “ Without the mother load of wisdom the father of knowledge is a victim of dumbassification” Now when I first heard this I was immediately turned off but then I thought about it a little bit more. I have to say I was a little perplexed by this quote for a little but I could tell that Dr. Traylor was a deeper thinker than what I had originally thought. I couldn’t help but to listen to what she was going to say next. But then she made a comment that a man was stabbed in the heart, then a mysterious group of masked men found him and took him to Howard hospital and there the first open heart surgery was performed. Then she started giving out assignment after assignment; now up until this point I was in her corner. While I still can’t figure out why she made the comment about the open heart I do see that she meant well with the assignments and she just wanted us to learn more about ourselves by seeing it for ourselves instead of hearing about in class. Overall I really did appreciate her lecture.

Dr.Traylor's Lecture

Upon entry I must say I was confused. As soon as I walked in the door, I received a children's book, I didn't believe the TA was handing it to me, I thought he didn't wanted to hold it so he was making it my problem. Outside that experience, I was still confused. Dr. Trailer's lecture made my brain run in circles. It's obvious that she thinks differently than most people and behind the alternate method of thinking, there is an abundance of intelligence. She schooled us with new terminology, such as dumbassification. Although her terminology was a nice laugh, it's perfectly applicable to everyday situations. Such as, foolery on the yard, everyday you can spot students conducting themselves in a manner beyond inappropriate and disgraces the strides of Blacks before them.  Dr. Trailer also gave us a complex quote, "Without the mother hood of intelligence, the fatherhood of knowledge is the victims of dumbassification" meaning without knowledge one may become a victim of society and surroundings. She then continued and used Phylicia Rasheed as an example of someone who does the Black community justice. Through her multiple roles, she strengthens the image of Black women. She used stereotypical roles to disapprove stereotypes. Soon after, Dr. Trail lost me again. I really felt like I was focusing on what she was saying but I was still lost. After she assigned about three other assignments, I gave up on trying to understand and made the decision to talk to her after class. It wasn't until after class when I really began to truly  appreciate her lecture and gain understanding. Me and Ashley White decided to go and talk and ask questions. To our surprise, she incorporated a piece of a current song into her lecture. I was amazed, that she even cared  to relate to us, no matter how poorly she sounded reciting the song, the effort alone amazed me. Most professors feel that you should come to their class and learn the material and get your grade and leave, which is fair, but her doing that made me gain even more respect for her, which was high to begin with. I can't lie, even through my confusion and moments with a dumb look on my face, I loved her lecture.

Lecture #2: Dr. Dunston

Dr. Dunston's lecture was very interesting and very different from Dr. Carr's lecture, last week. I feel Dr. Dunston was trying to motivate us rather than educate us. She reflected on our generation a lot throughout the lecture as the problem solving generation, which I thought that she meant our generation was going to come up with a lot of solutions for the problems that go on in our society today. She was very passionate about what she had to say; although I felt her main point was confusing because she had so many different points and topics. One of Dr. Dunston's topics was the Human Genome project, she talked about the codes of our D.N.A. and how they make up everything about us. She also touched on different diseases such as Asthma, Hypertension, and Cancer. A lot of Dr. Dunston's lecture had kind of a vague impression because of the fact that I couldn't really understand what exactly she was talking about. Overall I think she was an excellent speaker and she did keep my attention throughout the class period. However if she had focused more on her point, I think she would have had a better effect on her audience. At the end of the class period there was a question and answer segment for any questions that the audience may have had for Dr. Dunston. A lot of interesting topics came up in this portion of the lecture such as human cloning. This segment went on for a long time after class ended, but it was definitely worth staying for.

Lecture 2: Dr. Dunston's

I truly enjoyed Dr. Carr's lecture and was very much inspired by it. I was so inspired that I came to the next lecture expecting the very same thing. Unfortunately I can't say that I was. Dr. Dunston was very redundant in saying that we are the problem solving generation and that we are at Howard because someone prayed for each and everyone of us. She also went on to say that we all have knowledge, some of which has just gone untapped.

Honestly I went into the lecture thinking that I would be learning more about the human genome and different things of that nature. Dr. Dunston someone touched on those topics but I feel that she was trying to do more along the lines of motivational speaking rather than teaching. When she said over and over that our generation was a problem solving generation I didn’t really understand what she meant by it. So I felt she could have elaborated a little further on that point. Now I consider myself a Christian but I have a lot of questions, so when she said that we were at Howard because someone prayed for us I had to stop and think. Don’t get me wrong I do believe in the power of prayer but I also would like to believe that I am here because I worked hard throughout my years of high school. And furthermore I don’t believe that we contain all this knowledge we just haven’t discovered it yet because if that were the case why do we need to go through so many years of schooling. I may have misunderstood her but from what I heard im so sure I agree with too many of the things she was saying.

-Ashlee N. White

Dr. Dunston’s Lecture

After hearing Dr. Carr's lecture, I arrived ready to hear another emotion filled speech. Sadly, my feelings of excitement went in vain. Not to say that Dr. Dunston's lecture failed to consist of any importance, it didn't really have a lasting impression. Dunston's points suggested that everyone has the knowledge necessary but it's just untapped.  Also she made the point that every Howard student made it there because of someone else's prayers.    She then continued to declare our generation as the "problem solvers."

I must say that a majority of her points made me think and explore my feelings about myself and generation. I came to the conclusion that I made it Howard with hard work and dedication. I came the the conclusion that I don't believe in "untapped knowledge" but instinct and drive. Not to be the difficult teenager but Dr.Dunston's points didn't sit well with me. First, I know that wisdom comes with age but who is to decided what this generation does? Wither the answer is the same on each side, shouldn't that be the generation in action choice, oppose to past generations. If wisdom is gained through learning, as Dr. Dunston stated, it's our generations responsibility to learn from the strides of our predecessors and make decisions according. That is the true essence of learning. Second, I'm not a religious person. I feel as if it serves no purpose to the most important thing in aspects of deities and high powers, relationship. The statement about prayer weakened her argument because I'm not huge on religion. In some way, I felt as if my mother's overtime and my academic strides went in vain. I understand that she didn't mean that our strides didn't have anything to do with why I'm a student at Howard but how does she know? No one truly knows how they ended up at Howard and every single action that helped them to get here. All we know is that we're here and we have to make the best of it.

freshman seminar

abi adeosun said...
Freshman seminar? “What is that?!,” I asked when I saw it for the first time on my list of required courses. All of my family and friends that were either in or had graduated from college had an input on what it could be. They told me all sorts of things: “it’s an easy A class” “They just advise you” “It’s too make the transition from high school to college easier”. Needless to say they were all wrong..
In Dr. Carr’s freshman seminar class we explored the history of African Americans. The extent of my knowledge of African American history is about three to four pages of my eleventh grade U.S. history notes. It begins with “Indentured servitude of African Americans began in the 1600’s..” and it ends “...African Americans became legal citizen in 1865”. This class is so refreshing because it teaches more about our history than just slavery. I was sad in the beginning of the class. My initial thought was “here we go, more depressing stories about black people” , but it is not like that at all. Before Dr. Carrs class i did not know about Richard Theodore Greener or his daughter Belle da Costa Greene. He was the first African American to graduate from Harvard college. Meanwhile, his daughter was the librarian of the notorious J.P. Morgan.
Another very inspirational thing that Dr. Carr mentioned that i never thought about was competition. He said that instead of fighting to get to the top and not helping your fellow African Americans, that we should work together. I never thought about that. School has always been about me doing my best and not caring about anyone else’s grade but my own. I would never purposely sabotage another students grade regardless of ethnicity, but I was not helping them either. I tutored students for community service hours, but I never truly sat down and said let me help this student get a better grade. His class made me think about that alot. I have come to the conclusion that I do want my classmates to do well and succeed just as well as I am; and I can help them achieve that success.
Lastly, I must say I truly enjoyed this class. It was inspirational. I’m African and to an extent I never really understood what African Americans go through. I know where I am from. I know my family tree, my language, my culture. After this class I actually asked someone “Do you care that you do not know where your from?”, I see now that it was an unnecessary question. Of course they care! I know I would care if I didn’t know where I was from. This school, being an HBCU, is different from others. How many students can say in their freshman seminar they learned about their brothers and sisters? I assure you not many and for that Dr. Carr’s class was truly a triumph!
September 5, 2010 6:54 PM

Dr. Dunston's lecture

This week’s speaker name is Georgia Dunston. She was very enlightening and made me realize a lot. “This lecture focuses on the history and legacy of Howard University in the pursuit of wisdom in the 21st century.” The person who we are today goes beyond our parents, grandparents, and even great grandparents. It goes back to our roots in Africa. We have been inherited specific traits, but some are individual, meaning they come from ourselves. They are known as genomes. According to Dictionary.com, “the full complement of genetic material within an organism.” Genomes make every individual different. We all are unique individuals. No matter how similar you may believe you are to someone, you will always have something that is different. Even identical twins will not be exactly a like. Yeah sure they have the same outer appearance, but what is inside is what counts. The way someone thinks and acts makes them the individual they are today. Everyone has a different perspective on life and things around it which is why we have different opinions on life. Have you ever heard the saying, “everyone is entitled to their own opinion”? Imagine being exactly like someone, then there would be no need for everyone to voice their opinion’s because they would be the same. The speaker was very influential and helped me understand why I’m such a unique person. I always wondered why I was the best of the best? I found my answer: because there are none like me.

Dr. Carr's Lecture

   First off I would just like to say that Dr.Carr's lecture was truly inspirational! I came into class expecting to hear a long, boring, unenthusiastic speech about African Americans and our culture; but I was taken completely by surprise. I had attended 2 other lectures by Dr. Carr prior to this class and I was always so happy to see how excited he was about what he had to say.
       This lecture was about the history of African Americans, but it was so much more than that. This was way more than what I had learned throughout my years in school. Usually, in school we would always start at slavery and go from there. However, starting there left out so much important and crucial information, that we as blacks need to know. We learned especially about the Egyptians and how much we have gotten from them. Such as, our calender, mathematics, architecture, and medical advances. Pyramids that have been standing for thousands of years, that are still there today. We learned about their alphabet, their language, and their symbols in which they used instead of words. Egyptians were responsible for creating all of this, but the Greeks came along and of course to credit for it. Dr. Carr also discussed legends such as, the infamous, Louis Armstrong, Zora Neale Hurston, Charles R. Drew, and many more.
      It's so interesting to hear and know about all that Africans have accomplished. I believe that knowing who we are and where we come from, helps us to reach our full potential. Where is a better place than the motherland, where it all began. Because American history starts at slavery we never get to hear about anything before it. As Dr. Carr stated, slavery was not the beginning it was merely a glitch in our entire history, that we had no control over. Our ancestors have worked so hard and have done so much for us, and now its time for us to continue the journey and make them proud. Because we are way more than slavery and poverty, we are a force to be reckoned with and we won't stop because we have to keep on going. The map has been laid down for us, all we have to do is follow in their footsteps an each time go one step further than what they did.
    Freshman Seminar totally caught me off guard; because coming in I didn't know what to expect. Now I know this isn't a class just about Howard University, but it's about our legacy as African Americans. So far this has been an excellent class and I know it's only going to get better from here.

By: Morgan Nicholas

Dr. Carr's Lecture

Throughout Dr. Carr's lecture, the question of "where do we come from?" reared its head several time. He spoke about the ancient past as well as the very recent past. The main points he made were that: we as a people have done so much more than anyone could have ever imagined. Even though several other civilizations were credited, it was such an eye opener to know and realize that blacks, as a whole, were and always will be the backbone towards advancements in society.


When Dr. Carr spoke about the ancient city of Kemet, he highlighted the facts that everything was written don either in picture or word form. He also emphasized that for every male, there was a female counterpart and that is what kept the city in its natural equilibrium. Throughout the entire lecture, I realized that to be great, I need to remember where I came from and where I'm set to go. My right of passage is up to me and I shouldn't let anyone stand in the way of my greatness. The scribes in Egypt were educated to the extent that architecture, mathematics, science and astrology all depended on writing in general.

Another main point that was made about greatness is that it occurs everywhere and most times, there will be several obstacles and hindrances in your way. Dr. Carr emphasized that the issues in our community will continue but it takes a great person with the proper mindset to want to make change for the better.

By: Crystal A. Fraser

Dr. Carr began his lecture by telling us a little more about our past. He focused on one statement particularly, "Medew Nefer" which means beautiful or good speech. He also spoke of our egyptian ancestors from which came great amounts of wisdom. He also reminded us of many great champions that were here in this country.

There is so much more to black people than what we are led to believe. Sure being good at sports is ok, and having great musical talents as well; but we have the greatest amount of wisdom there is. Black people are great! Dr. Carr has taught me that way before the greeks black people were the masterminds behind everything. The greatest structures known to man are still standing, the most difficult form of writing was used regularly, and the very calender that we use to this time outside of the names of the days and months is used up to this very day and all of these things were created by my people, black people! Having been awakened with such knowledge it is hard for me to accept the lives that African Americans are living today. If every African American knew of their own greatness then we wouldn't have to truggle so much with such a great level of impoverished, illiterate black people. Maybe we wouldn't have to fight so hard to prove our greatness. After learning the height of our success at one point I can't help but feel that anything less than my best is unacceptable. I can be great. I will be great!
By: Ahlee N. White

Dr. Carr's Lecture

Dr. Carr discussed the history of learning and its close relation to Africa.  He especially focused Egypt, the land that educated future dynasties, seeing that ancient Egyptians mastered language, astrology, and mathematics. The lecture also aimed to inform young African American students of their ability, based on the greatness of our African ancestors.

                Through the lecture I learned that I am greatness, it’s my right of passage. Although I lived life believing that I’m pro-Black, I soon learned that I, along with many other young African Americans, still have much to learn. When I learned of the pathways Djehuty and Seshat, I couldn’t help but thing about the imbalance of men and women here on campus. Black males are more likely to spend time behind bars opposed to a collegiate course. Djehuty and Seshat operated as a dynamic team and made stride of great magnitude. Although people can leave Howard and make great strides, my constant thought is:  are we being held back due to the imbalance? This issue lives outside Howard’s campus as well, Black males are found in emergencies rooms with gunshot wounds with the black female in left to act as the mother and father. It’s known that when things are done in decency and order, greatness is produced. Nothing is orderly consisting of broken homes and crowed jails. I personally believe that if the balance is restored we can go further as a people. Until then, the best thing to do is work on self, so when balance is restored, homes are complete and remain unbreakable. 

Ashley D. Lewis