"To be Academic, is to African"

The lecture that my Freshman Seminar class heard on Tuesday was titled: Learning, Wisdom, and The African World Experience. The intriguing lecture was given by the wonderful Dr. Gregory E. Carr.

Dr. Carr began his lecture by explaining that we can not begin our history with slavery. He discussed how we are trained to forget that the first homo sapiens were Africans. Africans not only created writing, but they also created counting, science, and the arts.

Dr. Carr went on to discuss some key basic terms in Africana history. Some of these terms were familiar but most I have never seen before. For example, we discussed terms such as "sedjem" which means "listen" and "Ma'at" which means "truth". Dr. Carr then began to talk about the African burial ground in New York City, where I was born. He said that we have to use texts to remember our history and build healthy communities.

 

I enjoyed this lecture because Dr. Carr was very passionate when speaking about the African World Experience. He was very enthusiastic and he made me want to learn more about the topics he discussed. He presented a lot of info in a short class period. Dr. Carr used the time wisely and made sure that he got his point across. The central idea of "To be Academic, is to be African" stuck with me throughout the week. I am excited to hear other professors speak in my Freshman Seminar class and I hope that they are as intriguing as Dr. Carr.

Post by Sasha Joseph