Fall 2006 - Vol. 3, Issue 2

Articles for the Fall 2006 edition of The Fount are now available.
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Dean's Message

Alfred J. Finch, Jr., Ph.D., ABPP Dean of Humanities & Social Sciences Colonel, SCM al.finch@citadel.edu

Sparta vs. Athens
 
Recently an interesting book by John P. Level was brought to my attention. The book was published in 1979 and entitled Neither Athens nor Sparta? Although this book is somewhat dated, it was new to me and I believe some of the issues are relevant to what we do at The Citadel. 
 
At the time of this book, Level maintained that the four federal military academies were in trouble and needed to be transformed. The conflict seemed to arise from the increasingly academic environment and the military demands. He contended that this clash had resulted in the academies failing to graduate quality military officers. How accurate his argument was and whether or not the issues he raised have been addressed, I do not know. However, I found the book of major interest.
 
What is the contrast between Athens and Sparta that Level is emphasizing? Athens was named after the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, Athena. It was the symbol of freedom, art, democracy, and culture in ancient Greece and is recognized as the birth place of western civilization. Athenians focused on the development of intellectual and artistic activities. While Athens developed a strong military, it was not the center of attention nor did they start wars.
 
In contrast Sparta was totally military in its focus and very aggressive. From birth children were evaluated to determine their military potential. If they had limited military potential, they were killed. Spartan education began at age seven with training for military life which was intended to increase pain tolerance, discipline, and survival skills. The emphasis on military actions served to prevent the Spartans from developing lasting art and cultural contributions.
 
Now back to Level’s book.    He describes the model originally adopted by West Point, the Naval Academy and the Coast Guard Academy as a seminary-academy model in which the courses were taught by officer-instructors who placed the emphasis on engineering, mathematics, strict discipline and recitation. He calls this the Spartan model. According to Level this model worked well until World War II when it was found to be inadequate due to the increased complexity of war. While the model was being debated, the Air Force Academy was started and adopted the same model. Modifications began at the Air Force Academy due to its relative youth. Culture and learning became more important – the Athenian model. However, this model gradually eroded due to changes in administration.
 
According to Level, many of the problems experienced by the academies, including the cheating scandals, have been due to their failure to keep pace with the changes in society and attempting to maintain a Spartan model while increasing the academic standards. As I stated earlier, I am sure many changes have taken place since this book was written in 1979. However, I could not help but think about how his review relates to The Citadel.
 
In my discussions with alumni, I have frequently been told that the academic standards at The Citadel are currently much higher than they were in previous years when they were cadets. Certainly one documented change that has taken place is the increased qualifications of the faculty. The faculty at The Citadel is nearly completely composed of individuals with terminal degrees in their area. In addition, the quality of their scholarly activities is very high. Has this change in academic demands been accounted for in the cadet life? 
 
Another interesting observation made by alumni is that the old corps had it rougher than the current one. I remember hearing this from the senior class during my first year at The Citadel. The knobs had it too soft! Each year this statement continues. However, I see our graduates continuing to be closely bonded and proud to have been a part of the long grey line. Have any of the changes had a detrimental effect on the spirit of the corps?
 
The balance is what I believe is important. In Level’s book he conducted a number of interviews and one quote provides a good summary of the need for both Sparta and Athens. Vice Admiral James Calvert observed, 

...this is what I mean by the balance between Athens and Sparta. Without the academic effort there, it’s Parris Island, you know, dressed up …Without the discipline, it’s Harvard with [uniforms].

As changes continue to be discussed, I would hope we can maintain the proper balance between Sparta and Athens because this model is likely to ensure that we continue to prepare our students for a changing world.

Spotlight on

The Lowcountry Writing Project (http://www.citadel.edu/writingproject/).

 

English Department

The Lowcountry Writing Project, housed in the English Department, continues to provide high-quality professional development for teachers in all disciplines. With the goal of improving student performance by improving the ways teachers use writing as a learning tool, the Lowcountry Writing Project offers special-topics classes each semester.
 
The 2006 Fall Institute, Freelance Writing for Publication, gave participants practice in analyzing a market and writing for specific audiences. Participants toured a local winery, took a food-and-arts tour of Mt. Pleasant, and even enjoyed a concert from the top of the carillon tower during Homecoming festivities. Based on these experiences, they wrote interviews, reviews, travel stories, and feature stories to submit to various magazines. While growing as writers, they also picked up tips they could use in their own classrooms.
 
Online registration is now open for the 2007 Winter Institute, Writing Children’s Books. This institute will feature guest presentations from local authors, illustrators and publishers, and will show participants how to publish that children’s book they have been wanting to write (or perhaps that they wrote several years ago). For more info, visit the LWP site: http://www.citadel.edu/writingproject/.

History Department

On October 3, Professor Reneo Lukic of Lavalle University, Quebec, spoke to students and faculty on "Franco-American Relations since the End of the Cold War."
 
The Churchill Centre in Washington, D.C. selected The Citadel and the University of Washington as the two colleges to host its annual seminar series for public school teachers. The Charleston meeting took place on November 4 and featured David Jablonski of U.S. Army War College (author of CHURCHILL, THE GREAT GAME, AND TOTAL WAR) and Warren Kimball of Rutgers University (author of FORGED IN WAR:  ROOSEVELT CHURCHILL AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR).
 
“China at The Citadel Week” was held from October 30-November 6. Under the direction of Professor Keith Knapp, it featured a series of presentations on a variety of topics in the History of China from the ancient to the modern era. More than twenty leading scholars from throughout the United States participated.
 
On November 28, Peter Karsten, The Citadel’s Mark W. Clark Visiting Professor, delivered a public lecture entitled:  “LEARNING ABOUT WAR AND AMERICAN SOCIETY FROM `WILLIE’ & `JOE’:  BILL MAULDIN—THE GI’S DELINEATOR AND CHAMPION.”
 
On October 26, 2006 The Citadel hosted a Symposium on Military Legitimacy and Leadership with a discussion on “The Soldier as Diplomat-Warrior”. The event was from 1-3 p.m. in the Greater Issues Room on the second floor of Mark Clark Hall.   The keynote speaker was professor Evan H. Offstein of Frostburg State University in Maryland. Panelists for the discussion will be retired Army Col. Rudy Barnes, retired Army Col. Tony Lackey, adjunct professor of political science at The Citadel; Jack Porter, assistant professor of political science at The Citadel and Lt. Col. Kevin Govern, assistant professor of law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
 
Karsten comes to The Citadel from the University of Pittsburgh where he holds a joint appointment in the history and sociology departments. He earned his B.A. from Yale University and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. A former Fulbright Research Fellow, he is the author of eight books including “Soldiers and Society: The Effect of Military Service and War on American Life” and “Between Law and Custom."  As the Mark Clark Professor, Karsten will teach courses, present public lectures, and conduct faculty seminars in modern legal and military history.
 
Wright is a specialist in the history of the Middle East. He received his B.A. and M.A. in History from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and spent a year of doctoral work at Indiana University's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. He received his Ph.D. in Middle East History from the University of California Santa Barbara. At The Citadel, he will teach a range of courses on the Middle East and the Islamic World as well as more specialized courses on the Crusades, History of Muslim-Christian relations, the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, and Anti-American Sentiment and Terrorism in the Middle East. In addition he teaches general survey courses in Western Civilization and World Civilization.
 
“We are very fortunate to have such a prominent senior scholar and such a promising junior one join our ranks,” said Bo Moore, chairman of the Department of History. “Pete and Chris give The Citadel the ability to expand its course offerings into areas that are of particular interest, and importance, to our students in the early 21st century.”

Modern Languages Department

Dr. Mark P. Del Mastro has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of the external review team for Berry College's Foreign Language program. The review will take place on December 13, 2006.
 
Dr. Katya Skow's article "Medieval Powerfrauen in Popular German Literature" will appear in Year's Work in Medievalism (2005).
 
Dr. Guy Toubiana presented his paper "Casanova et l'écriture ou le récit
d'une auto-mythification" at the World Congress of the Conseil International d'Etudes Francophones in Sinaia, Romania in June 2006.
 
Professor Toubiana's article "Tourbillons et Transports homosexuels chez Casanova" was published in the selective proceedings of the New York SPFFA colloquium in Francographies, No 5 spécial (January 2006).
 
Sophomore German minor Konrad Swartzmiller and junior German major Michael Kourkounakis and junior German minor Jay Maloney have all been accepted to the Austria-Illinois program in Vienna for spring 2007. German major Josh Dodson is currently spending his entire junior year with Wayne State University's program in Munich.
 
On October 10 at 7:00pm in the Greater Issues Room of Mark Clark Hall, The Citadel's Chapter of Sigma Delta Pi held an awards ceremony for its third annual Lowcountry Spanish Teacher of the Year award. On behalf of the judging committee, Dr. Mark P. Del Mastro, Founder and Director of the contest, crowned Chad Everett Allan of Bishop England High School as the 2006 awardee. Mr. Daniel Vallini ('95) presented Allan with a $300 check courtesy of the law firm of Harvey, Casterline & Vallini. Tau Iota presented all three finalists with award plaques. Keri Peterson of Trident Academy and Eileen Hilera Shields of Academic Magnet High School were the contest's runners up. The cadet officers of Tau Iota collaborated on the contest's judging panel.

Cadet Joe Zoretic, Spanish major, is enrolled for the fall 2006 semester in Wake Forest University's renowned study abroad program in Salamanca, Spain. Zoretic is the 4th Citadel cadet admitted into this program in the past four years.
 
Cassandra Cortés (B.A., Spanish and Psychology, '06) is enrolled in the M.Ed. program for Educational Psychology at the University of Houston.
 
Dr. Eloy Urroz's novel The Obstacles (his first to appear in English) was just reviewed in the October 2006 issue of the journal The Believer.
 
Dr. Katya Skow presented her paper "At the Mercy of the System: Deutschlandkritik in Melitta Breznik's Das Umstellformat" at the 30th annual German Studies Association conference in Pittsburgh, 28 September-1 October 2006.
 
Dr. Juan Bahk presented on "The Politics of the Reunification in Korean Peninsular" at Phi Kappa Phi's Brown Bag Symposium on September 27, 2006.
 
Professor Urroz's article entitled "Ágape y Crack" was published in the September 2006 issue of Revista de la Universidad de México in a special section commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Crack Generation of Mexican novelists, to which Dr. Urroz belongs.

In the September 2006 issue of the journal Revuelta, Professor Urroz coordinated a special section on the Mexican Generation of the Mid Century; his article "Forma, belleza y barbarie en los cuentos de Inés Arredondo" also appeared in this issue.

Dr. Mark P. Del Mastro served as a guest reader for Letras Femeninas, the official refereed journal of the International Association of Femenine Hispanic Literature and Culture.

Professor Urroz's article "La tragedia grotesca de Unamuno y los noventayochistas" was published in the August 2006 issue of Revista de la Universidad de México.

Professor Skow received a full stipend and a book allowance to attend a workshop on teaching business German this summer. The course--"German in International Business Communication"--was held in Düsseldorf Germany from 30 July through 12 August 2006.

Political Science & Criminal Justice Department

Cadet Douglas J. Schmid of Arlington, Wisconsin, a Political Science major with a concentration in International Affairs, is a finalist in the prestigious Rhodes Scholar competition. Announcement should be made by November 21, 2006. The Rhodes Scholarships, the oldest international fellowships, were created in 1902 and annually bring outstanding students from many countries around the world to the University of Oxford. Only two scholarships are available in each of the 16 U.S. districts. Rhodes Scholars are elected for two years of study with the possibility of renewal for a third year. All educational costs are paid for.
 
Last year Cadet Schmid was one of 75 college juniors nationwide to receive a $30,000 fellowship for graduate study as a Truman Scholar.
 
Cadet Douglas J. Schmid is a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and plans to be commissioned as a Marine officer upon graduation in 2007. He is a Citadel Scholar, a member of the Honors Program and president of The Citadel’s Toastmasters chapter. He is also a member of Phi Kappa Phi honor society, and holds a second degree black belt. He has expanded his interest in political science by serving as a presidential fellow at the Washington, D.C. based Center for the Study of the Presidency.

Psychology Department

Steve Nida, Professor and Head of the Department of Psychology, presented a session titled “The Management of Crises and Unexpected Events” at the annual meeting of the Association of Heads of Departments of Psychology, held in Atlanta in November.
 
Two Psychology undergraduates, Colette Baumle was accepted and served as a student intern with the FBI this summer and Kat Shepherd was selected for a highly competitive internship working with dolphins this past summer in Key West (2 students out of 500 were selected for the program). Both students are great examples of how successful our students are in obtaining highly sought after internships.