11111111111111 Junior louro Vi,k ond 0 mmpus visitor talk while eating barbecue in Chairman of the History Social Science Department Dr. Kevin Klein's backyard .The cookout was held every fall for all majors to promote fellowship and to show a political or historical film.•Russell Ke<k students experience Students in History 435, Special Topics: England 10661945, didn't just learn about the Battle ofTrafalgar, they got to expetience it. On Oct. 22, students in the class celebrated the 20Dth anniversary of the famous battle between Britain and France, when the British·d.estroyed Napoleon's combined French and Spanish fleet Oct. 21, 1805. D r. Julie Harris, assistant professor of history, invited students over to her home to watch the film "Master and Commander." She said although rhe plot ofthe film was not historically accurate, the way rhe film depicted the operation, conditions and problems oflife on a naval vessel in 1805 was right and allowed the students to visually see what it would have Qeen like for Admiral lord Horatio Nelson's fleet. "By watching a movie about the British navy, I could understand how the British navy lived on a day-to-day basis and how batrles were fought on sea," senior Maggie Brous– sard, history major, said. The evening also included a meal in honor ofthe battle. Students ate eggs, th ick bacon, steak, sweet pOtato muffins, an 18th century d ish, cheese and a chocolate torte. "[The students] ate mOst everything, except they didn't like the asparagus and didn't eat the peas," Harris said. H arris said the meal, although no t exactly the same as it was in \ 805, was similar to the rations sailors would have had. Not only were students able to experience life on a ship through the film and the meal, they saw the batrle as it happened because Harris' husband, Damon, laid a carp on the Roar, which had a mock-up ofthe battle with miniature ships of the opposing fleets . He then demonstrated aspects of the battle. Broussard said that the demonstration helped her to picture the batrle visually in her mind. "} thought it was a very interesting night and a great way to teach us about the batrle and the war in a different way," Broussard said . "Rather than just reading about the battle, we could see how it developed. Seeing a layout of the batrle through model ships added another d imension to my understanding of the Barrie of Trafalgar and naval battles in general." Harris said the evening was a success because several students told her it helped them to understand the impor– tance of the batrle. "Sometimes in a survey class you hear about the batrle, but you don't really undetstand what happened; so and so won, and then we move on," Harris said. "Unfortunately, you're sometimes very limited ro how much depth you can go into, and that was one of the nice things [about the evening]. We could stop and really explain the battle and the ramifications of it." Broussard said the evening helped her remember what happened during the batrle later in the semester. "When we referred to the battle in class later, I had a visual to refer back to," Broussatd said. "That night helped make the batrle more real and concrete in my mind." Harris also said the evening was nice because of the interest in military history thar some of her students had. She said she taught the battles at a deeper level and concentrated more on the batrle instead of briefly mentioning it. The Department of H istory and Social Science not only made histo ry come alive for students, but actively engaged its students with the honor societies Phi Alpha Theta, for history students, and Pi Sigma Alpha, for political science students. The department also had a juniot and senior spring banquet where they presented awards for the year and students were encouraged to dress-up as their favotite historical or politi– cal figure. Dr. Kevin Klein, department chairman, hosted a cookout in the fall for department majors. .(ynthi, No,h
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