Treasures of History

     History has been and always will be my passion. So majoring in History seemed like a natural next step when I enrolled at U of M-Dearborn. Sitting at a desk during Freshman orientation staring at the official form where I would confirm my major, I remember doubting this decision. What could I hope to accomplish? Why not choose a more “viable” major? After four years at CASL as a History student, I am glad I made the decision I did. Taking classes in CASL’s Honors Program fostered my love of history and expanded my understanding of the field. With every History class I took, I became more and more engrossed in my chosen field and now plan on eventually furthering my education in grad school, with an aim at becoming a future History professor.

     The turning point for me when I knew that I had most assuredly made the right choice was during Professor Rayne Allinson’s History 300 course, where the class was tasked with determining if the King Arthur of legend had any basis at all in history, whether as a Roman or as a Briton. Through this experience I rediscovered why I loved history in the first place. Sorting through primary source documents and trying to uncover glimmers of truth, from the Dark Ages to early 20th century America, my chosen field of study, is a challenging, and at times frustrating, experience. History, myth, and legend are often intertwined even in modern history, and critically examining the past to arrive at larger truths is an extremely rewarding experience. In the ethereal song “Dream Away,” musician George Harrison reflects on this inter-connected nature of history, myth, and legend: “Tumbling through a thousand centuries, you don't know where you'll land. It's so dark in mythology; treasures of history to be found, near the legends of time. All the handiworks remain there, only a dream away...”

     Off campus, I have applied the research skills learned in these courses while interning at the Dearborn Historical Museum. Working with Curator Jack Tate and Collections Manager Ryan Slavin, I have gained experience in accessioning objects, researching the local history of many items belonging to past Dearborn residents, and organizing the museum’s archives. I have since developed a keen interest in local history and would recommend that any CASL student, History major or otherwise, spend some time working or volunteering at a local museum in the Metro-Detroit area. You’d be surprised at the interesting treasures of history waiting to be found, both in actual artifacts and in the experiences of those who have chosen history as their passion.

Matthew Graff is a History Student and a History Honors Scholar.

Living in the CASL as a French student

It all started in fall semester of 2012 when I first decided to take French at Henry Ford Community College. I honestly did not know what I was getting into besides taking a language that sounded astoundingly beautiful. As the year progressed, I found myself starting to like French more and more then I started seeing the connections in my everyday life. However, this was not just in the historical borrowing of English words but also in how the French language itself has influenced English. In the fall of 2013, as a transfer student, I decided to keep taking French. My French teacher, Lindsay Todd-Colby, is phenomenal and I actually started to understand the French language more. By the end of that 2014 school year in I decided to switch my major from English to French studies.

What I value the most about CASL is that it really opens your eyes to the fluidity of language - it’s not just set in stone like bricks that are holding up a building. CASL also opens your eyes to the connections of multiple instances occurring at the same time. Language is so much more than just sounds and scribbles that form words which turn into sentences and those sentences into long paragraphs thus turning into essays that we dread as college students. Language describes every emotion you could possibly feel and it’s forever changing, that’s powerful. How many other man-made things are alive like language? Every utterance is a new creation made by humans. In my opinion, language is a river and we are the fish: this world is created because of language; without it how could we describe, learn, or explain what these substances are without communicating?

Being a CASL student has really impacted my life because I want to spend the rest of my life studying languages (linguistics) and I want to learn as many languages as possible because learning languages is another way to communicate. My major is best because it’s French. Most Americans say that French is the language of love but it is also a language of hatred, sadness, hard work, dedication, patience, beauty, acceptance, and so much more. French is a language that is ancient yet modern at the same time. I highly recommend that all major take up a minor in a foreign language because honestly our generation is a global generation. It is going to be hard to compete with multilingual individuals in the work force when you only know English. It cannot hurt you to learn another language; better yet, it can only help you in the future.  When you go on spring break use those Spanish skills next time you go to Puerto Rico, or next weekend when you go to Canada use your French skills. Learning another language makes traveling to another country better. My French major has drastically changed my life and the lives of the people around me.

Ty Martin is a CASL French honor student