The 10th and 11th grade Crusaders, who are currently enrolled in AP and dual enrollment history courses, visited the campus of LSU in Baton Rouge. The 10th graders in AP European History attended a lecture by Dr. Leslie Tuttle, Associate Professor, about the witchcraft trials in Europe. They also had the opportunity to sit in on a class for Dr. Suzanne L. Marchand, Historian and Boyd Professor, about Imperialism and colonization in Asia.
The 11th graders began their day attending lectures presented by Professor Aaron Sheehan-Dean and Dr. Charles J. Shindo from LSU’s History Department. In Prof. Sheehan-Dean’s class, they participated in an in-depth discussion concerning the cultural and political significance of the American Revolution. As the class concluded, Prof. Sheehan-Dean presented the students with a clip from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. Then, they attended a private lecture by Dr. Shindo on the emergence of American popular culture in the 19th Century. Dr. Shindo’s vivid description of the early circus and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show enabled the juniors to better understand the origins of leisure activities in the United States.
Afterwards, LSU’s Ogden Honors College treated the students to pizza and a student led panel in the French House. The Crusaders were offered the opportunity to inquire into life at LSU as an honors student through the panel and through a tour of the Honors College’s Laville Hall dormitories. In addition, the 10th and 11th graders had the chance to listen to former U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador Richard Holwill on the importance of the humanities. He discussed his experiences as a political and commercial negotiator, forming agreements between the United States and foreign nations. He also explained the importance of the humanities in international politics and relations and how his background in the Liberal Arts allowed him to adapt to the many changes that occurred in his life.