Monday, June 22
The Journey Begins:
Post Breakfast group shot outside the Marketplace Dining Hall
Good grub and good friends in the chowhall.
Chillin' in the lounge.
Professor's Frakt's summary: Today, after a hearty breakfast, we dug into the subject matter with six grueling but fascinating hours of classroom lecture and discussion on the the history and law of armed conflict and its application to different types of conflicts. Group leader Kate Temoney gave a scintillating presentation on just war theory. Classroom discussion covered a wide range of issues including the legality of the firebombing of Dresden and the use of nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, whether these targets qualified as military objectives and whether they met the requirement of proportionality. We surveyed the conflicts of the twentieth century and discussed the reasons for the absence of international war tribunals during the Cold War. Student participation was heavy and insightful. After classes, students spent a couple hours in the computer lab working on their first assignments (plus e-mailing and instant messaging their friends back at home and updating their Facebook pages to friend everybody in the class!). An enterprising and ambitious group have already started a morning and evening jogging club, led by our youthful teaching assistant Jessica. Jessica had to have a nap during computer lab.
Guest Bloggers - Marisa Muma and Haley Kumar
Each day, two students will be contributing a journal entry to this blog. Here is the first contribution:
It was a bright and sunny morning when the Duke TIP students made their way to an inviting breakfast brunch. With a large selection of delicious smelling foods, many students became overwhelmed and were almost late for the group picture. But no worries! The picture with all students present can be viewed at the bottom. At 9:05 sharp, students trekked over to the cozy classroom in the Anthropology building. Thus, the lecture began. Students sank in to their comfortable chairs and placed their notebooks on their unusually large desks, and quietly waited not knowing what the future held. After becoming experts on the Life and Times of David Frakt <http://www.wsulaw.edu/faculty-administration/faculty_detail.asp?facid=79>, an open seminar was held discussing the goals and objectives of the program. The basics of International Law created a strong basis for the next two weeks of learning. The students engaged in meaningful discussions about everything from World War I to the current War on Terror. The students regretfully ended the lecture, and made their way over to the dining hall. After a hearty lunch, the students returned to the classroom and anticipated another thoroughly riveting lesson. The students were then introduced to the principals of The Law of War, and Kate Temoney taught an insightful lesson on the Just War Tradition. After classes, students returned to their dorms and began their first assignment: a book report on the required reading. Students could be found sunning in the courtyard, on the big purple Giles bench, or typing aggressively in the computer lab. Following dinner, students returned to the common room to contribute to an exciting discussion about the embarrassing moments in Dave’s life, the Amazing Life and Times of David Frakt -Continued. We advise the public to never tense up on roller coasters. Students passed around snacks, including Dave’s pretzels and Dave’s “Pirate Booty” (white cheddar snack). Whilst sitting in this wonderful “Circle of Booty”, other embarrassing stories were shared by the students, which produced a good laugh and many beautiful smiles. Then Kate arrived, and in proper “party-pooping” fashion she began discussing the rules and regulations of the Duke TIP Program. Afterwards, she treated us to some delightful Ben & Jerry’s to make up for the prior events of the evening. Walking back to campus with Whole Foods and Ben and Jerry’s in hand, students sleepily returned to their dorms, loving the chaperones, and enthusiastically anticipating the next day’s activities.
Professor Frakt's note to self - I obviously need to open up more and talk more about myself.
Haley and Marisa - Charter Members of the Booty Circle, seek parlay.
The cool kids made a late night run to Ben and Jerry's (escorted by staff of course). Apparently, the unlimited buffet and all you can eat ice cream at the Marketplace failed to satisfy these growing youngsters.
The most important building in our lives. The chow hall.
Our dorm. Best viewed with head tilted sideways. One of these days I'll figure out how to rotate photos in this program!