Professor Carol
A close friend, hearing me proclaim the need to “put the Fine Arts at the core of your children’s curricula” wrote with an honest, to-the-point questions (a vintage quiz show used to call this the “64-Thousand-Dollar Question”). She asked: I agree that fine arts are … Read more
Goodness, Truth, and Beauty paint the horizon towards which we sail our ships. Okay, that’s me, trying to write a poetic sentence worthy of your attention. If it did catch your eye, it’s because the sentiments are true. The three verities (Transcendentals) have fueled the … Read more
On Tuesday, I posed a question to my high-schoolers in the music-history course I teach online for Memoria Academy. The question sought to stir their thoughts on the technological changes affecting music, the arts, and life itself during the fourteen years since I recorded the … Read more
For many people, it is hard to find time for a book that has no connection to work (in my case, teaching, research, or writing). Similarly, in my life, it is hard to delve into pieces of music that fall outside the list of “obligatory” … Read more
I try not to get too topical in my topics. (I’ve always wanted to write that sentence!) First, I am not a political commentator. Our mission here at Professor Carol revolves around the teaching of history and culture through the lens of the Arts. This … Read more
In choosing a name for our new webinar series, I was drawn to the term “milestones.” According to one of my favorite etymological sources, milestone came into common usage in the 1740s as a designation for stones set at mile-intervals along English roads. This information, … Read more
A conversation with a young friend entering the second semester of her freshman year evoked this topic. Happily, she managed to avoid encountering what she aptly called “the cussing professor” in her first semester at this small Liberal-Arts college. This semester, though, she is not … Read more
I love the first week of January, despite often grim weather and inevitable trials of holiday chaos and holiday guilt. Holiday chaos primarily refers to those boxes and bags strewn across the garage awaiting the return of wreaths, decorations, Christmas linens, and a ridiculous lineup … Read more
Advent is coming to an end and Christmas Eve will be fast upon us. Here in Germany, Christmas Eve reigns as the most significant part of the season, framed by hushed family and church traditions. Increasingly vibrant festivities break out on December 25th (Christmas Day … Read more
Memories flooded me Monday as I arrived in Weimar, a city best described as our heart-home. No matter where I walk, my mind overflows with twenty-four years of memories. After the intensity of my early December Christmas-Market tour (Interlaken, then down the Rhine to Düsseldorf), … Read more