Southern 2020

lifelong learner
15-Minute Classroom
With the nationwide shutdown of
college campuses due to COVID-19,
BSC faced the challenge of keeping its
community engaged and actively learning.
As history professor Dr. Randall
Law explains, “Our faculty is full of
extraordinary scholars who are leaders in
their fields, but the thing that really sets our
professors apart — and thus our curriculum
and the College as a whole — is our
enthusiasm for teaching, our skill at it, and
the simple but amazing fact that all of our
students, from first-years to seniors, get to work directly with those instructors.”
With BSC’s focus on engaged learning in mind, an idea was born:
15-Minute Classroom.
The idea was simple — on Thursdays at 6 p.m., BSC professors would log
onto Facebook Live and present a mini-lecture on a topic of their choice.
The results were incredible — the summer presentations have since amassed
thousands of views from students, alumni, and friends of the College alike,
and the overwhelming demand resulted in an equally popular fall series.
In response to this memorable year, many professors showed how historical
people and events have current relevance. Dr. Mark Schantz, history professor
and chair of the history department, addressed racial tensions in “W.E.B.
DuBois: America’s Most Important Intellectual; Why We Need Him Now
More Than Ever.” A long-time African American history scholar who proudly
displays cardboard cutouts of DuBois and Frederick Douglass in his office,
Schantz says, “A scholar of international repute, DuBois wrote with luminous
brilliance about the experiences of people of color in our nation. Now, more
than ever, we need to resurrect his commitment to historical truth as the basis
for authentic racial reconciliation in the United States.”
Dr. Jessica Hines, assistant professor of medieval literature and culture,
brought her extensive knowledge of the bubonic plague in the Middle Ages
into the 2020 world of COVID-19 in “The Black Death and Literature.”
“This talk examines how literature was shaped by the Black Death, as well as
the ways authors used literature to contend with grief and loss,” Hines says.
Although initially worried that it might be “a little too on the nose and
possibly upsetting” for viewers, she decided her topic could showcase the shaping
of culture through chaos and the solace that can still be found in literature.
In the same vein of thought, Dr. Lester Seigel ’79, Joseph Hugh Thomas
Professor of Music, addressed how composers in times of disease outbreak
and other forms of adversity brought the world beautiful music in spite of —
and because of — the constraints of limited numbers in orchestras and choirs
in his presentation, “The Economy of Means: Getting the most with the least.
How has adversity and necessity influenced trends in music?”
The theme of “getting the most with the least” also speaks to what BSC’s
15-Minute Classroom Series has achieved, and its popularity among alumni
illustrates the spirit of joyful lifelong learning that is instilled on the Hilltop.
SUMMER 15-MINUTE CLASSROOMS
June 11: Amy Cottrill, Denson N. Franklin
Associate Professor of Religion: “Creative
Resilience and Listening to the Voices of the Past”
June 18: Joseph Chandler ’03, Associate Professor
of Psychology: “The Free Magic Pill: How Good
Sleep Changes Everything”
June 25: Victoria Ott, James A. Wood Professor of
History: “The Myth of the Southern Belle”
July 9: Randall Law, Professor of History: “The Dog
That Didn’t Bark”
July 23: Meghan Mills, Associate Professor
of Sociology: “Racism and Health: A Look at
COVID-19”
FALL 15-MINUTE CLASSROOMS
September 10: Mark Lester, Michael Atchison
Professor of History: “What is History?
Why Study It?”
September 17: Melinda Rainey Thompson,
Assistant Lecturer in English: “Every Word
Counts: Living, Teaching, and Publishing in the
Midst of the Pandemic”
September 24: Lester Seigel ’79, Joseph Hugh
Thomas Professor of Music: “The Economy of
Means: Getting the most with the least. How has
adversity and necessity influenced trends
in music?”
October 1: Rick Lester, Associate Professor of
Management: “How Do Wealthy People Think?”
October 8: Mark Schantz, Professor of History
and Chair of the History Department: “W.E.B.
DuBois: America’s Most Important Intellectual;
Why We Need Him Now More Than Ever”
October 15: Richard Rector, Associate Professor
of Psychology: “How to Effectively Communicate
With Your Child(ren)”
October 22: Jessica Hines, Assistant Professor of
Medieval Literature and Culture: “The Black Death
and Literature”
October 29: Natalie Davis, Howell Heflin Professor
Emerita of Political Science, Zoom presentation:
“Finally, Election Day is Tuesday!”
Interested in viewing these presentations? Our
15-Minute Classrooms are still available on the
Birmingham-Southern College Facebook page.
Stay in
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