Ebony and Ivy: University Slavery (video)

Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Amy Goodman, DemocracyNow.org

This shocking conversation with Prof. Wilder continues in Part II. The extended interview with the MIT American history professor examines slaves in the nation’s elite schools.

Elite universities in America were built on slaves? An MIT professor and author of a new book, which has been 10 years in the making, examines how many major U.S. universities -- Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, Rutgers, Williams, and UNC, among others -- are drenched in the blood and sweat of Africans forcibly brought to the United States as slaves.

 

In Ebony & Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities," Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) American history Professor Craig Steven Wilder reveals how the slave economy and higher education grew up together. 

 

"When you think about the colonial world, until the American Revolution, there is only one college in the South, William & Mary... The other eight colleges were all Northern schools. And they’re actually located in key sites, for the most part, of the merchant economy where the slave traders had come to power and rose as the financial and intellectual backers of new culture of the colonies," Wilder says. More

Continuing the conversation on slavery, Democracy Now! is joined by a woman who uncovered that her ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. Katrina Browne documented her roots in the film, "Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North."

It reveals how her family, the DeWolfs based in Rhode Island, was once the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. And it continued even after slavery was abolished by furnishing human slaves offshore, where it remained legal.

After the film aired on PBS in 2008, Browne went on to found the Tracing Center on Histories and Legacies of Slavery. More

College teaching vs. Meditation

The question today is whether or not to follow in our Teacher's footsteps or our teachers' footsteps. The Buddha went to college, inasmuch as there was full education for princes in India at that time. (Nalanda, the first university as we understand the term, was soon to follow and became a great place of Buddhist learning. Other ancient centers of learning no doubt existed in prehistory, Egypt, Sumeria, "Atlantis," and perhaps even Timbuktu). But most professors have yet to go the way of the Buddha.

The Greek and British systems for higher education are models American universities are founded. All three are direct descendents of the Indian model at Nalanda. However, it was originally monastic in its orientation and may have been open to women since the Sangha was. Sadly, nowadays, few scholar-monks meditate, preferring to be erudite teachers rather than accomplished practitioners.

Therefore the question becomes, is it better to follow the path of meditaton as directly as possible...or risk becoming a funky liberal professor with elbow patches and no penchant for sitting and doing the hard inner-work of establishing and perfecting virtue, concentration, and insight?

College Professor

The current generation of qualified educators is facing retirement. The U.S. Labor Department predicts a 23 percent increase in jobs for postsecondary teachers between 2006 and 2016. That means ample openings at trade schools, vocational schools, community colleges, and universities. Requirements vary by institution and subject matter.

At the university level, you'll often need to complete a Ph.D. in your field. At community colleges, professors, and instructors may only need a Master's degree to land a faculty position. In technical institutes, an undergraduate degree and on-the-job experience in your subject matter may suffice. Wages vary greatly, between $58,662 and $98,974. Even in today's uncertain economic climate, there are careers with resilience and a promising upside. While others may emerge out of the tumult, these six professions deserve consideration. More>>

IBC: International Buddhist College

IBC (International Buddhist College) offers students a unique opportunity of experiencing a comprehensive and in-depth study of Buddhism from a non-sectarian point of view, while promoting knowledge and understanding of the different schools and traditions within Buddhism.

• e-Learning website address
• e-Learning M.A. in Buddhist Studies program
• Courses offered, first semester, 2009/2010
  1. Academic programs and student recruitment
  2. Application forms at the bottom of the page
  3. Frequently Asked Questions

Sharing from new students

More pursue careers as "spiritual advisers"

Lesley Wright (The Arizona Republic, 6/29/09)

Christian comedy on church sign suggests growing need for a personal spiritual touch

In past lives, Steve Isles was an insurance analyst, and Peter Fabre was a nuclear engineer. Now the two run into each other in the halls of Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, where each is learning the ropes of spiritual care as chaplain interns.

"We all need something that is new at some point in our lives," Fabre said, adding that he could not have appreciated fully the emotional subtleties of patients when he was younger. "As we age and go through the phases in life, what's important takes on a slightly different meaning."

The fields of pastoral care, ethics, and spirituality are changing and growing for a number of reasons: an aging population, the evolution and increasing adoption of professional standards for pastoral care, and interest by mid-lifers looking for meaningful work. Late this year, Arizona State University will add a Master's program in applied ethics and the professions which will span all four campuses. Pastoral-care ethics and spirituality will be taught... More>>