Harz Journey

The winter excursion came to an end with ECLA students dancing to the tune, “Neun und Neunzig Luftballons,” with local Germans in a small town restaurant. The excursion was full of merriment and joy, partly because the students had gotten to know each other so well and partly because of the scenic beauty of the

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Subtly Disturbing

A life without love, devotion to a person or a profession, and a life without delicious food and drink is a cold and gloomy one. The lives of Martina and Philippa, two sisters in Babette’s Feast, are cold and gloomy. During the week dedicated to the Annual Conference, ECLA students, faculty, as well as our

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Digitally Divine

Pope John Paul II introduced the world to the “Pope-mobile.”  Pope Benedict XVI’s Church of the new millennium gives “mobile” new meaning.  Released only a few weeks ago, the app Confession: A Roman Catholic App, available for iPhones, iPods, and iPads, allows those who are equally devout to their smartphone as to their faith to

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A Trip to Berlinale and Back

Making “small steps” as the long queue at International Kino meandered, I had the feeling that they were “giant leaps”! And indeed, wasn’t Berlinale a kind of lunar expedition for me, both into cinema (since all my life I had stubbornly passed it by) and into Berlin itself (in other words, Berlinale as Berlin-aller)? What’s

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The Fall Of the Roman Empire

“Teacher: How was the Roman Empire cut in half? Pupil: With a pair of Caesars!” On Friday, 4th February, 2011, Professor Peter Heather of King’s College London gave a lecture on the fall of Rome to  students of the ‘Conservatism & Reaction’ course. Professor Heather began by stating that the Roman, Ottoman and British empires

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A Fragment From Rome

I am going to tell you a story of a young man who found love. (Or the other way around). Enchanted by Beauty, sponsored by a ‘Valued’ group of people who once pointed at the villa of history… (this is too dramatic, but I can see you falling for a love story…). Let me try

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How or What to Eat?

Food to eat and food for thought on food and eating. Although a very tautological sentence, this statement truly summarizes this year’s Annual Conference hosted by ECLA, where the word ‘food’ was put to use in its fullest sense. Although this topic seems to provide a variety of areas for discussion, I would like to

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St. Augustine’s Love

After spending week three deliberating on various part of the Bible for the AY/BA1 core course on Forms of Love, we waded deeper into the ocean of Christian ideals by reading St. Augustine’s Confessions. Acting as an intellectual lifeguard of sorts, Johannes Zachhuber was our guest lecturer for Monday. He studied theology in Rostock, Berlin

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