Concordia University's drama department presented the student directed play Arcadia on the weekend of March 25, 2012. Arcadia is a complex story that uses mathematical equations and literature as a stage for a tragic love story. The audience was presented with two stories, one in the 19th century and the other set in present time. In the 19th century, the main characters of Septimus, the tutor, and his pupil Thomasina are living at Sidely Park in England. Septimus is attempting to teach Thomasina the basics of Algebra but she is side tracked by a conversation she overheard earlier of "carnal embrace", which Septimus tells her it is to embrace a side of beef. As the story goes on, Thomasina learns the truth of carnal embrace and relates her studies to her new discovery. Thomasina turns out to be a young genius who is capable of understanding mathematical and scientific theories far ahead her time. Septimus embraces the sexual tension in the house, then falls in love with his pupil. After Thomasina's unfortunate death around her birthday, Septimus becomes what is known by researchers as the hermit. He lived on the estate and pledged his life to prove the theories that his lost love discovered about thermodynamics and chaos theory. While this story is being presented on stage a parallel story is displayed during alternating scenes of researchers Hannah and Bernard Nightingale. They are living at Sidley Park present day, trying to discovery the story of who the hermit was. The two stories intertwine to give the audience a full show of humorous dialogue and multiple understandings of love, ethics, and the purpose of intellect. All this comes to the audience from various discussions around a dining room table.
The honors program exhibits an interdisciplinary learning system that encourages the resolution between differing subjects. In the play Arcadia the knowledge of love and academics are the differing subjects. When the two oppositions are harmonized, such as Thomasina's theories, the results surpass either of the subject's individual accomplishments. Thomasina was able to understand that the forces of love and intellect are inseparable and by separating them they are both weakened. Hannah at the beginning of the play has turned her back on love and any information that can be obtained from it. This causes her to be blind to the answers she seeks about the hermit. Bernard Nightingale is on the opposite of the spectrum of Hannah and has blinded himself from the knowledge of love by the act of it and the desire to be famous. Both of these characters are brought to terms with their mistakes at the end of the play when they realize the answers they seek will only come from a compromise of their beliefs and a belief in the power of love and intellect as a collective unit. The honors program is based on the compromise of all academic studies harmonized together to develop a new and deeper understanding of life and collegiate studies. Through this program a student connects concepts from differing academic arenas that would not have been formed otherwise.
Coming into college, I believed I would learn the academic basis for the rest of my life. What I did not understand before attending Concordia is the influence and importance of experiencing life, not just learning about it. As a student I need to combine the conflicting interest in my life and synchronize them to receive that maximum benefit. Being part of the honors program I experience this in the classroom. Also being part of two athletic teams, I have been able to better understand the dynamics of Division 2 Athletics because I can look at them from different angles. This also applies to my experience in my volunteer hours that I participated in this semester for my honors project. By getting off campus and networking with people of the same interests as myself, I was better able to grasp the entire meaning of my interests rather than just my own biased individual opinion. Thomasina was able to grasp ideas and theories ahead of her time because she was open to understandings that people around her had turned away from because they were not thought to be complementary. To be successful I must be open to new ideas and experiences that may interconnect to create something genius.
The honors program exhibits an interdisciplinary learning system that encourages the resolution between differing subjects. In the play Arcadia the knowledge of love and academics are the differing subjects. When the two oppositions are harmonized, such as Thomasina's theories, the results surpass either of the subject's individual accomplishments. Thomasina was able to understand that the forces of love and intellect are inseparable and by separating them they are both weakened. Hannah at the beginning of the play has turned her back on love and any information that can be obtained from it. This causes her to be blind to the answers she seeks about the hermit. Bernard Nightingale is on the opposite of the spectrum of Hannah and has blinded himself from the knowledge of love by the act of it and the desire to be famous. Both of these characters are brought to terms with their mistakes at the end of the play when they realize the answers they seek will only come from a compromise of their beliefs and a belief in the power of love and intellect as a collective unit. The honors program is based on the compromise of all academic studies harmonized together to develop a new and deeper understanding of life and collegiate studies. Through this program a student connects concepts from differing academic arenas that would not have been formed otherwise.
Coming into college, I believed I would learn the academic basis for the rest of my life. What I did not understand before attending Concordia is the influence and importance of experiencing life, not just learning about it. As a student I need to combine the conflicting interest in my life and synchronize them to receive that maximum benefit. Being part of the honors program I experience this in the classroom. Also being part of two athletic teams, I have been able to better understand the dynamics of Division 2 Athletics because I can look at them from different angles. This also applies to my experience in my volunteer hours that I participated in this semester for my honors project. By getting off campus and networking with people of the same interests as myself, I was better able to grasp the entire meaning of my interests rather than just my own biased individual opinion. Thomasina was able to grasp ideas and theories ahead of her time because she was open to understandings that people around her had turned away from because they were not thought to be complementary. To be successful I must be open to new ideas and experiences that may interconnect to create something genius.
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