Back to School

I'm back in school as well, US History to 1877 at JJC on Wednesday nights. JJC has some interesting 200 level courses in the catalog, but they don't seem to be offered very often. I figured that since I already took US History II I might as well finish up with part I.

History has changed quite a bit since my high school/college days. The book has an amazing amount of multiculturalism...here are actual sub-chapter titles from the book:

• African Slavery on the Mainland
• The Web of Empire and the Atlantic Slave Trade
• Enslavement of Africans and Indians
• Population Growth and Ethnic Diversity
• The First Emancipation and the Growth of Racism
• Indians and African Americans at the End of the Century
• Haitian Refugees
• Native American Resistance and Removal
• Abolitionism and the Women's Movement
• Free People of Color
• White Fascination with and Appropriation of Black Culture
• Slave Life and Labor
• Slave Culture
• Slave Resistance and Rebellion
• Harmony and Tension in a Slave Society
• Reparations for Slavery
• Slavery and the Nation's Future
• Terrorist or Freedom Fighter ?

It's hard to see how they ever got anything done in those days, being so busy with constantly oppressing one group or another. The teacher is an older guy (same teacher I had last semester) and his lectures are pretty good at putting it all in context.

It turns out that the author of Kelsey's AP economics textbook is Michael's econ professor at UIUC, Fred Gottheil. I started reading the textbook as well, so I can help Kelsey without having to figure it out on the fly. We spent the evening looking at opportunity costs and comparative advantage.