By Meredith Peckham
Dr. Lauren Turek is a professor of American History at Trinity. She holds a reputation for being one of the “cool” professors, as she does her best to make learning an immersive and enjoyable experience.
“I have always loved history,” says Turek as she launches into a childhood story about visiting historical sites in New England.
Her love of history is manifest in all the degrees she has received: from the bachelor’s degree to the doctorate degree, they are all in history.
Whilst working towards her Ph.D. at the University of Virginia, she found her area of focus and passion -- US foreign relations during the Cold War. Turek would go on to write her dissertation on this topic, which is about to be published as a book.
Besides academia, Turek has also worked for various museums and was responsible for putting together exhibits. These experiences have proven to be invaluable, as she brings history alive in her classroom.
Turek consistently seeks to implement innovative methods to enhance her students’ understanding of the time period at hand. She uses a variety of material, be it music, movies, magazines or artifacts, to allow students to see, hear, feel and read about certain historical period of time.
When talking about the World War II, Turek brought in a can of water from the 1940's that would have been found in a bomb shelter. This artifact helped to convey a sense of what life would have been like in the bomb shelter. In her US History and Politics course, she uses films such as Rebel Without a Cause and Milk to illustrate the respective eras.
At the beginning of each class, Turek plays music related to certain time period as she believes the music will allow her students to have a taste of the time period they are studying. For instance, in her brand new course, US History and Politics Since 1945, when her students were studying the 1970's, she played “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen. Turek explained to her students that Springsteen was singing about the frustrations of the everyday working man of the 1970's, even though at first glance the song seems exceptionally patriotic. The music thus functions to provoke thoughts and jump start class discussion.
“I’d describe Dr. Turek as an encouraging professor. Her classroom was always a judge free zone and she welcomed all thoughts,” says sophomore Avery Tuggle, who took Turek’s class.
Turek also assigns primary source documents as readings, such as articles from Life in 1945, declassified documents from the government, and Ronald Reagan’s 1981 inaugural address. Instead of asking her students to write a standard paper based upon secondary sources, she asked them to write the paper as a book review and they have to use mostly primary sources.
“[Turek] is not only one of the most caring professors but also one of the most knowledgeable and interesting,” says junior Alyssa Craze, a political science major and a current student of Turek. “I really like her use of primary sources and the fact that instead of just lecturing straight at us, she has us create a discussion that really gets to the root of the matter.”
Turek’s new book, Bring the Good News to All Nations: Evangelicals, Human Rights, and U.S. Foreign Policy, is set to be released in March 2020. Her book delves into the evangelical Christian response towards spread of communism during the Cold War. Stay tuned.
Besides academia, Turek has also worked for various museums and was responsible for putting together exhibits. These experiences have proven to be invaluable, as she brings history alive in her classroom.
Turek consistently seeks to implement innovative methods to enhance her students’ understanding of the time period at hand. She uses a variety of material, be it music, movies, magazines or artifacts, to allow students to see, hear, feel and read about certain historical period of time.
When talking about the World War II, Turek brought in a can of water from the 1940's that would have been found in a bomb shelter. This artifact helped to convey a sense of what life would have been like in the bomb shelter. In her US History and Politics course, she uses films such as Rebel Without a Cause and Milk to illustrate the respective eras.
At the beginning of each class, Turek plays music related to certain time period as she believes the music will allow her students to have a taste of the time period they are studying. For instance, in her brand new course, US History and Politics Since 1945, when her students were studying the 1970's, she played “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen. Turek explained to her students that Springsteen was singing about the frustrations of the everyday working man of the 1970's, even though at first glance the song seems exceptionally patriotic. The music thus functions to provoke thoughts and jump start class discussion.
“I’d describe Dr. Turek as an encouraging professor. Her classroom was always a judge free zone and she welcomed all thoughts,” says sophomore Avery Tuggle, who took Turek’s class.
Turek also assigns primary source documents as readings, such as articles from Life in 1945, declassified documents from the government, and Ronald Reagan’s 1981 inaugural address. Instead of asking her students to write a standard paper based upon secondary sources, she asked them to write the paper as a book review and they have to use mostly primary sources.
“[Turek] is not only one of the most caring professors but also one of the most knowledgeable and interesting,” says junior Alyssa Craze, a political science major and a current student of Turek. “I really like her use of primary sources and the fact that instead of just lecturing straight at us, she has us create a discussion that really gets to the root of the matter.”
Turek’s new book, Bring the Good News to All Nations: Evangelicals, Human Rights, and U.S. Foreign Policy, is set to be released in March 2020. Her book delves into the evangelical Christian response towards spread of communism during the Cold War. Stay tuned.
Vampires is not at all like in the movies or books. Sure, I understand. You are young you have the whole world open to you. You can be anything that you choose if you apply yourself and try hard to work toward that goal. But being a Vampire is not what it seems like. It’s a life full of good, and amazing things. We are as human as you are.. It’s not what you are that counts, But how you choose to be. Do you want a life full of interesting things? Do you want to have power and influence over others? To be charming and desirable? To have wealth, health, and longevity, I can help you solve any problem you are having
ReplyDelete(1) If you want your ex back.
(2) If you want to stop having bad dreams.
(3) You want to be promoted in your office.
(4) You want women/men to run after you.
(5) If you want a child.
(6) You want to be rich.
(7) You want to tie your husband/wife to be yours forever.
(8) If you need financial assistance.
(9) If you want to stop your divorce.
(10 If you want to divorce your husband.
(11) If you want your wishes to be granted.
contact the Vampires Lord on his Email: Richvampirekindom@gmail.com