Week One

Erica Schweiger
Reynolds
ENGL 1102
January 11, 2008

“Engineers and the New South Creed” opened new information to me about the origins of Georgia Tech and how my school developed before my entrance this year. Previous to the reading, I had not given much thought to the reason why a strictly technical school had been created and located in Georgia, especially at its time of inception. I found it interesting to learn how Georgia Institute of technology had begun to change its surroundings, as well as the economical boost that spread throughout the South. It seemed to me that the foundation of the school was under the idea of beating the North at its own game. I never saw my college as a protest of Southern Strength, and I found it interesting how Georgia Tech has evolved from its first years to the point at which it is today. The addition of numerous majors over the years has expanded the technological field, and worked in my benefit as Architecture major, since I came to a school where I am surrounded by people with creative minds. I especially liked the quote in reference to Thurston that suggests that “graduates of the technical schools would be members of a profession that would be served by the trade school graduates.”
In continuing our reading with the introduction to Black Metropolis I developed a lot of questions. I was not sure whether to be somewhat insulted by the category in which the white race has been placed, or to gain understanding with the subject of the book, African Americans in the urbanized world. As I read through I saw that white men are “built upon greed, exploitation, and a general denial of humanity” and I hoped I would not be categorized with the slave owners of early America (XXV). I feel that it is unfair for anyone to be judged by the color of their skin, and I don’t believe that my foundation as an individual has been corrupted by an act that happened much before my time. I do however agree that the author formulated a background on the way in which hopeless people are preyed on by society in reference Hitler’s power. People who are being corrupt by their surroundings should receive attention, especially in a country that emphasizes security for the growing populations.