A Summer of Lunar Dreams — Fifty years ago, the moon was on everyone’s mind. The summer began with regular updates about the preparations to send Apollo 11 and its three crew members–Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins–to the moon. On July 16, 1969, the whole nation watched as Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy and set course for the moon. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin landed the Apollo lunar module on an area of the moon called the Sea of Tranquillity, but no one was feeling tranquil at the time. The national lunar obsession reached its apex six hours after the landing when Neil Armstrong climbed out of the module and became the first person to step onto the surface of the moon.
I was fourteen at the time, but I still have vivid memories of that summer. I remember kicking off the summer by building an elaborate model of the Apollo capsule and being so pleased that I got the decals on straight. My family did not have a television, but I remember going to our closest neighbor’s house a quarter-mile up the road to watch the landing on his television. I remember my mother keeping the radio on almost continuously that summer so that she could keep up with the latest the news related to the Apollo 11 mission. I even remember buying a Peter Max poster that had something to do with the moon landing.
One of the reasons that the Apollo 11 mission captured the public imagination is that it tapped into our culture’s longstanding focus on all things related to the moon. For most of us, the moon is part of the culture of our childhood. We grow up listening to nursery rhymes, folk tales, and fairy tales about the moon. We see countless images of the moon in our picture books. We draw pictures of the moon in school. The cultural associations that we have with the moon have become inextricably entwined with the Apollo 11 mission.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Monica Burke and I created a two-part moon exhibit in the lobby area of the English Department. Part of the exhibit includes images associated with the moon landing. The part of the exhibit that is in the display case features images of the moon from picture books, including Good Night Moon, Where the Wild Things Are, and Harold and the Purple Crayon. The next time you are in the English Department, check out the exhibit. It is your chance to travel back to the summer of lunar dreams.
Kudos — As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of the English Department. Here is the latest news:
Pilar Blitvich will deliver the plenary presentation at the Approaches to Digital Discourse Analysis Conference this week at the University of Turku in Finland. Her presentation is titled “Moral Indignation, Moral Panics, and Online Shaming.” Abagail Higgins, one of our recently graduated undergraduate students, served as Pilar’s research assistant on this project, and she will be attending the conference with Pilar.
Lara Vetter recently gave a talk on H.D.’s short fiction in Yale University’s Visiting Scholars Seminars series, jointly organized by the Yale Center for British Art, the Lewis Walpole Library, and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Upcoming Events and Deadlines — Here is information about upcoming events and deadlines:
May 20 — The first day of class for the first summer session is Monday, May 20, 2019.
May 21 —The last day to add or drop a class with no grade is Tuesday, May 21, 2019.
Quirky Quiz Question — What is the name of the name of the Apollo lunar module that landed on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission? Here is a hint: Neil Armstrong said the name of the lunar module when he reported that they had safely landed.
Last week’s answer: When Charlotte College became the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
According to the 2019 Spring Commencement Program, the UNC Charlotte Bell was donated to “Charlotte College in 1960 to be rung on ceremonial occasions.” One such occasion took place on March 2, 1965. What was celebrated on this occasion?
