In the presence of GREATNESS!

Tonight, I was in the presence of greatness. David Harvey, THE founder of modern geography is at Dartmouth for four days at a conference we’re holding on The Modern City that brings together Geographers from across the country (and around the world, for that matter) to examine the state of the political, economic, and social entities governing these municipalities and understand how and why what was once a body focused on localities has now turned outward and is a local body acting on a global scale. Harvey’s lecture was beyond stimulating.

I spent my off-term (see the D-Plan for an explanation) working in Washington D.C. for an organization whose goal was to reform the IMF and World Bank. Having spent 10 weeks inundated in injustices of these International Financial Institutions, to hear Harvey deconstruct the causes of these global superpowers was awe-inspiring.

The lecture was held in Moore Hall, which is officially the Psychology and Brain Sciences building; however, the larger auditoriums are often used to hold special lectures. The 250 seat auditorium was packed with world-renowned experts (including my professors), all of Dartmouth's Geography majors/modified-majors/minors, a fair number of community members, and a group of students and professors from Middlebury College in Vermont.

Following Harvey’s lecture there were numerous questions from students and professors alike, but Harvey graciously made the conscious effort to answer all the students’ questions first – a testament to his dedication to furthering the knowledge of the younger generation of Geographers and also an act that flattered all of us students to no end.

When the lecture was over, all my fellow geographers and I met up and talked about the lecture, comparing notes, exchanging expressions of awe and excitement, and talking with our Dartmouth Professors as well before they excused themselves to take Mr. Harvey to dinner in Hanover.