June, 2004

Dear Students:

Your academic journey begins in earnest on August 23rd with Convocation, when all incoming freshmen and new students are formally received into the College of Charleston. An assembly of students and faculty at the official opening of the scholastic year, Convocation is a venerated collegiate celebration recognized by institutions of higher education around the world.

Originally “convocation” denoted the gatherings of the clergy or the divisions of a diocese; however, today, the word and the event have evolved from its ecclesiastical roots to embrace also the intellectual community and its ceremonial assemblies. The College of Charleston’s Convocation will provide you with general information about academic traditions, such as the order of the academic procession, the distinctions of academic regalia, as well as those symbols and mottos unique to the College and the history surrounding various prominent campus buildings and the institution itself.

Another significant element of Convocation is the address by a speaker, a person of regional, national, or international importance who has been selected by the College for his/her contributions to the arts and sciences through writing, research, performance, artistic expression, or leadership. We are honored to have as our featured speaker respected and award-winning author Charles Johnson.

To prepare you to participate in this year’s Convocation, we have sent you a copy of Johnson’s Middle Passage. The following reading guide provides you with several questions to consider while you read through the book. During the fall semester, there will be events and activities on campus highlighting the book, and several courses will be including the title in their required reading lists.

Your decision to attend and study at this historic institution was well made. Over the next few years, we hope to stimulate your imagination and enhance your knowledge of the surrounding world through the College’s excellent academic regimen—a program of diverse study, exciting research, and engaging intellectual debate.

I look forward to meeting you in August and officially welcoming you into the College of Charleston family.

Sincerely,
Lee I. Higdon, Jr.
President

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