Thursday, December 17, 2015
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Monday, December 14, 2015
The Last View: Beyond The Grave Video
Click here to watch Zoie's final project in her Beyond the Grave FYE
Freshman Year Seminar: Blogs and Burial Grounds (Sarah Zschunke)
Click here to watch my video on our Beyond the Grave class!
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Adventures Beyond the Grave
Beginning at the End of Life
Click here to see Anna's Kizoa video on this semester's Beyond the Grave class!
Monday, December 7, 2015
Samantha's Old Charlestonian Research
Click here to read about Francis W. Capers and our similar stomping grounds. 
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Saturday, December 5, 2015
A Simple Ending for an Eventful Life: Robert Adger Bowen
Click here to be just as impressed as I was by the incredible life of Robert Adger Bowen.
Friday, December 4, 2015
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Illustrating the life of author John Bennett
Click here to view Kaitlin's post on author John Bennett
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Monday, November 30, 2015
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Monday, November 23, 2015
The Last Words-Epitaphs: By Sarah Zschunke
From the Unitarian Church in Charleston, to Bethel United Methodist Church, to Holy Cross Cemetery, then Mount Pleasant Memorial Gardens, and finally back to the famous Magnolia, these special epitaphs varied throughout.
Avery's Epic Epitaph
For my Epic Epitaph project I visited Bethel United Methodist Church, St Patrick Catholic Church, and St. Luke Episcopal Cathedral.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Exceptionally Epic Epitaphs
Our mission for this weeks FYE class was to find exceptionally epic epitaphs in Charleston graveyards. View my Prezi to check them out!
Kool Kreations With Kizoa!
Kizoa is a really neat, fun, and easy-to-use slideshow program. It is free- just go to the website and do the steps to set up your account.
Kizoa has a vast library of special effects, animations and music that can turn a so-so slideshow into something fun and engaging. Check out this Kizoa slideshow I did not long ago about Charleston's beautiful and historic Magnolia Cemetery, about which (plug alert!) I have written two books.
Magnolia Birds - Kizoa Online Movie Maker
The College of Charleston's First Year Experience is really top notch. Its purpose is to better acclimate freshmen to life in college with all of its many challenges and opportunities.
Kizoa has a vast library of special effects, animations and music that can turn a so-so slideshow into something fun and engaging. Check out this Kizoa slideshow I did not long ago about Charleston's beautiful and historic Magnolia Cemetery, about which (plug alert!) I have written two books.
Magnolia Birds - Kizoa Online Movie Maker
The College of Charleston's First Year Experience is really top notch. Its purpose is to better acclimate freshmen to life in college with all of its many challenges and opportunities.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Apple iMovie Editing Video Tutorial
I produced this video specifically for the Mac students who may use Apple's iMovie to create a final project in our "Beyond the Grave" First Year Experience course at the College of Charleston.
I am hopeful that this may benefit these students in the future as well when they may have other chances to produce amazing videos. The tutorial runs 10:50.
Ironically, I edited this iMovie tutorial in Windows Movie Maker. I don't have a Mac computer. The video was shot at South Carolina State University where I am an instructor in the emerging Communications Program.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Visiting the graves in the Dark
Click here to view Kaitlin's post about our night visit to Bethel United Methodist
Casually Visiting Graveyards Past Dark, Typical Beyond the Grave
Click here to visit Lindsey's Night Time Experience
Click here to visit Lindsey's Night Time Experience
"Flashlight" Graveyard Tour Change of Venue a Hit
I'm one for two with Presbyterian churches this semester!
First Scots downtown was wonderful, inviting me to speak recently about my Magnolia Cemetery books, and having first class attendees, food and audio-visual equipment for my presentation.
But 2nd Presbyterian Church , also downtown on Meeting Street, earned second (last place really) place status with me after not allowing my students and I to visit on the night of Nov. 16- this after weeks of speaking with an administrator there and having her approval. I won't give the details but it left a bad, bitter taste...
Plan B, though, worked out nicely. Bethel United Methodist Church, located at the corner of Calhoun and Pitt streets next to CofC's Addlestone Libary, has a lovely small graveyard. Dating all the way back to 1797 at this location, Bethel UMC has a very rich and interesting history.
So the students and I visited there. The objectives were to see and photograph "epic" epitaphs for an upcoming assignment and also for the students to scout the old Charlestonian gravesite that each will write about in a research project due at the end of the term.
Some photos I took during our Nov. 16 visit:
First Scots downtown was wonderful, inviting me to speak recently about my Magnolia Cemetery books, and having first class attendees, food and audio-visual equipment for my presentation.
But 2nd Presbyterian Church , also downtown on Meeting Street, earned second (last place really) place status with me after not allowing my students and I to visit on the night of Nov. 16- this after weeks of speaking with an administrator there and having her approval. I won't give the details but it left a bad, bitter taste...
Plan B, though, worked out nicely. Bethel United Methodist Church, located at the corner of Calhoun and Pitt streets next to CofC's Addlestone Libary, has a lovely small graveyard. Dating all the way back to 1797 at this location, Bethel UMC has a very rich and interesting history.
So the students and I visited there. The objectives were to see and photograph "epic" epitaphs for an upcoming assignment and also for the students to scout the old Charlestonian gravesite that each will write about in a research project due at the end of the term.
Some photos I took during our Nov. 16 visit:
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Night Time Flashlight Tour
Click here to see Sammi's post about our class trip to Bethel United Methodist Church.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Monday, November 16, 2015
Sophie Meserve's Ghost Walk Post
Click here to see my blog post on the ghost walk at Magnolia Cemetery!
The Circle of Life
Click here to view Annie's alternate assignment visit to the Circular Congregational Church!
Click here to see Samantha Sinrich's alternative post about my visit to the Second Presbyterian Church on Meeting St. in downtown Charleston!
The Circular Congressional Church
Click Here to see Kaitlin's post about her visit to the Circular Congressional Church
No Spooks on Friday the Thirteenth
Click here to check out Zoie's view on Magnolia Cemetery's 24th Annual Confederate Ghost Walk!
Life After Death
Click here to see Anna's alternative assignment about her trip to the Unitarian Church in Charleston, South Carolina
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Graveyard Recommendation
If it is a beautiful day, this is the place to be.
For the alternative assignment to the Magnolia Ghost walk, I decided to check out The Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston. Located at 342 Meeting Street, this beautiful church and graveyard is right in downtown Charleston.
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| I like this picture because it shows how big the church is in comparison to the graveyard. |
Not only is this church the 4th oldest standing original church in Charleston, it also has a rich history. The church started being built in 1809 and was finished in 1811. Since then there have been people buried there from almost every war including The Revolutionary War.
Talk Takeaways: Dr. George Dickinson Goes "Beyond the Grave" with FYE Students
"My family didn't all die in a plane crash," quipped esteemed College of Charleston sociology professor Dr. George Dickinson as he opened his talk to my "Beyond the Grave" First Year Experience course students on Nov. 2 in our Robert Scott Small classroom.
No, it wasn't a personal tragedy that launched the Texas native decades ago on his career academic expertise: death, dying and bereavement, which is part of the name of the book he co-authored in 1993 that has since been updated and expanded a pretty amazing 14 times!
No, it wasn't a personal tragedy that launched the Texas native decades ago on his career academic expertise: death, dying and bereavement, which is part of the name of the book he co-authored in 1993 that has since been updated and expanded a pretty amazing 14 times!
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Monday, November 9, 2015
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Monday, November 2, 2015
The Keys to my Happiness- Sarah Zschunke
These are the top 10 things/people/places that I enjoy most in this world and would have trouble living without.
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http://www.cofcsports.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPID=7053&SPSID=64077
http://www.frippislandresort.com/?utm_expid=36377256-1.zBa5Rq8XSJ2chEQb65jpIA.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
http://www.cofcsports.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPID=7053&SPSID=64077
Sammi's top 10 things that make her happy!
Click here to see the 10 things that make me the happiest!
Sophie's Top Ten Reasons Why New England is Special
Click here to see Sophie's blog post about New England.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Friday, October 30, 2015
Friday, October 23, 2015
Prezi Presentation: Funeral and Cemetery Evolution
This Prezi was shown to the class on October 12. Please review it for the Midterm Exam.
Prezi Presentation: Cemetery Types and Symbols
This Prezi was shown to the class on Sept. 14. Please review it for the Midterm Exam.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Olivia Gartner's Church Graveyards Post
Click here to see my post about our class visit to church graveyards near campus
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Monday, October 5, 2015
Sarah Zschunke's Ancestor Post
Click here to read more about my great uncle, Russell Donald Erickson.
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Friday, October 2, 2015
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Monday, September 28, 2015
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Friday, September 25, 2015
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Monumental Magnolia Cemetery Field Trip!
The temperatures and bug activity were fairly moderate on Sept. 21 for our highly anticipated (by me anyway!) visit to Magnolia Cemetery, as part of the "Beyond the Grave" First Year Experience course I am teaching this fall.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Beautiful and Historic Charleston Graveyards
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Graveyard visit 9/7/15
This headstone is for Georceanna Hume who was born on October 19th, 1819 and she died on September 7th, 1855. There is a bird on the headstone which is symbolic of the winged soul.
This headstone belongs to Harriet Sarah Nowell, who was the beloved wife of John Lasgelles Nowell. The crown on a cross signifies the Sovereignty of the Lord.
I found this mausoleum at the Cathedral when I went to visit with my class. This one was unique because of the pillars and that it was the first thing you saw when you walked into the graveyard.
This tablet stone belongs to the sacred John Dircy, for some reason his stone is broken in half at the top. The cross signifies religion and his stone was engraved but unfortunately it is not readable in the picture.
The tombstones above are a man and wife who were buried next to each other, so they could always be together forever. On both of their gravestones they had bible passages.
Above is a picture of the Episcopal Cathedral graveyard taken from outside of the gate that surrounds it.
Sarah Zschunke's Blog Post
Click here to read Sarah Zschunke's blog post about the September 7th visits to The Episcopal Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul and St. Patrick Catholic Church.
Zoie Kelly's Gravyard Visit
Click here to read about Zoie Kelly's September 7th graveyard visits in Charleston, SC.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Sophie Meserve's Graveyard Visit
Click here to see Sophie Meserve's post on the graveyards visited on 9/7/15.
Read Samantha Sinrich's Blog Post
Click here to see Samantha Sinrich's post on our class visit to two old Charleston church graveyards on Sept. 7.
Read Annie Arneman's Church Graveyard Post
Click here to see Annie Arneman's blog post about the September 7 trip to two Charleston graveyards.
Week 3 Prezi Presentation: Funeral and Cemetery Evolution
In this Week 3 Prezi on Sept. 14 we will explore the evolution of funerary and cemetery customs in the world and America.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Read Patrick Harwood's Church Graveyard Post
Click here to see Patrick Harwood's impressions, research and photos related to our classes' Sept. 7 visit to two old Charleston church graveyards.
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| Students at a St. Luke's graveyard mausoleum |
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Church Graveyards Visit a Hit!
During class on Sept. 7 I took my "Beyond the Grave" students to two nearby churches to see their graveyards. Both churches are very old. The Episcopal Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul on Coming Street dates to 1810. St Patrick Catholic Church on St. Philip Street opened in 1838.
St. Luke's features a rich array of grave markers, monuments and memorials, including headstones and flat ledger stones seen in the forefront and mausoleums seen in the background. The ledger stones were designed to keep the spirits from escaping and haunting the living!
An ornate iron gate surrounds this family plot. Two pedestal tombs with vaulted tops are seen along the left side of this photo. Next to the pedestal tomb in the forefront is a pedestal with a draped broken column on it. The broken column symbolizes a life cut short, often men who died in their twenties or thirties.
The drapery connotes mourning and sadness.
Students pose in front of a large mausoleum behind the St. Luke/St. Paul Church.
Notice the inverted torches on both sides of the door. This is a symbol of an extinguished life. If the upside down torch is lighted, as these two are, there is the promising message of eternal life after death in Heaven. When the torch is inverted and not lit, this means the end to the family name because there are no sons to carry it on.
The Latin inscription at the top of the mausoleum reads "Qui Christo Vivit Perire Nescit" ("He who knows Christ never perishes").
I found online someone who also wrote about this mausoleum in a blog called "Cocktails in Charleston."
A short walk from St. Luke's, on St. Philip Street, is St. Patrick Catholic Church, which has a smaller graveyard than St. Luke's.
This one consists mainly of neatly arranged in rows headstones, many dating to the pre-Civil War or Antebellum times.
A tall obelisk is an example of the elaborate Victorian Era grave monument. This one is not as tall as many that can be found in Charleston. But it makes up for its modest height with a litany of words and a handsome family crest.
Obelisks, a design dating to ancient times, is a symbol of a family or person's power, strength and wealth.
To the obelisk's right is a cross mounted on a platform of boulders. The boulders may also be interpreted as symbols of strength and power. But they can also refer to the earlier gravesites in ancient times when stones and boulders were placed over buried bodies to keep the dead from rising out of their graves.
The view from the back of the graveyard at St. Patrick Catholic Church. The family plot seen in the forefront has several classic grave marker styles.
From left to right, we see a headstone that's angled at the top, a style common to the 18th and early 19th centuries. The smaller rounded headstone is characteristic of the mid-18th century and later. Another cross-on-boulder marker is next to that (see notes on this style above) and on the far right is a small pedestal tomb with vaulted top, a nod to power, wealth and stability.
Many thanks to the folks at St. Luke's and St. Patrick's churches for allowing us to visit their most interesting graveyards!
 |
| Graveyard at St. Luke's |
St. Luke's features a rich array of grave markers, monuments and memorials, including headstones and flat ledger stones seen in the forefront and mausoleums seen in the background. The ledger stones were designed to keep the spirits from escaping and haunting the living!
 |
| St. Luke's graveyard |
An ornate iron gate surrounds this family plot. Two pedestal tombs with vaulted tops are seen along the left side of this photo. Next to the pedestal tomb in the forefront is a pedestal with a draped broken column on it. The broken column symbolizes a life cut short, often men who died in their twenties or thirties.
The drapery connotes mourning and sadness.
 |
| Mausoleum at St. Luke's graveyard |
Students pose in front of a large mausoleum behind the St. Luke/St. Paul Church.
Notice the inverted torches on both sides of the door. This is a symbol of an extinguished life. If the upside down torch is lighted, as these two are, there is the promising message of eternal life after death in Heaven. When the torch is inverted and not lit, this means the end to the family name because there are no sons to carry it on.
The Latin inscription at the top of the mausoleum reads "Qui Christo Vivit Perire Nescit" ("He who knows Christ never perishes").
I found online someone who also wrote about this mausoleum in a blog called "Cocktails in Charleston."
 |
| The long narrow graveyard at St. Patrick Catholic Church |
A short walk from St. Luke's, on St. Philip Street, is St. Patrick Catholic Church, which has a smaller graveyard than St. Luke's.
This one consists mainly of neatly arranged in rows headstones, many dating to the pre-Civil War or Antebellum times.
 |
| A beautifully inscribed obelisk |
A tall obelisk is an example of the elaborate Victorian Era grave monument. This one is not as tall as many that can be found in Charleston. But it makes up for its modest height with a litany of words and a handsome family crest.
Obelisks, a design dating to ancient times, is a symbol of a family or person's power, strength and wealth.
To the obelisk's right is a cross mounted on a platform of boulders. The boulders may also be interpreted as symbols of strength and power. But they can also refer to the earlier gravesites in ancient times when stones and boulders were placed over buried bodies to keep the dead from rising out of their graves.
 |
| Graveyard at St. Patrick's church on St. Philip Street |
The view from the back of the graveyard at St. Patrick Catholic Church. The family plot seen in the forefront has several classic grave marker styles.
From left to right, we see a headstone that's angled at the top, a style common to the 18th and early 19th centuries. The smaller rounded headstone is characteristic of the mid-18th century and later. Another cross-on-boulder marker is next to that (see notes on this style above) and on the far right is a small pedestal tomb with vaulted top, a nod to power, wealth and stability.
Many thanks to the folks at St. Luke's and St. Patrick's churches for allowing us to visit their most interesting graveyards!
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