Published on March 22, 2019

Discussing Walls

Walking into my first meeting with many established members of the Political Science department was without a doubt very daunting as a young student beginning my experience with the program. And of course, with such a heavy topic it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and under-prepared in the face of experts.

We were fortunate enough to get an inside look at Dr. David Frye’s books Walls: A History of Civilization in Blood and Brick, a historical account of one of modern politics most volatile topics. It’s no surprise that in a room of political thinkers the concept turned towards boarder walls and how they have played a role throughout history to shape cultures inside and outside.

What was the most interesting, was Dr. Frye’s opinion on the political climate. After many questions from the audience and members of the department, he explained that he is purely a historian, he looks at facts to tell a story of the past rather than predict the future. Political Science often contains only the facts that people want to see, those who wanted a wall saw how the wall is beneficial, those who don’t saw how they failed.

Dr. Frye’s book was manipulated and interpreted in many different directions, but at the end of the day it is purely just a historical account of when and where border walls have prospered. Even in such a heightened political climate it is important to remember the roots of the things we fight for, security and safety. That is why walls are built, and sometimes why walls are broken down.

Although the conversation was about walls, I feel that this event was an eye opening and border breaking experience for myself becoming involved in the Political Science community at Eastern. I highly recommend anyone interested make an effort to attend a night of Pizza and Politics.

Written by Mary Greenwell