Сучасні припущення (Ukrainian) – Modern Day Inklings
Summary
- No Hawaiians at Oxford, Oxford Marmalade, and the Alfred Jewel.
- Oxford Tuition.
- Dictators & Ministers
- Actress and Tolkien
- Summary, Modern-Day Inklings
- No Hawaiians…Sadly, there were no Royal Hawaiians that attended Oxford. However, my google search reminded me of how the visit to England killed King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamamalu.
“We review the remarkably tragic 1824 journey of King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamamalu of Hawaii to London and the later enormous impact of measles on Hawaii on first arrival in 1848. The young royalty came to seek an audience with King George IV to negotiate an alliance with England. Virtually the entire royal party developed measles within weeks of arrival, 7 to 10 days after visiting the Royal Military Asylum housing hundreds of soldiers’ children. Within the month the king and queen succumbed to measles complications…The imported epidemics of infections including measles diminished Hawaii’s population from approximately 300,000 at Captain Cook’s arrival in 1778 to 135,000 in 1820 and 53,900 in 1876.”[1]
With that being said, Oxford has produced amazing Jam….” Deciding to sell jars of his wife’s marmalade from his shop at No. 84 High Street in 1874 was Frank Cooper’s master stroke. As soon as Oxford dons and students acquired the taste for it, lured by the ‘oxford Marmalade’
tag, its’ fame was sealed…. wherever Oxfordians went the marmalade went with them” (p.201). And then there is the Alfred Jewel, ‘Alfred had me made’, declares the dragon-headed treasure known as the Alfred Jewel. (p.194)
- Tuition Fees. According to ChatGPT : Tuition fees for non-UK and non-EU undergraduate students can be significantly higher compared to those for UK and EU students. As of the 2021-2022 academic year, the annual tuition fees for most undergraduate courses ranged from approximately £24,570 ($30,931.26) To £38,790 ($48,863.52) for international students.
Despite Oxfords multifaceted impact on education, spanning intellectual, cultural, scientific, and societal realms. It was interesting to note that in the early nineteenth century an Oxford degree was to be obtained by a simple interview with a tutor at the end of the allotted period. Men received honors degree after answering two questions: What Is the meaning of “Golgotha?” and ‘Who founded University College? That the ‘correct’ answer was “King Alfred’, and that this ‘fact was founded on legend rather historical verity, turns the farce into something even more farcical. (p.43). One wonders if something similar could be adopted by Portland Seminary for its students.
- Dictators and Ministers – Paul Sullivan, The Secret History of Oxford, provides a comprehensive listing of amazing authors and politicians. In a major rabbit trail, I asked ChatGPT to identify Dictators that attended Oxford.
The Artificial Intelligence responded with…Dictators.
- Benito Mussolini: Mussolini, the dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943, briefly attended the University of Oxford in 1903 to study politics and economics. However, he was expelled after a short time for his involvement in political activities.
- Robert Mugabe: Robert Mugabe, the former President of Zimbabwe who ruled from 1980 to 2017, attended the University of Oxford in the 1950s. He studied education and pursued a teaching career before becoming involved in politics.
- Emperor Haile Selassie I: While not a dictator in the traditional sense, Haile Selassie was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He attended Oxford briefly in 1916 as part of his exile during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia.
- King Abdullah II of Jordan: While not a dictator, King Abdullah II of Jordan has faced criticism for his government’s authoritarian tendencies. He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Pembroke College, Oxford, where he completed a degree in international affairs.
ChatGPT provided this caution: It is important to note that attending a prestigious university does not necessarily indicate or determine a person’s future political path. Many individuals attend universities for a variety of reasons, and their eventual actions in leadership roles can be influenced by complex historical, social, and political factors.
Selah.
On the flip side both Sullivan and ChatGPT provided a lengthy list of renowned ministers
ChatGPT – Ministers
Religious Figures:
- John Wesley: Theologian and founder of Methodism, Wesley studied at Christ Church, Oxford. (Sullivan, p.54,67,164) Additionally: from https://www.wesleyan.org/about/our-story, Wesley’s impact on U.S. Slavery…” In 1843, when the silence of America’s churches on the issue of slavery was deafening, a new denomination arose – an abolitionist denomination. Led by Orange Scott, the Wesleyan Methodists called for an immediate end to slavery. Wesleyans even planted anti-slavery churches in the South before the Civil War and were active in the Underground Railroad as well.
- John Henry Newman: Theologian and cardinal, Newman was a significant figure in the Oxford Movement and studied at Trinity College, Oxford (Sullivan, p. 28 & 128). The Oxford Movement was a revelation to me, in https://www.britannica.com/event/Oxford-movement, “Oxford movement, 19th-century movement centered at the University of Oxford that sought a renewal of “catholic,” or Roman Catholic, thought and practice within the Church of England in opposition to the Protestant tendencies of the church. The argument was that the Anglican church was by history and identity a truly “catholic” church. An immediate cause of the movement was the change that took place in the relationship between the state and the Church of England from 1828 to 1832.”
- WARNING: It is interesting to note that ChatGPT lists Desmond Tutu: Archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Tutu studied theology at St. Peter’s College, Oxford. However, he is not listed in Sullivan’s book, and according to https://www.britannica.com/biography/Desmond-Tutu, “In 1966 he obtained an M.A. from King’s College London.”
4. Actress and Author –
Actress: While Sullivan does not mention Sarah Rafferty (Suits), she
did apparently go to Oxford… “Rafferty studied at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1989. She majored in English and Theatre at Hamilton College, studied theatre abroad in the United Kingdom and 
at the University of Oxford during her junior year, and, after graduating magna cum laude from Hamilton in 1993, went on to study at the Yale School of Drama, receiving a Master of Fine Arts. Rafferty was one of the guests at Meghan Markle’s (Duchess of Sussex) wedding to Prince Harry at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Rafferty)
Author: Of the many authors that nested at Oxford, J.R. Tolkien is perhaps the one that most impacted my young teens. It was interesting to note that J.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were academic beer peers at a local pub.
ChatGPT states – “The Eagle and Child, often referred to simply as “The Bird and Baby,” is a historic pub in Oxford, England. The name of the pub has its origins in heraldry, mythology, and symbolism.” See Sullivan page 183.
ChatGPT goes on to say, “The pub gained significant literary and historical importance due to its association with the Inklings, a literary group that included famous writers like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. They would often meet at The Eagle and Child for discussions, readings, and companionship. This connection has further solidified the pub’s place in literary and cultural history.”
The Inklings (see Sullivan for more on the pub, p. 131 and 183) were an informal literary group that met in Oxford, England, during the mid-20th century. The Inklings held regular meetings to discuss literature, share their works, and engage in intellectual conversations. The Inklings were formed in the early 1930s when a small group of friends, including Tolkien and Lewis, began meeting regularly to read and critique each other’s writings. The group’s name, “Inklings,” is believed to have been suggested by Tolkien, reflecting the idea that they were “inkling” or hinting at their creative works.
Summary:
Sullivan helped me understand the history in context with his Brief History (pg. 9), and his Oxford Curiosities (pg.220). As we walk down the streets and courtyards of the colleges in Oxford, I feel we will be transported, not only by the architectural sights and sounds, but engulfed in the academic aura of the place.
The first year of our program was not only instructional, but game changing in how we critically think about our NPOs. As we drill down into the nuts and bolts of our studies, I think that Oxford will serve as an appropriate launch pad for our second year.
Perhaps we too will be modern-day authors gaining an INKLING of what is to come.
Shalom.
References
Sullivan, Paul. 2013. The Secret History of Oxford. Stroud, : The History Press.
[1] Shulman, Stanford T., Deborah L. Shulman, and Ronald H. Sims. “The Tragic 1824 Journey of the Hawaiian King and Queen to London: History of Measles in Hawaii.” The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 28, no. 8 (August 2009): 728–33. https://doi.org/10.1097/INF.0b013e31819c9720.
About the Author
Russell Chun
interlinkt.org is now ready for your Refugee Resettlement needs. 15 tasks, languages ESL plans coming6 responses to “Сучасні припущення (Ukrainian) – Modern Day Inklings”
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Russell,
Who knew that AI would know of the dictators and religious figures that attended Oxford? Perhaps Sullivan needs to write an expanded edition with some augmented AI insights or maybe just spend some time with you, Russell, at an Inklings meeting of sorts?
Thank you for adding to the curiosity around Oxford. I am looking forward to how the Lord will integrate his thoughts into all that we absorb and learn in Oxford..
Hi Russell,
I am impressed how you used this post to jump into ChatGPT. Had you used it before now? I got my first taste today. Still muddling through my thoughts for next week’s blog post.
I enjoyed reading the names of people who attended Oxford and did a lot of google searches on people I was unfamiliar with but it didn’t cross my mind to use ChatGPT. Did you check references or find information that you were unsure about.
I found myself impressed by the spiritual heritage and challenges of the Oxford’s colleges. I had not heard of John Henry Newman. What stands out to you regarding his contribution to the spiritual heritage of the university?
Hi Jenny,
John Henry Newman CO (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican priest and later as a Catholic priest and cardinal, who was an important and controversial figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. He was known nationally by the mid-1830s,[11] and was canonised as a saint in the Catholic Church in 2019.
I don’t know many that have transitioned from the Protestant Faith to Catholicism, but then to become a SAINT? Wow (by the way I was catholic).
The fact that he was part of the Oxford Movement (something new for me) was interesting.
ChatGPT: Someone told me I should use it to write a first draft of a sermon. Not sure what that says about my sermons. Haha. I’ve actually experimented doing just that and have found it very lackluster and often incorrect. However, when I asked it to write a call to worship for Easter morning in the voice of Barbara Brown Taylor I received some useable liturgy requiring only a few edits. I may or may not have used said liturgy in worship.
I appreciate your use of ChatGPT especially with this post. I have found myself wondering what I should write about since we are posting about an 11 min video. This was a creative idea.
Russell,
I love the trail your mind goes down! I don’t know if I would’ve thought to research Dictators that went to Oxford…What an interesting fact:). Maybe your blog could be …Even Deeper Secrets of Oxford:). I am also moved by your information of what happened to Hawaiians as they journeyed to Europe and caught measles. It seems so parallel to our recent global shut down due to covid! We are irrevocably changed when we step out our door, sometimes for the better sometimes for the worse. May we all have a hedge of protection as we journey out our front door!
Hey Russel, I like your thought about us being modern day authors. That’s a good point. We are authors making a difference in our sphere of influence. We are authors leaving our “print” on this world. Thanks for your thoughts sir and I am looking forward to walking the streets with you!