Issue link: http://tcnj.uberflip.com/i/721797
21 BABY BOOMERS ... WERE NOT EXPECTING A GRANDMA AND GRANDPA ON TV, BUT SOMETHING MORE STIMULATING. Humanities to develop a course on the history of fame. We start with the Ancient Greeks and go all the way up to the French Revolution. You'd be surprised how many classic texts— Homer's The Iliad, the Gospel of Mark, the Confessions of St. Augustine—have a real interest in the meaning of fame and popularity. I knew we were onto something very powerful when our study of fame in Ancient Roman poetry veered into a fascinating discussion of Kanye West and Lady Gaga. Where does Eisenhower fit into all this? As a military officer, Ike had a distinctly Roman sense of fame. The Romans didn't have a particularly developed sense of the afterlife, and so fame for them was a way of achieving immortal- ity. Fame wasn't about individual glory: It came from public service, from what one accomplished for the good of Rome. To many voters in the 1950s, Eisenhower exemplified this principle: His fame and likeability were rooted in his humble service to the state. Happy Birthday, Mr. President Marilyn Monroe represented an abrupt shift in tone from the celebrity world Ike inhabited. Renée Olson is the editor of TCNJ Magazine and owner of Squint, The Content Shop.