Many Trinity faculty are not familiar with teaching three-hour seminars! a) what does a typical class look like, from beginning to end and b) how do students remain engaged for that length of time?

I’m moving away from teaching these late-day three-hour seminars because of family considerations, but I’ve enjoyed teaching in this format. Students often expect these classes to be difficult and prepare with great seriousness. It is possible to examine topics in greater depth, in a much more concentrated and sustained way, than is possible in shorter periods. I will typically lead discussion of a conceptual or theoretical question in the first half of class and then, after a short breather, I turn things over to a student or two who has prepared to lead an open-ended discussion of the literary text under question, a discussion to which I and the other students will contribute what is on our agendas.

What would you say is the role of the student in the classroom?

I think students should be in class to both learn and teach. I encourage students to feel a sense of responsibility for their peers’ learning and experience in the classroom. I ask them to recognize the ways in which their dedication to the course materials and to their classmates contributes toward a better intellectual experience for everyone.

How would you finish the following sentence: being a professor at Trinity means…

…having the opportunity to equip students with tools to live their lives with the heightened awareness that comes from close attention to language, narrative norms, literary history, and literary theory and methodology. Specifically, it means helping students to observe the world with greater critical awareness, to engage in productive and intelligent debate, to be more receptive to the experiences of others, and to regard their own modes of life with a healthy dose of self-scrutiny and skepticism.

What is one piece of advice you wish someone had told you when you first started teaching?

Relax.