2008 Woodie Awards
Transitions: It's All in the Name
L.J. Bryant
Issue date: 3/31/06 Section: News
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There is one course at Hendrix that is treasured by the diverse faculty that teach it and by the students who enrollment in it and call it "hands down the best course at Hendrix." A replacement for MasterWorks, Transitions is a new course in conjunction with the Murphy Program that continues to shape students' last years at Hendrix.
The Hendrix Murphy program defines "Transitions" as a course for students moving into the latter half of their college years and as a transformation in role from initial academic experiences in the first-year courses "Journeys" and "Explorations".
Seminar courses like Transitions help develop communication skills - both oral and written, according to Economics and Business Professor and Humanities Area Chair Lyle Rupert said, who is also part of Transitions' faculty.
"Discussions allow students to hear other viewpoints which bring out issues they might not have otherwise considered," he said. "We are exposed to significant literary and other works which we might not have experienced on our own. Students develop skills that bring them closer to being peers with the faculty members. There is less of a faculty vs. student relationship."
Senior Gregory Varner said he choose to take the course because the class, "sounded like it would be very similar to Vocation and Integrity, which I enjoyed a lot. It has definitely had many aspects in common, which has made it enjoyable."
Transitions is meant to align with the annual Murphy themes where possible, according to Dr. Ralph McKenna, psychology professor and Transitions coordinator. This year's theme is "The Language and Literature of the City," and many of the works selected fit that theme from "The Da Vinci Code" to "Rent" to "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime."
The course utilizes a 'tag-team' approach by having four faculty teaching specific portions of the course and students groups of four teaching four other pieces of literature. Faculty selected works are "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon; "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown; "Maise Dobbs" by Jacqueline Winspear; and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" by Stephen Sondheim.
The Hendrix Murphy program defines "Transitions" as a course for students moving into the latter half of their college years and as a transformation in role from initial academic experiences in the first-year courses "Journeys" and "Explorations".
Seminar courses like Transitions help develop communication skills - both oral and written, according to Economics and Business Professor and Humanities Area Chair Lyle Rupert said, who is also part of Transitions' faculty.
"Discussions allow students to hear other viewpoints which bring out issues they might not have otherwise considered," he said. "We are exposed to significant literary and other works which we might not have experienced on our own. Students develop skills that bring them closer to being peers with the faculty members. There is less of a faculty vs. student relationship."
Senior Gregory Varner said he choose to take the course because the class, "sounded like it would be very similar to Vocation and Integrity, which I enjoyed a lot. It has definitely had many aspects in common, which has made it enjoyable."
Transitions is meant to align with the annual Murphy themes where possible, according to Dr. Ralph McKenna, psychology professor and Transitions coordinator. This year's theme is "The Language and Literature of the City," and many of the works selected fit that theme from "The Da Vinci Code" to "Rent" to "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime."
The course utilizes a 'tag-team' approach by having four faculty teaching specific portions of the course and students groups of four teaching four other pieces of literature. Faculty selected works are "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon; "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown; "Maise Dobbs" by Jacqueline Winspear; and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" by Stephen Sondheim.