RE LOG Spring '25

22 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2023 vie for those coveted (and competitive) spots. The fellows have also modeled what it means to do “public humanities,” in King’s words, inspiring RE teachers to create similar opportunities within and across existing courses. Students in the Applied Ethics course, another outgrowth of the Holzman Center, craft independent projects that involve not just public visibility but explicit advocacy: pamphlets circulated at community board meetings, petitions to local government. “These passion projects empower students to be creative, engaged citizens in their broader community,” said Jenny Carson ’03 , who teaches the Applied Ethics course. “This work serves as a springboard for meaningful engagement with the world beyond the classroom, where their ideas and ethical reasoning can have a tangible impact.” Meanwhile, the English Department is placing more emphasis than ever on presenting research to a wider audience. Students in all three 11th-grade Research Seminars, having already written the classic research paper in the fall, now spend their spring semester learning how to convey an original perspective on a literary text in a public-facing format: a podcast, TED Talk, or YouTube-style video essay. Next year will see the launch of the department’s very first 600-level course: a Literary Theory seminar in which, after wrestling with Derrida and Kant, seniors will spend the second semester making a public-facing project that uses theory to illuminate a piece of pop culture – a film, a song or even a video game that matters to them. “For me, literary theory fully unlocks students’ abilities to engage with literature, culture and the world in a way which feels authentic to their own interests and voice,” said English Department Coordinator Matthew Helmers. “It’s like, after many years of hard study, these students are finally able to be handed the secret manual on how all this stuff works … and then I get to say, ‘Now go have fun.’” Building a Contemplative Space Thus far, RE students who have produced these kinds of projects have had few places to display them. That will change in spring 2027, when the new humanities building on the La Brisa side of campus is projected to open its doors. Since the early ’60s, humanities classes have been housed in Ludington, a building that has its charms – Lila Diamond ’23 wrote a passionate ode to its idiosyncrasies and lived-in coziness in The Catalyst – but also undeniable weaknesses. “I had classes in there 40 years ago,” said Chief Operating Officer David Clark ’86 . “That tells you something. And I think when you look at collaboration between teachers, and you look at the way departments collaborate, and even kids collaborate, Ludington does not allow us that kind of space.” “STEM builds the bridge, and STEM saves the patient, and STEM creates the algorithm. What we do is intangible – though arguably of greater importance.” – Ransom Everglades Humanities Department Chair Jen Nero 5