| Why did you choose Shimer?
I found out about Shimer while I was attending The Art Institute of Chicago. While The Art Institute’s studio classes impressed me, I was extremely disappointed with its academic classes. (For example, in a Geometry class we didn’t read any Euclid.) I was longing for what I considered a more comprehensive, classical education. That is precisely what Shimer offers. I can now return to art with an understanding of the socio-political, economic, historic and intellectual contexts from which art is created.
What is your favorite course at Shimer?
I cannot honestly choose a favorite Shimer course, probably because Shimer’s interdisciplinary approach has taught me to value all departments of investigation and knowledge equally. Although if I was forced to choose, I would narrow it down to IS 5&6, Nat Sci 2&4, Soc 3&4, Hum 3, and IS 2.
What are your favorite texts in the Shimer curriculum?
Oh, too many to choose from. I loved Buber’s I and Thou because of his description of the relationships between nature, humans, and the divine. Godel’s Proof by Nagel and Newman forced me to completely re-think my notion of mathematics. I loved everything we read by Hannah Arendt because of her ability to penetrate the meaning of the classics and history. And no list would be complete without: Mannheim, Foucault, Gillagan, Shakespeare, Eliade, Goodall, Hegel, Freud, Homer, Freire, Milton, Euclid, and many, many more…
Have you engaged in any independent research / projects during or after your time at Shimer?
I am still investigating some of the ideas I explored in my senior thesis, but now in visual art instead of in an academic paper. My thesis concerned the role of pictorial representations in our creation of knowledge, and my current visual work still investigates and engages issues in representation, depiction, and knowledge.
What is something about your experience at Shimer that you will remember for a very long time?
I do not have any one favorite memory, but rather I remember the immense amount of fun and stimulation we experienced every third weekend, the anticipation leading up to that third weekend, and leaving school on Sunday stuffed full of ideas, happy and exhausted.
What has been the most beneficial aspect of your Shimer education?
The ability to contextualize, question, empathize and understand the variety of human endeavors, histories and productions.
What advice would you give to prospective students?
Be prepared to read, think, discuss, and be challenged. Also prepare to be changed.
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