Fall 2015

HUMANITIES

B R I G H A M YO U N G U N I V E R S I T Y CO L L E G E O F H U M A N I T I E S

FALL 2015

prologue

The Richest Part of Our Collective Lives

By Dean J. Scott Miller

BRADLEY SLADE

College of Humanities was officially born on June 1, 1965; now, half a century later, it embodies eight departments, ten centers, dozens of major and minor programs, and hundreds of courses touching the academic life of nearly every BYU student. We represent a global network of more than 30,000 alumni who practice the humanities in a dazzling variety of vocations and avocations. This celebratory issue of the magazine focuses on the humans of the humanities; we hope this collection of 50 individuals from a broad spectrum of backgrounds will bring a new dimension to your perception of the college. Given the theme, and my inaugural status as dean, it seems fitting to offer you my own simple profile by way of introduction.

I grew up in a small town with somewhat limited access to the humanities. Thanks to Students interact with a new exhibit in the Joseph F. Smith Building, 50 Years of my parents’ influence, however, our home life Fluency in the Human Conversation, designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary was alive with music, reading, language, art, of the College of Humanities. and even poetry (my grandfather wrote folk verse that he copied and left on doorsteps like unwanted zucchini). We rarely discussed the role the humanities played in our lives; their immense private and public value was a given.

New York. Six years later I was back at BYU, teaching as I had once I do recall one brief discussion, however: my father turned to me during been taught. But my training had not prepared me for the remarkable intermission at a Brahms symphony performance and said, “When I conversations that routinely happen in classrooms here, discussions of hear music like that I feel like I can do anything!” His simple enthusinot only what it means to be human but also how our humanity relates asm underscored the central and inspiring, if unsung, part the humanto God. And as my wife and I created our home together, the humanities ities played in our family. have filled our lives with richness and meaning as well. In other words, Years later I showed up in the BYU College of Humanities as a I practice the humanities at work and at home. post-mission language student, just as the college celebrated its 15th During our first college convocation, in May 1966, Gerrit de Jong anniversary. I was an engineering major at the time, but as part of my Jr., professor of Portuguese and namesake of the concert hall, delivered general education I signed up for an honors literature course. My contemporary notebooks stand in interThe humanities are some of the richest components of our collective esting contrast: my engineering course notes are very terse, while my literature notes are peppered with lives, perhaps the primary means we have to reach out, find one another, boxes, underscoring, and marginalia with questions, and work together to improve our world. thoughts, and observations that reveal how engaged I was during our discussions of Homer, Goethe, Tolstoy, and others. That engagement, and International Cinema films, had such the faculty address to graduates. He concluded his remarks with the a strong impact on me that I soon changed my major, and life course, following words: “Be a living example, not just a theoretical advocate, based on faith in the passion my professors showed for their disciof enduring human values. Hold high the torch. Act, not just talk, as one plines. My love for, and definition of, language expanded as I learned who has discovered some of the best of man’s thoughts and creations.” new tongues, made new friends, and observed that the humanities can In this issue you will find examples of people who have discovered liberate us from the confines of our own limited experiences. I came to some of the best of human thought and creativity and whose lives advovalue the role dialogue plays in bridging the wide chasm of human difcate enduring human values. They are holding high the torch, offering ference, and, in the middle of a cold war’s chill, I saw warmth and hope humane illumination, as the BYU mission statement declares, to “a in humane, multilingual conversation. world we wish to improve.” I am convinced that the humanities are That hope and sense of purpose propelled me forward to universities some of the richest components of our collective lives, perhaps the priin Japan, Princeton (where I met and married my wife), and England, mary means we have to reach out, find one another, and work together to eventually settle into a faculty slot at a liberal arts college in upstate to improve our world.

MEAGAN LARSEN/BYU PHOTO

Welcome to the special 50th anniversary issue of Humanities. The

contents

COURTESY, L.TOM PERRY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, HAROLD B. LEE LIBRARY,BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY, PROVO, UT 84602.

H U M A N I T I E S | FALL 2 0 1 5

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E D I TO R

Appointments, awards, publications, grants, and excursions abroad

50 Years of Fluency in the Human Conversation The BYU College of Humanities enhances conversation across cultures, times, tongues, and peoples, preparing students to face changing demands of workplace and community.

J. Scott Miller Melinda Semadeni A RT D I R E CTO R Curtis M. Soderborg E D I TO R I A L A S S I STA N TS Sylvia Cutler, Kayla Goodson, Jeff McClellan, Denya Palmer, Adriana Pinegar, Kimberly A. Reid, Kristina Smith, Amelia Wallace, Felicity Warren, Samuel Wright PUBLISHER

32 | D e pa r t m e n t N o t e s

For these 50 alumni, faculty, and students, their skills in human conversation have opened doors to professions and locations across the globe, from technology to politics, quiet villages to busy boardrooms, classroom conversations to family home evenings. They use the humanities to improve the businesses, disciplines, and lives of those around them.

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The Humanities in Practice: 50 Years, 50 Profiles

For information about giving to the college, contact Matthew Christensen at 801-422-9151 or mbchristensen@byu.edu.

33 | V ox H u m a n a Gospel imagery in rock (music, that is)

BYU COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES J. Scott Miller Dean

David L. Waddell Assistant Dean

Ray T. Clifford Associate Dean

Jared D. Christensen College Controller

George B. Handley Associate Dean

Matthew B. Christensen LDS Philanthropies at BYU

Frank Q. Christianson Associate Dean

Shasta Hamilton Executive Secretary

Melinda Semadeni Assistant Dean

BYU College of Humanities 4002 JFSB Provo, UT 84602 801-422-2775 humanities.byu.edu

Feedback? We would like to hear your views, your memories of campus, or an update on your life since leaving BYU. Please send email to humanitiespr@byu.edu.

Humanities magazine is published twice a year for alumni and friends of the BYU College of Humanities. Copyright 2015 by Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.

1965

The Humanities in P r a c t i c e :

50 50 years

profiles

2015

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OR 50 YEARS the College of Humanities has been asking its

students, “Where will the human conversation take you?� For the 50 alumni, faculty, and students featured in this special issue the answers include professions and locales all over the world, from technology to politics, quiet villages to busy boardrooms. They are teachers and students, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters—all using the humanities to better their fields and the lives of those around them.

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Chantal P. Thompson FACULTY | BA French, 1970 MA French, 1972 Teaching Professor of French

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hantal Thompson, French teaching professor, is recognized internationally as an authority on French language, proficiency-based teaching, and Francophone African cultures. She consults for the U.S. State Department and recently went to West Africa as a consultant for the Peace Corps. She is also the author of three successful French textbooks, founder of the Africana Studies program at BYU, and trainer for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

Thompson came to BYU to complete her graduate studies in French literature after becoming a member of the LDS Church in France, where she majored in Russian, English, and French at the University of Rennes. She liked BYU so much she decided to stay and teach.

She believes it is important to learn languages to build global relationships and says her humanities education has made her a better world citizen. “A new way to say things,” she says, “opens a new way to see things.”

Childhood ambition: I wanted to be a clown in a circus. My parents wished for loftier ambitions, but now with hindsight I can say I have realized that dream, because when you’re a teacher, you’re a clown too.

Most-worn books: Ambiguous Adventure by Cheikh Hamidou Kane, Le Petit Prince by St. Exupéry, and the scriptures Splurge: Traveling—the most beautiful location nature-wise is Bora Bora in Tahiti. The most beautiful for people is Senegal because I am very close to a lot of people there. The most beautiful for variety and what I call home is France.

Soundtrack: “I Stand All Amazed” First job: When I came here as a graduate student, I taught French 101 as a graduate assistant and I did translation work from English into French for the Church.

Family snapshot: Having regular family dinner and not the American snacking way. That’s always been very important in our family.

Scripture: Luke 1:37

I practice the humanities by expanding my views daily.

Candice Stratford STUDENT | BA Humanities-History Teaching Composite, 2000 MA English, 2015 Mother

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ne of the proudest achievements of Candice Stratford’s life has been earning a master’s degree in English while raising five children. “As a result, I think my children have a better idea of who I am as a person,” says Stratford.

Over the last six years, Stratford has worked toward her degree. She graduated in April after traveling to Uganda to complete her thesis, which focused on African literature and women.

In Kampala, Stratford interviewed members of FEMRITE, an organization that provides women with the means and support to write.

Stratford believes that telling stories is therapeutic and helps us understand others, which is why she loves literature: “English, or literature, speaks about the human condition in ways that other things can’t.”

Stratford intends to pick up Arabic before her family returns to the Jerusalem Center, where her husband, assistant history professor Ed Stratford, teaches every few years. In the meantime, she is grateful for what she has learned. “I’ve been changed by the things that I studied so much more than I’ll ever be able to give back,” she says. “Now, [my children are] where I focus.”

Childhood ambition: First woman president of the United States

College nostalgia: Late night hangouts with no cares and no one to wake you up at six in the morning Pinch-yourself moment: Turning in my very last paper. I cried all the way home.

Midnight snack: Wheat Chex with sugar First job: Working in a doughnut shop Family snapshot: At dinnertime, we always tell our “rose, bud, and thorn” from the day.

Scripture: 2 Nephi 33:6 Inspiration: A clean house; 75 degrees and partly sunny; trees; rain in the trees; my husband

I practice the humanities by encouraging people to read.

4 BYU COLL EG E O F H UM A NITIES

MEAGAN LARSEN/BYU PHOTO

Kevin B. Rollins ALUMNUS | BA Humanities, 1983 Former President and CEO of Dell Computers

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s former president and CEO of Dell Computers, Kevin Rollins has done more than enough to make his mark in his industry. He prepared early on at BYU with a broad humanities education, studying English, history, political science, philosophy, and music. After receiving a bachelor’s degree, Rollins completed a BYU MBA. Despite his business training, Rollins credits his humanities education with helping him stand out in his industry.

“Having that training and background gives you perspective on the world— whether you’re in business, academia, or politics—that is really deep and really profound,” he says. “I’ve found that every time I got into a difficult situation, I could draw upon multiple disciplines to understand and make decisions.”

Childhood ambition: Musician College nostalgia: Meeting my wife and taking her out to events Soundtrack: “The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha Midnight snack: Grapes First job: Cleaning glass bottles for soil samples for my father Scripture: D&C 123:17

I practice the humanities by reading every day, playing music, and working in the Church.

Brigham G. Taylor

Sarah E. Martin STUDENT | BA American Studies, 2015

ALUMNUS | BA Humanities, 1992 Executive Producer, Walt Disney Studios

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omorrowland , Pirates of the Caribbean, Remember the Titans— these are just a few of the films that Brigham Taylor has helped bring to the silver screen in the past 20 years. Propelled by his love of sharing stories, Taylor slowly worked his way up from a smattering of entry-level jobs in Hollywood to be an executive producer working alongside the top writers and directors. Taylor remarks, “The desire to be a part of quality storytelling and to be a part of a film or two that might stand the test of time . . .

I think that’s the goal of anyone who gets involved in the industry.”

Long before becoming a producer, Taylor was a movie-loving BYU student who wasn’t sure where he belonged. On the suggestion of a roommate, he joined the humanities with an emphasis in film studies. To him, film is the modern format of storytelling, while studying humanities “really puts you in touch with the genesis of storytelling.”

College nostalgia: Kent Van De Graaf’s human anatomy class. Blew my mind.

Pinch-yourself moment: Meeting Bill Murray while working on the Jungle Book First job: Working the register at the Yogurt Parlour Favorite word: Salubrious Scripture: 2 Nephi 2:25 Class lesson: Find your passion and follow it Inspiration: My wife, who never backs down from a challenge

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iplomacy is the humanities in action,” Sarah Martin says; she learned this firsthand as an intern at the United Nations for the Republic of Maldives. Martin wrote speeches and attended human rights meetings as a representative of the small tropical nation.

“The U.N. is all about listening,” Martin says. “It’s about listening to people, understanding and caring about what they’re saying, and being willing to give them the opportunity to speak about their ideas.” Without that ability to listen, she says, negotiation and diplomacy would be impossible—an understanding that was instilled in Martin through her coursework in American studies, studying issues both domestic and foreign.

“I’m grateful that I could be a part of that global commitment to nonviolence and participate in the peace process,” she says.

Childhood ambition: Interior designer Soundtrack: “Chasing the Sun,” by Sara Bareilles Favorite word: Illustrious Family snapshot: Everyone singing around the piano Quote: “The trick is to enjoy life. Don’t wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead.”

—Marjorie Pay Hinckley Class lesson: Being a leader is being a good person, and it’s as simple as that.

Inspiration: My grandmother

I practice the humanities by listening to and hearing what people say.

I practice the humanities by striving to contribute something new to the popular arts.

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Rachel Zippro STUDENT | Chinese

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rowing up in a European household—her mother is Italian and her father is of Dutch descent—Rachel Zippro always looked forward to having the opportunity to learn a new language. Since Italian wasn’t offered at her middle school, Zippro opted for the new Chinese program and quickly found a love for it.

“I just felt like that’s where I was supposed to be; that’s what God wanted me to do,” says Zippro. “So ever since eighth grade, I knew that I would be studying Chinese for a really, really long time.”

Now a senior at BYU, Zippro has made a name for herself in the Chinese program.

Upon returning from her mission to Taipei, Taiwan, Zippro was requested as a teaching assistant for the Chinese 102 and 201 classes. She is a participant in the Chinese Flagship Program, through which she hopes to study at Nanjing University for fall semester of 2016, and then intern for a business in China.

Scripture: Mosiah 12:15 Inspiration: My mom, because she always wanted to come to America, and had the determination to make it happen. When she came here, she only knew how to say “thank you,” “spider web,” and “hello.”

I practice the humanities by helping and hopefully inspiring the students I teach.

6 BYU COL LEG E O F H U M A NITIES

Kathleen Lubeck Peterson ALUMNA | BA English, 1971 MA American Literature, 1974 Former New Era Editor

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athleen Lubeck Peterson has always said that it is important to be able to get ideas across and communicate well with others in order to build relationships. This—and her love of Nancy Drew—is why she chose to study English at BYU. Peterson was the first female to be a director in the administrative offices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, where she was largely responsible for the Church’s successful media placement in the 1970s and ’80s.

She was also editor of the New Era, served on the Young Women general board, and was the original editor of For the Strength of Youth.

She attributes her inspiration to her husband, John, who jokes that while Jacob had to wait 14 years for Rachel, he had to wait 20 years for Kathleen.

Splurge: See’s Candies

Van C. Gessel FACULTY | Professor of Japanese

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s a graduate student in modern Japanese literature, Van Gessel sent a fan letter to his favorite author, Shūsaku Endō. Assuming that Endō was busy and unlikely to reply, Gessel was amazed when Endō not only responded but asked the young man to translate his book When I Whistle into English.

Gessel earned renown as Endō’s official translator, translating eight of his novels and most recently consulting with director Martin Scorsese on a film adaptation of Endō’s Silence. Gessel has published three books of his own and edited three anthologies, in addition to serving as dean of the College of Humanities from 1997 to 2005.

For Gessel, literature cuts through cultural barriers to give a view of how others experience the world. “Since God created all of those people, He understands those perspectives,” Gessel says. “If we’re to become like Him, we have to make an effort to understand how other people think and feel and why they behave the way they do.”

Soundtrack: Mahler’s symphonies

Childhood ambition: Write lyrics for Broadway musicals

First job: Roller skating car hop at A&W root beer

First job: Towel boy at the Deseret Gym

I practice the humanities by applying what I learned in my classes at BYU in my daily living and in my work experience.

Splurge: Mrs. Cavanaugh’s chocolate Favorite word: Omoshiroi ( which means “interesting” in Japanese

),

Scripture: D&C 45:3–5

I practice the humanities by putting myself into a person’s shoes when they talk about their challenges.

MARSHALL: BRADLEY SLADE

Thomas B. Griffith

Donald R. Marshall

ALUMNUS | BA Humanities, 1978 Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

FACULTY | MA American Literature, 1965 Emeritus Professor of Humanities and Former Director of International Cinema

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fter his parents met working in a silent movie theater, Donald Marshall says he had no choice but to fall in love with all aspects of the humanities. “They chose me,” says Marshall, former director of International Cinema and an emeritus humanities professor.

As a kindergartner, Marshall walked the half block from his parents’ drugstore to the cinema every evening, 14 cents in hand. As the director of International Cinema, Marshall traveled farther, attending festivals such as Cannes, Toronto, Venice, Moscow, Hong Kong, and dozens of others to select films. Marshall’s passion for the cinema was shared with students not just for entertainment but also for their growth. “When films are as much art as they are entertainment,” he says, “they lift you up, make you think, and are even life-changing.”

Marshall delighted in teaching humanities classes and watching his students—whose names he memorized—do an about-face during the semester and come to love the subjects that, in his opinion, make life wonderful. “[The humanities] bring you knowledge and great joy, which isn’t the same with all majors,” says Marshall. “Because you have that, seize every opportunity to make yourself better and don’t be robbed of some of the great and beautiful things that most others don’t even know exist.”

homas Griffith recalls a student asking him how to tell her father, who wanted her to study business, that she was going to study humanities.

“Tell him you want to be human,” Griffith quipped.

“Humans reason, and they write, draw, sing, dance, and build to share with others what they have discovered. To study the humanities is to join that conversation both as student and as teacher.”

In June 2005 President George W. Bush appointed Griffith to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, a position in which he relies on his study of the humanities every day. “Much of the work of a federal appeals court judge involves the close reading of texts,” Griffith explains.

“Interpreting those texts is much like explicating a poem.”

But the humanities are more than just a tool in one’s professional life, Griffith says. “Studying the humanities is nothing less than learning about God’s greatest project: humanity.”

Childhood ambition: Center fielder for NY Yankees Favorite word: Exquisite Quote: “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.” —C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory Splurge: Fountain pens and real paper

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Childhood ambition: Entertain people College nostalgia: Having roommates that you loved like brothers Pinch-yourself moment: I saw Frozen in 3-D—often a film catches me off guard and gives me more than I expected.

Midnight snack: Popsicles First job: In Salt Lake the summer after high school, working with the mental patients in the new veterans’ hospital Inspiration: Little children on the edge of discovering new worlds

I practice the humanities by trying to learn as much about my fellow humans as I can.

I practice the humanities by not letting anything escape my eyes and my ears and my heart.

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FACULTY | Professor Emeritus of French

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escribed as “one of the most distinguished professors of the French language and literature and one of the outstanding and most original masters in the science of phonetics” by contemporary René Belle, James L. Barker was known as an intelligent man and devoted member of the Church.

In 1907 Barker, along with Joseph Evans, completed a new French translation of the Book of Mormon. He served as chair of BYU’s language department from 1907 to 1914 after studying in world-renowned universities such as the Sorbonne in Paris and the University of Marburg in Germany. He continues to be honored at BYU by the annual James L. Barker lecture in language studies, which the College of Humanities established in 1983.

Gerrit de Jong Jr. (1892–1978) FACULTY | Professor Emeritus of Portuguese

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nown as the founding dean of the College of Fine Arts and for the concert hall that bears his name, Gerrit de Jong Jr. had a robust skill set outside of his prodigious music composing. As a polyglot of six languages, de Jong was a professor of modern languages for 47 years at BYU. “I took a bachelor’s in Spanish, master’s in French, and my doctor’s degree from Stanford University in Germanic and romantic language studies,” he said. “There is hardly a language I can’t handle to a degree.”

Though born in the Netherlands, de Jong had an affinity for the Portuguese language. He opened a cultural center in Brazil on behalf of the U.S. government in 1947 and served on a national council to institute Portuguese teaching programs. At the time of his retirement, BYU had the nation’s largest enrollment in Portuguese classes.

As a temple sealer for the last several years of his life, de Jong used his language skills to communicate with international patrons and to translate the temple ceremonies into Portuguese.

Truman G. Madsen (1926–2009) FACULTY | Professor Emeritus of Philosophy

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n icon in the LDS community known for his engaging lectures, Truman Madsen was a philosophy professor at BYU for 37 years. He directed the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, became the first occupant of the Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding, and published dozens of books, book chapters, and journal articles.

According to his family Madsen had a penchant for listening to Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, and Grieg and owned every recording made by jazz band leader Stan Kenton. Some of his favorite films were Cyrano de Bergerac, Random Harvest, and An Affair to Remember.

8 BYU COLL EG E O F H UM A NITIES

BARKER: COURTESY OF WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES, MEEK: JUSTIN HACKWORTH

James L. Barker (1880–1958)

Whitney Call Meek

Aaron H. Sherinian

ALUMNA | BA English, 2011 | MFA Creative Writing, 2013 Studio C Cast Member

ALUMNUS | BA Italian, 1996 Chief Communications and Marketing Officer for the UN Foundation

s much time as she spends in front of the camera, Whitney Call Meek spends even more writing and preparing the sketches that she and her fellow cast members perform for BYUtv’s Studio C. “We act a little bit, but most of the year we’re writing scripts.

Every week we have to pitch two scripts that we’ve written,” she says.

With such a demanding schedule, her background in English and creative writing is an enormous well providing plenty of material. Almost anything can become a sketch: Shakespeare or Jane Austen, gender stereotypes of the 16th century or clashing modern cultures.

All it takes is understanding and imagination to bring out the potential humor.

“When you know something that well,” she says, “you can then see it in a different way and turn it on its head to make it a funny experience.”

Childhood ambition: Astronomer, president, singer, actress, writer, psychologist, and more Favorite word: Glockenspiel Family snapshot: Everyone laughing Scripture: Alma 5:9 Class lesson: Creative writing allows you to write about anything and learn about everything.

Inspiration: Movies that take themselves too seriously

I practice the humanities by writing sketches and by writing books in my spare time.

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like sitting at the nexus of a problem that has to be solved and a solution that’s helping to get there,” Aaron Sherinian says. He knew early on he wanted to contribute to the global dialogue of politics and policy and help solve the world’s problems.

As chief communications and marketing officer for the UN Foundation, Sherinian directs public relations efforts, media relationships, and the online presence for the foundation. He’s made remarks from the UN general assembly chambers in New York and was there when Malala Yousafzai took to Twitter for the first time, helping to guide her through the process. “I think my career has just gotten started,” he says. “The best is yet to come.”

College nostalgia: That moment after a class when a professor came to find me because she realized that my question was about more than just the curriculum Midnight snack: Cap’n Crunch First job: Working with my dad on the retail floors of various stores in L.A. Favorite word: Everyone Quote: “The only people we can think of as normal are those we don’t yet know very well.” –Alain de Botton Class lesson: There’s a lot in our world that remains unresolved, but our collective resolve is the most important thing moving forward.

Inspiration: My mom’s quilts—they represent devotion, caring, a little bit of art, a little bit of science, and something that can be useful and beautiful.

I practice the humanities by trying to learn as much as I can about a place, no matter how short or long a time I’m going to be there.

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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Athelia Tanner Woolley

FACULTY | BA University Studies, 1975 Professor of Asian and Near Eastern Languages

ALUMNUS | BS English, 1965 Apostle, Former BYU President

ALUMNA | BA Humanities, 1968 Former Member, Primary General Board

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decided I was more interested in live people than dead ones,” says Dilworth Parkinson, explaining why he got a PhD in Arabic linguistics rather than pursuing his high school dream of becoming a Biblical scholar. His course changed when he served a mission in Lebanon.

Helping students learn is his passion.

“I’m really happy to see students grab onto [the language] and do well,” he says.

Parkinson has been running the BYU Arabic study abroad program since 2009.

Studying language can change your worldview, he says. “I just don’t think you can really connect with other people unless you speak their language and can understand them a little bit. It’s mind expanding. If you don’t know another language, you end up thinking that all sorts of things are universal that aren’t.”

Well-worn book: The Book of Mormon Splurge: Food. Good food.

Soundtrack: I’ve been in a choir—the Utah Baroque Ensemble—for many years, and I have to say that I really, really love German Baroque music. That’s the music I’ve given my life to.

Favorite word: I have a lot of favorite words in Arabic. One of them I love because it means about 40 different things. It’s a word you can get to from so many different places and it’s so confusing for students. It’s really hard to explain, but it’s a word of many colors.

Class lesson: I’ve learned that when you think you have something mastered, you stop learning. So it’s important in learning not to get to the end.

10 BYU CO L LEG E O F H U M A N ITIES

ong before becoming a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1994, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland studied English at BYU. “Those days were wonderful for me, and I remember them with fondness and affection,” he said when he received the College of Humanities Honored Alumni Award in 1993. “I have always been grateful for the education and the friendships that I made here.”

After earning his English degree, he received a master’s in religious education from BYU and a masters and PhD in American studies from Yale. Later, as BYU’s ninth president, he played a large role in establishing the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. Prior to being named president of BYU, he was an institute director in Salt Lake City, dean of BYU’s College of Religious Education, and commissioner of the Church Educational System.

For Elder Holland, studying the humanities expands our perspective. “A great poem, a classic novel, a brilliant piece of music, a superb work of art, forces itself upon us,” he said. “They locate themselves in ‘the strong places of our consciousness.’

They work upon our imagination and desires, upon our ambitions, and upon our dreams.”

hile performing her duties as a youth parole authority for Utah, Athelia Tanner Woolley met with a boy who was in a gang and was getting out of prison. She recommended he read the book Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville to explore leadership styles.

Sharing the humanities is something she does often because she believes “literature, music, and art change your life in positive ways.”

Woolley’s career has been filled with service; she has worked for the state as a mediator and youth parole authority, distinguished herself by writing articles for Southwest Art, and served on the Primary general board of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Soundtrack: NPR Midnight snack: Raspberry yogurt Favorite word: Possibilities Family snapshot: Gathering my children and looking at art; having lively discussions at the dinner table; talking about ideas Class lesson: In a German class I studied a poem by Goethe that reads, “When you have the sunshine, you need to preserve it.” I have that in my kitchen.

I practice the humanities by filling my mind with ideas, music, and images, which continue to impact how I choose to live.

HOLLAND: NICOLE ERICKSON, © 2014 BY INTELLECTUAL RESERVE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Dilworth B. Parkinson

Lehla M. Kisor

Sharon L. Eubank

STUDENT | BA Linguistics, 2015 Google Account Strategist

ALUMNA | BA English, 1988 Director of LDS Charities

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ost people with an eye for business would think to make a beeline for a business degree. Lehla Kisor chose another route, one she feels has helped her stand out among her peers rather than get lost in the crowd: linguistics.

“It’s more than just basic communication,” Kisor explains. “It’s taking our communication to the next level where we can be efficient and do things that matter.” And she’s done just that, interning with the Church’s HR department, serving as internship director for the Google Community Leaders Program, and delivering her very own TED talk at BYU. Now, freshly graduated, she’s working for Google with small- and medium-sized businesses to get the most out of their online advertising.

“Along the way I’ve been able to help people and give back things that I didn’t necessarily have when I was younger,” she reflects.

“That’s what I’m most proud of.”

Childhood ambition: To be an Olympic gymnast, even though I’ve never done gymnastics.

Most-worn book: A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens Favorite word: Facetiously Quote: “It takes exactly as long to repent as it takes you to say, ‘I’ll change’—and mean it.” —Jeffrey R. Holland Class lesson: The right answer to a wrong question isn’t going to get you anywhere. Keep questioning until you ask the right questions and get the right answers.

Inspiration: The people who do the little things to make the world better for other people.

I practice the humanities by taking the time to get to know, understand, and appreciate the people around me and their backgrounds.

n an Easter Sunday, Sharon Eubank watched as soldiers knelt on the stone floor of a church in Krakow; a German piece played on an organ, celebrating the fall of the Berlin wall. She remembers the emotions of that day every time she and her team successfully complete a project.

Eubank has found that studying the humanities has helped her relate to people in her profession as the director of LDS Charities. She learned patience by digging through literature and art, which has been transferable to working with people from around the world. She says the humanities are about “building people’s character. It’s not about giving them money or building the school. It’s about what people learn and their character.”

Whether it is reading a novel or communicating effectively in her profession, Eubank believes that, in the end, she receives the same kind of benefit—a bond to a piece of music or art or to a person “that lasts for your whole life.”

Childhood Ambition: Teach third grade First job: Sprinkler repair Scripture: Jacob 2:17 Pinch-yourself moment: I come back from a trip, and I’ve seen such difficult things and seen people in dire straits, and I lie in my own bed and I think that this is a moment that is too good to be true.

Class lesson: Marilyn Arnold, American Literature: “You will flunk this class if you read Walt Whitman indoors.”

Inspiration: The fact that people can change. Seeing people change is the greatest inspiration to me.

I practice the humanities by writing the stories of the people I meet.

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Steven P. Sondrup

Shannon K. Toronto

FACULTY | Professor of Scandinavian and Comparative Literature; Former President of the International Comparative Literature Association

ALUMNA | BA English, 1988 | MA English, 1991 COO, Philanthropy Roundtable, Washington, D.C.

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teven Sondrup is fascinated by the way language helps cultures construct and segment the world. And studying language, he says, “breaks down the isolation that we otherwise experience.”

With degrees from the University of Utah and Harvard, Sondrup specializes in 19th- and 20th-century European literature. Sondrup was president of the International Comparative Literature Association, which provided him lecturing and networking opportunities around the world. For more than 20 years, he was the editor of the journal Scandinavian Studies.

For Sondrup, the humanities represent “a way of understanding the world and living a richer life than otherwise possible.”

Childhood ambition: Far back, I was always looking for an academic career. Right from the beginning, as a teen, I knew I wanted to do something in the humanities.

Most-worn books: Wheelock’s Latin: An Introductory Course; Goethe’s Faust Soundtrack: Beethoven’s nine symphonies Favorite word: logos, which means “word” in Greek Scripture: The opening verses of the first chapter of John: “It’s deeply spiritual because of its broad meaning and its poetic qualities.”

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hannon Toronto was sitting in an English course on John Milton, listening to Professor John Tanner read from “Lycidas,” when she decided to study English. That decision has benefited her as COO for The Philanthropy Roundtable in Washington, D.C., and in her public affairs calling for the Church.

Toronto’s English studies helped her learn good things from good people. It helped her understand the motives and worldviews of fictional characters, a skill she now applies when meeting people of a wide range of faiths, nationalities, income levels, and experiences. Whether through observation or discussion, the more she seeks to understand the worldviews of others, the more she feels connected to them as fellow children of Heavenly Father.

Childhood ambition: Fashion designer College nostalgia: Playing sardines in the Eyring Science Center Splurge: Fresh flowers Midnight snack: Cashews Favorite word: Kindness

I practice the humanities today by pondering the scriptures with the same rigor, curiosity, and imagination I learned and applied in my English classes.

Parley Alma Christensen (1888–1986) FACULTY | Professor Emeritus of English

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oug Thayer, a retired English professor, recounts how one of Parley A. Christensen’s classes took a paper deadline to the extreme: A few minutes before midnight, Christensen answered a knock at his door to find that his students had rolled their papers up like scrolls, tied them with ribbon, and set them on a silver platter. All 30 or 40 of them were assembled on the lawn when he and his wife came to the door in their robes. “He was very amused, very pleased,” says Thayer.

These students were just a few of the thousands that Christensen taught at BYU from 1927 to 1965. He was chair of the English Department for 25 years and is known as one of BYU’s most outstanding professors. His legacy lives on through the annual P.A. Christensen Humanities Lecture and the P.A. Christensen Scholarship, as well as through the lives of those he influenced.

“P.A. was more than a teacher; he was hero and guide and champion. His classrooms were places for exploration,” wrote Marden J. Clark, a former student and colleague of Christensen.

“There is no final way to measure the influence of such a man.”

12 BYU CO L LEG E O F H U M A N ITIES

YEARS of FLUENCY in the HUMAN CONVERSATION

THE COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES at Brigham Young

University promotes the study and practice of the humanities, in particular literature, languages, philosophy, art history, and linguistics. Our scholarship enhances the human conversation across divergent cultures, times, tongues, and peoples. We prepare students to face the changing demands of the workplace and the community. As we celebrate our first 50 years we invite all to look forward to a future rich with connections made possible through the humanities.

​“The arts and humanities define who we are as a people. That is their power—to remind us of what we

GEORGE DUNLOP LESLIE, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, 1879

each have to offer, and what we all have in common.

To help us understand our history and imagine our future. To give us hope in the moments of struggle and to bring us together when nothing else will.”

—FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA

VOICES of the HUMAN CONVERSATION

display in the Education in Zion Gallery through November 2016. To learn more, visit humanities50.byu.edu.

LANGUAGE

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ithin the millions of words written in history, there’s a story describing the language and voice of humanity.

Through several corpora (i.e., large, highly searchable collections of texts) created at BYU, an enormous quantity of text can be simplified to digestible data, painting a picture of a living, dynamic language. This data can be used to look at language variation— between genres, across dialects, and over time—as well as the relationship between language and culture. The millions of words in these corpora have even been used to train computers to process language more like humans.

—mark e. davies, professor of linguistics

HOME

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onversation best happens with broad understanding. The American studies program expands the scope of understanding by examining the breadth of the American experience from a variety of viewpoints, including literature, history, politics, art, economics, religion, and folklore.

Whether studying American art at BYU’s Museum of Art, researching film history in Hollywood, roping cattle in the Utah desert, interning in Washington, DC, or hiking up Rock Canyon in Provo, American studies majors join the dialogue by understanding that the American experience is complicated, multifaceted, and ever changing.

—kristin l. matthews, associate professor of american studies

ABROAD

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he speakers of Quichua, Shuar, Achuar, and Waorani—all understudied languages—have insights on culture and nature not widely known outside of the Amazon. In summer 2015, linguistics students studied these languages in the heart of Amazonian Ecuador, helping to preserve the voices of these peoples.

“Knowledge of vocabulary and grammar means nothing without a connection to the people who invented them,” said one BYU student of the experience. Another noted, “The way I view the world must change if I am to use any language in its true sense.”

—janis b. nuckolls, professor of linguistics

PAST

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apyrus proves to be a remarkably tenacious medium for keeping alive many voices of our conversation with our human past. For over a millennium (ca. 500 BCE until 500 CE), scribes throughout the Mediterranean Basin preserved on papyrus the human conversation in every variety.

The College of Humanities’ Ancient Textual Imaging Group is a world leader in making legible damaged papyrus texts, like those in the Herculaneum Papyrus Project. Technology is giving voice to papyrus texts that men forgot and nature assaulted.

—roger t. macfarlane, associate professor of humanities

Left: A fragment of papyrus before and after imaging reveals legible text.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ANCIENT TEXTUAL IMAGING GROUP AND THE BIBLIOTECA NAZIONALE VITTORIO EMANUELE III DI NAPOLI

LEFT: COURTESY OF AMAAR; CENTER: MAYNARD DIXON (1875–1946), MESAS IN SHADOW, 1926, OIL ON CANVAS, 30¼ X 40 IMAGE COURTESY OF BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART, GIFT OF HERALD R. CLARK, RIGHT: COURTESY OF ANDES-FIELDSCHOOL.ORG

Here are selections from 50 Years of Fluency in the Human Conversation, an exhibition on

ART

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tory and culture.

—martha moffitt peacock, professor of art history

BYU PHOTO

LITERATURE

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or centuries, the canon of German literary works consisted of texts by men.

The voices of German women were largely unheard until BYU’s Sophie Project, an extensive digital library of literature, art, music, and science by German women from the 17th to early 20th centuries.

Now including almost 2,000 texts, the Sophie Digital Library has helped to redefine the German canon. The works of Gabriele Reuter, Maria Janitschek, Louisa Greger, and Lou Andreas-Salomé are now being read, heard, and performed alongside the works of Goethe, Schiller, Beethoven, and Freud.

—michelle stott james, associate professor of german

TEACHING

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in any area of medical ethics is difficult to achieve.

BYU philosophers teach students how to engage in the ethical conversation—the words, concepts, principles, and theories that allow students to understand positions, integrate religious convictions, and arrive at meaningful, publicly expressible conclusions.

oethe wrote, “A teacher who can arouse a feeling for one single good action, for one single good poem, accomplishes more than he who fills our memory with rows and rows of natural objects, classified with name and form.”

BYU’s English education program aims to prepare bright young English teachers who not only teach but also inspire.

Future English teachers are prepared to transform Wordsworth from the name of a poet to a writer whose words inspire students to “fill [their] paper with the breathings of [their] heart.”

—david a. jensen, associate professor of philosophy

—christopher e. crowe, professor of english

PRESENT

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JAN MIENSE MOLENAER, ALLEGORY OF VANITY, 1633

hat might appear to be a mundane view of 17th-century Dutch life reveals the presentation of an intriguing allegory on the sinfully vain and dangerously alluring nature of women. The fashionably dressed and bejeweled woman admiring herself before her mirror and surrounded by symbols of folly was a recognizable signifier of the infamous “Lady World.”

Such images invoke discussions and analyses of sociocultural ideologies in the past, as well as those that still color our opinions today in the ever-present “battle of the sexes.” As shown here with this painting, the art history program enables students to delve deeply into works of art and find within each piece a narrative of his-

echnology can alleviate disability, enhance human capabilities, and extend life. Take, for example, assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), “designer babies,” and human-embedded technology. How might these practices change our conception of ourselves? Are they morally problematic?

How might death and human limitation be part of the meaning of life? Consensus

Study and learn, and become a

and with languages, t

—DOCTRINE AND C

acquainted with all good books,

tongues, and people.

COVENANTS 90:15

“Growing up, I would have conversations with characters of stories I was writing in my head. And one day it just clicked, why not make a living out of this?”

“I study Chinese because it teaches me how to create bridge-building experiences in a culture that businesses seek to understand.”

WESTIN LEAVITT, CHINESE ’15

AMELIA WALLACE, ENGLISH ’15

SALT LAKE CITY, UT

GILBERT, AZ

“It is fascinating how a language gives insight into a culture. Even the smallest syllable, word, or construction can define a cultural norm or viewpoint.”

“I study linguistics because it not only satiates my appetite for languages but links me to past, present, and future cultures through language.”

BRADEN BOLTON, LINGUISTICS ’15 MILFORD, MA

CASSIE GREEN, LINGUISTICS ’16 SOUTHLAKE, TX

HOW DO YOU PRACTICE THE HUMANITIES?

“I love the power of language and the connections it provides between people.”

JOSHUA BODILY,

Read how these students connect humanities to their world.

LINGUISTICS MINOR ’17 BOISE, ID

Read fellow alumni memories and share your own at humanities50.byu.edu.

“I love going to class not knowing what a certain text means and then, after an hour of discussion, leaving class feeling like we discovered new things together as a group.”

“I’ve never been so excited by my education—whereas I was wallowing in metaphysical mud, now I’m flying among pure forms.”

MICAH RUSSELL, INTERDISCIPLINARY HUMANITIES ’15

ELIZA KAYE HANDLEY, ENGLISH ’16

POWELL, OH

PROVO, UT

“As a society, we need people who are not only able to articulate themselves clearly, but also enjoyably—making people want to listen.”

COURTNEY MANWARING, ENGLISH ’15 WEST CHESTER, OH

“Women’s studies is fascinating!

I love that it relates to every subject I come across, particularly in a global context.”

SAVANNA JONES, POLITICAL SCIENCE / WOMEN’S STUDIES ’15 ST. GEORGE, UT

Terryl L. Givens ALUMNUS | BA Comparative Literature, 1981 Professor of Literature and Religion and James A. Bostwick Professor of English at the University of Richmond

Gary L. Browning FACULTY | BA Russian, 1965 Emeritus Professor of Russian

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ary Browning hadn’t had much experience outside of Northern Idaho, let alone the country, when the Soviet Union sent up the first Sputnik, launching humankind into space and Browning into a lifelong fascination with a foreign land.

His interest in the Soviet Union expanded as he took classes in Russian at BYU and served a mission in Finland, with a 10-day pit stop in the USSR before heading home. “This was right after the Joseph McCarthy ‘Red Scare’,” he remembers, “and I was struck by how different the picture seemed on the ground from that which he portrayed.” As a professor of Russian, Browning has spent his life trying to improve American understanding of the USSR and Russia.

In 1990 Browning was called to serve as president of the first Soviet Union mission (Finland Helsinki East). He continues to work with the Russian people, now as the patriarch for the Europe East area.

“What I learned at BYU opened up opportunities for service that I would’ve never been able to imagine,” says Browning. “I hope I’ve been able to contribute in some ways to the lives of the Russian people, who have become very dear to me.”

Childhood ambition: Pediatrician Most-worn book: Brothers Karamazov by Fedor Dostoevskii Splurge: Each year for our anniversary my wife Joan and I enjoy an extended stay at the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. This is a glorious time and we don’t count the pennies for tickets, lodging, or food!

Soundtrack: Vespers by Sergei Rachmaninov Midnight snack: An apple. I love apples—all kinds of apples.

Favorite word: pochemu nyet? Russian for “why not?”

Favorite scripture: Hebrews 11:1 in the New International Version Inspiration: Pioneer and present-day Mormon women

I practice the humanities by continuing to explore every new opportunity that arises to deepen my understanding and expand my horizons.

“

F

aith,” Terryl Givens says, “can only exist in a context where doubt is a plausible alternative.”

The realization that faith is a choice, coupled with a loved one’s crisis of faith, propelled Givens and his wife, Fiona, to write The Crucible of Doubt, which examines a kind of doubt common among Church members. This was not Givens’ first time incorporating his Mormon faith into his humanities research. An established author and professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond, he’s also written Viper on the Hearth, By the Hand of Mormon, and, also with his wife, The God Who Weeps.

Givens believes the humanities prepare us to understand the spiritual and the sacred and teach us how to experience truth that transcends our cognitive abilities. “Art is inexhaustible in its capacity to provide us with new worlds and experiences,” he says. “Studying art and literature is the best way to furnish the temple of the mind with fit furniture.”

Childhood ambition: To be as smart as my dad and as kind as my mom Pinch-yourself moment: Following my first publication with Oxford, the editor said, “Sure, if you give us a completed manuscript about the Book of Mormon we will publish it.”

Soundtrack: We live in a remote woods frequented by over 40 species of bird. The cowbird and horned owl make my favorite music.

Favorite word: Happify. I don’t know of anyone but Brigham Young who used that word—and lately, Fiona and I. Family snapshot: In graduate school, packed into our tiny mobile home, with all our children piled on top of me on the floor, while Fiona read us The Wind in the Willows.

Scripture: Mark 10:21: “Then Jesus beholding him loved him.”

I practice the humanities by reading history and literature with an end to enlarge my moral imagination.

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Gonzalo Rojas

Ricardo G. Cetz

(1917–2011) FACULTY | Professor Emeritus of Spanish

STUDENT | BA Spanish Translation, 2007 MA Spanish Pedagogy, 2015 Dual Language Immersion Teacher

G

R

C

Most-worn book: Disconnected: Haves and Have-Nots in the Information Age, by William Wresch.

Most-worn book: The Phantom Tollbooth

onzalo Rojas often introduced himself as a coal miner’s son. He’d neglect to mention that he’d been awarded the Reina Sofia prize for Iberian American poetry or the Miguel de Cervantes prize for literature, or that he was considered one of Chile’s most important poets.

Rojas came to BYU in 1985 as a guest lecturer, intending to stay for a semester. Instead, he became a professor and stayed for nearly a decade, teaching Latin American poetry and literary criticism.

“I remember him walking from one side of the room to the other and often reciting poems by memory,” Doug Weatherford, a former student, recalled. “For those students who were able to see the quality of the man in front of them, it was absolutely amazing and a privilege.”

Following the 1973 Chilean coup d’état, Rojas found himself banned from Chile’s universities, forcing him to look to foreign universities for work. When his ban was finally lifted, a deal was made so that Rojas could spend half the year at BYU and the other half in Chile with students studying abroad. This continued until his retirement from BYU in 1994. When he died, the Chilean government declared two days of mourning.

20 BYU CO L LEG E O F H U M A N ITIES

icardo Cetz always knew that he wanted to help people. While growing up in Mexico, he thought that meant becoming a doctor. “At that time I wasn’t LDS,” he says. “I didn’t know there were other ways to help people.” After being baptized and then studying at BYU, Cetz realized how many different paths could help him reach his goal. It wasn’t until he was exposed to teaching while studying Spanish translation that he decided on a course.

Now teaching dual-immersion language classes, Cetz works with both Englishand Spanish-speaking students, helping some students to learn new cultures and languages while helping others to reconnect with their own.

Pinch-yourself moment: Getting accepted into the master’s program Splurge: Exercise, jogging

Jessica E. Sagers ALUMNA | BA Linguistics, 2014 Harvard PhD Candidate

ombining the biological and physical sciences, Jessica Sagers, a PhD candidate at Harvard, is using her BYU linguistics degree to help her study auditory neuroscience. She hopes to use molecular techniques to better understand the spiral ganglion neurons of the inner ear. Sagers values the broad view of humanity afforded to her by her education, saying, “As a scientist, it’s easy to forget that people are more than the sum of their parts. The humanities teach us to consider the emergent properties of the whole.”

Sagers was recently elected as Cambridge chair of the executive board of Harvard Graduate Women in Science and Engineering, and she volunteers with Horizons for Homeless Children.

College nostalgia: BYU Creamery’s Graham Canyon ice cream Midnight snack: Red velvet cupcakes

First job: Wendy’s

Favorite word: Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia (the medical term for brain freeze)

Scripture: 1 Nephi 3:7

Scripture: 2 Nephi 4

I practice the humanities by teaching Spanish.

I practice the humanities by writing about everything I see.

Midnight snack: Popcorn

Astrid S. Tuminez ALUMNA | BA Russian Language and Literature and International Relations, 1986 Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs, Southeast Asia (Microsoft)

Marguerite Gong Hancock ALUMNA | BA Humanities and Asian Studies, 1982 Executive Director, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, Computer History Museum

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n Silicon Valley, arguably the world’s hub of innovative entrepreneurship, Marguerite Gong Hancock is an innovation and entrepreneurship guru. After receiving degrees from BYU and Harvard, Hancock worked for 20 years at Stanford, where she led programs focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, created a network of interdisciplinary researchers, co-edited three books, and served as an advisor to ministry-level leaders from Taiwan to Spain on innovation and technology. She also advises U.S. leaders in regions such as Silicon Valley, San Diego, and Boston, and she lectures internationally.

Hancock is the founding executive director of a new center on global innovation and entrepreneurship at the Computer History Museum, which has been called “Silicon Valley’s answer to the Smithsonian.” The museum hosts 130,000 guests each year and has more than 1,100 historic artifacts from the 2,000-year-old history of computers.

Most-worn book: The scriptures Pinch-yourself moment: Becoming a mother Splurge: Having adventures together with my family Family snapshot: Our family celebrates Christmas and Easter for a whole month. One of my favorite traditions is Easter—every day, the week before Easter, we relive what was happening on that day of the Savior’s life. I like having meaningful traditions that reflect deep values of the family and the gospel.

Scripture: D&C 88:119-120, 123, 125

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ith a desire to better understand the Soviet Union, Astrid S. Tuminez threw herself into studying Russian literature at BYU, reading authors like Dostoevskii and Tolstoy. Later, when working with economic and political reformers in Russia to implement change and prevent deadly conflict, she found herself connecting easily with the Russians, with whom she now shared a literary background.

Even when things grew darkest during the transitions that marked the end of the Cold War, she could understand both the tragedy and the people’s hope for the future.

Since then, Tuminez has worked in global philanthropy, venture capital on Wall Street, peace negotiations in the southern Philippines, academia in Singapore, and legal and corporate affairs in Southeast Asia. “As long as I can be creative, imaginative, and able to express myself,” she says, “I can go anywhere and do anything.”

Childhood ambition: See the world Pinch-yourself moment: Meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev in his New York City suite and exchanging autographed books (his and hers) First job: 16-year-old secretary in a Freon company in Manila, typing invoices Favorite word: Mom Family snapshot: On a speedboat in Palawan in the Philippines during Typhoon Henry, with seven-foot waves and a five-year-old whose fear literally put him to sleep.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7

I practice the humanities by cultivating creativity and imagination, thinking through problems clearly, and communicating effectively.

I practice the humanities by asking big questions and having the tools to explore; by being curious to understand what big ideas have surfaced around the world to make sense of the world, make it better, make it more beautiful.

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Matthew T. Bird STUDENT | BA Middle East Studies/Arabic and Arabic Language, 2013 Graduate Student

M

atthew Bird’s lowest grade was in his Arabic 101 class. A few years and a study abroad in Jordan later, Bird became one of the first students to achieve a superior rating on the Arabic language placement exam while still an undergraduate.

Bird says his most rewarding experiences came in Amman, Jordan, where he was able to sit with families and talk, unimpeded by language. “It’s a rare and wonderful experience, to just talk with them about the topics that they’re interested in and to be immersed in a very high level of language where they’re not holding back, and yet I’m still understanding and contributing to the conversation.”

Now a graduate student at the McKay School of Education, Bird plans to one day guide other students through the same experiences he now holds dear. “I hope to teach Arabic at a university level after I finish my studies,” he says. “Studying that region and the language has really changed who I am and who I plan to become.”

Most-worn book: An Architectural Approach to Instructional Design, by Andrew S. Gibbons

Todd A. Britsch FACULTY | Professor Emeritus of Humanities and Former Academic Vice President

F

or Todd Britsch, the greatest honor wasn’t being appointed dean of the College of Humanities or even academic vice president. The greatest honor for Britsch was the fact that his colleagues trusted him and felt they could talk to him personally about anything while he was in these roles.

Along with this, some of Britsch’s fondest memories at BYU are the students he taught and the blessing of seeing them turn out “to be such good people and good friends and do such wonderful works.” Teaching the humanities was more than just common sense. Britsch knew that if he was going to teach, it would have to be something he “would be delighted dealing with every single day of [his] life.”

For Britsch, the humanities have provided a richness to life and have helped him think about the world in more serious ways. “One would have a very barren life without them,” he says.

College nostalgia: Living in the foreign language housing.

Splurge: Food. I’m a weekday vegan.

Favorite word: Defenestrate Family snapshot: I’m taking off cleats while my wife looks at our newborn, our three-year old is peeking out of a box on the rug, and the two-year old is climbing up the desk.

Quote: “Everything will be fine”—our family mantra.

Class lesson: To view all cultures, religions, and perspectives from a critical perspective; don’t take anything for granted and take nothing at face value.

I practice the humanities by always being hungry for more learning.

22 BYU CO L LEG E O F H U M A N ITIES

Soundtrack: Bach’s B Minor Mass; “O Magnum Mysterium,” by Morten Lauridsen Favorite words: Please, thank you, and you’re welcome Family snapshot: Watching Jeopardy with my wife Inspiration: Looking out of my living room window and seeing Timpanogos and the valley Pinch-yourself moment: I was moved to tears when I saw Grunewald’s Isenheim Alterpiece on the crucifixion for myself after I had taught it my whole career. When I stood in front of that masterpiece I couldn’t stop weeping.

I practice the humanities by trying to be as understanding as possible of people and their relationships to God.

“

J. Glade Holman

Cheryl M. Gesullo

Jenine K. Young

ALUMNUS | BA Philosophy, 1991 Partner with Park Li, a Global Consulting Firm

STUDENT | BA French Teaching, 2015 French Teacher

ALUMNA | BA English, 1992 Senior Communications Manager at NetApp

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here is a phrase in Thai that means, ‘You can look and you can see, but you can’t see your own eyelashes,’” says Glade Holman. “Exploring other systems of thought gave me the ability to look at my own eyelashes.”

It was in a 110 introductory course that Holman decided to major in philosophy; he saw it as an avenue to explore and understand the deep questions that he had—a chance to see his own eyelashes. His philosophy education has continued to play a significant role in his life throughout graduate school at Columbia, as a partner at Park Li, and at family home evenings with his children. “The humanities prepare you to think broadly in ways that can lead to innovation,” says Holman.

In an international business career, Holman has worked with Procter & Gamble, Citigroup, the FBI, and the Church. He is fluent in Thai and Laotian, has worked extensively in Asia, and is an adjunct professor at New York University.

Childhood ambition: Race car driver or pilot Pinch-yourself moment: When I found out we were having identical twins First job: Night manager at the Purple Turtle in Pleasant Grove; it paid for my mission.

Favorite word: Mai pen rai—it’s kind of the Thai equivalent of “Hakuna Matata.”

Family snapshot: Saturday morning pancake breakfasts Scripture: 1 Nephi 1:20

I practice the humanities by thinking.

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fter serving a mission in Paris, raising five children, and filling several church callings as a teacher, Cheryl Gesullo took “a huge leap of faith,” she says. She returned to BYU to pursue a degree in French teaching.

Going to school full-time year-round proved to be a balancing act. “It was kind of crazy, but it was worth it,” says Gesullo.

She hopes her experience shows the importance of education to her children, who have been her proudest supporters.

Gesullo just started working as a fulltime French teacher. This is the first year the dual-immersion elementary school students will be in middle school, and she is excited to teach such advanced, young students about French culture. Mostly, though, she is excited to have a job that allows her to have a similar schedule to her children. “I don’t think I could have a better dream job.”

Childhood ambition: Mom Pinch-yourself moment: When I got my diploma Soundtrack: “It is what it is”—we say it a lot around the house.

First job: Cashier in a hardware store Favorite word: Chouette, French slang for “sweet” Scripture: Alma 37:36–37

I practice the humanities by realizing that there are different viewpoints and that there’s not always one side of the story.

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iving in the Bay Area and not being familiar with technology, I felt like someone living in Renaissance Italy and not knowing anything about art,” says Jenine Young. “That’s why I decided to leave development and go work in high tech.”

Challenge has always driven Young.

While at BYU, she decided to major in English to improve her writing skills. “I like learning new things,” says Young, who received a master’s degree in liberal arts from Stanford.

Young finds working in technology exciting; she is on the cusp of changing ideas and innovations, which has helped satiate her natural curiosity. It has also allowed her to travel the world, meet new people, and use her language skills—she served a French-speaking mission and has studied Spanish and German. Most important, though, it allows her to balance her roles of career woman and mother.

“Once I’m done with my meetings at the end of the day, I’m a mom,” says Young.

Childhood ambition: First female president Most-worn book: King Lear by William Shakespeare Pinch-yourself moment: When I met my husband on a business trip in Boston Family snapshot: Every summer, we do a nieces and nephews combined birthday party Scripture: Proverbs 3:5

I practice the humanities by being open to different points of view.

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C. Beau Hilton STUDENT BA Humanities, 2015 Medical School Student

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his summer, Beau Hilton worked in a laboratory creating kidneys from scratch, which, in his opinion, coincides perfectly with his humanities background. “People feel like if they have enough data, they can control everything forever,” says Hilton. “[The humanities] lets you get inside what it feels like to be human, not just what the biochemical pathways are.”

As a student in ethnomusicology, Hilton traveled to India to study the role of music in the preservation of identity amongst Tibetan refugees. There he developed a relationship with a local K-12 school, teaching drums for their western music program. In exchange, the locals taught him Tibetan folk music, which he got to play at the Dalai Lama’s birthday party in the village.

Hilton is now at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. He is hoping to go into a field of medicine that will allow him to balance his passions of working closely with patients, doing research, being an active humanist, and maintaining a strong family life. “I love the sciences; I love the humanities. I don’t think there’s a profession that lets you combine those paths quite as well,” says Hilton.

Childhood ambition: Firefighter, then writer, then drummer, then photographer, then doctor Most-worn book: Walden by Henry David Thoreau Soundtrack: The soundtrack to the Hindi movie Barfi!

Favorite word: Annie Dillard quotes somebody as saying that the word sycamore is the most beautiful word in English. I can vibe with that.

Family snapshot: Meals on the picnic blanket in the living room Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2.

I practice the humanities by looking in to look out and looking out to look in.

24 BYU CO LL EG E O F H UM A N ITIES

STUDENT | BA Philosophy, 2015 Assistant Director, Government Practice, The Arbinger Institute

A

fter reading Peacegiver and Bonds that Make Us Free, Chloe Halsey changed her major from pre-med to philosophy. “Philosophy lies at the root of everything we do,” she says.

As she puts it, the humanities and philosophy are important “because [they teach] you how to think, how to understand, how to see.” Halsey says that if we can keep this in mind as we encounter others, “it can open up our minds to new things.”

Childhood ambition: Public speaker Most-worn book: The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho Pinch-yourself moment: Getting my dream job First job: Summer school tutor Favorite word: Gossamer Scripture: Mosiah 2:41

I practice the humanities by being with others.

Nan Osmond Grass (1909–1999) FACULTY | BA English, 1930 Professor Emeritus of English

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an Osmond Grass’s influence in the English Department at BYU spanned more than 26 years. After receiving her bachelor’s degree at BYU, Grass got a master’s from Stanford in English literature. Grass later followed her father’s footsteps and returned to BYU to teach English courses on Shakespeare and Donne. In 1975 she received the Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Teaching Award.

Through Grass’s guidance, students learned to love the writings of Shakespeare, Tennyson, Milton, Donne, and many more. She was known not only for her great love of literature but also for the example she gave others through her Christ-like life.

In 1999 the university established the Nan Osmond Grass Professorship.

The university also created the annual Nan Osmond Grass Lecture to host speeches by non-BYU faculty members, demonstrating how literature can enrich one’s appreciation of life.

JOHNSON: BRADLEY SLADE, DAVIES: BYU PHOTO

Chloe Halsey

Kimberly Johnson

Mark E. Davies

FACULTY | Professor of English

FACULTY | BA Linguistics, 1986 | MA Spanish, 1989 Professor of Linguistics

O

M

riginally a biology major, Kimberly Johnson initially wrote poetry as a pastime. However, she soon saw that the close scrutiny that language requires is the same kind of activity that excited her about the sciences. She went on to study English and is now a professor teaching courses in creative writing and Renaissance literature at BYU. She has received several awards and fellowships, including the Guggenheim Fellowship.

For Johnson the humanities are “a way of building bridges of connection and understanding.” They are a way of seeing through a “perspective that is not naturally ours” because one is trained to “hear a multiplicity of voices.” Through the humanities, Johnson believes one learns compassion, patience, and civility, becoming “a much more canny and independent consumer of the texts that the world presents.”

Johnson says she enjoys it when her students end a semester “feeling like they’ve been transformed.” It is truly satisfying when students “get their minds blown by Donne.”

Childhood ambition: Cardiac surgeon or jockey Most-worn book: Paradise Lost by John Milton Soundtrack: Loud guitars First job: Video store clerk Favorite word: Today, it’s aspen.

Family snapshot: Camping with my boys Quote: “I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat.” —John Milton, Areopagitica Inspiration: “Fear is the opposite of integrity.”

I practice the humanities by teaching poetry to fifth graders in my kids’ school.

ark Davies didn’t realize he was a corpus linguist until well after he’d made his first corpus (a collection of texts) for linguistic analysis. Or his second. Or his third. Until then, he considered himself a historical linguist just trying to find authentic data on which to base his work. Today, hundreds of thousands of professors, researchers, and students all over the world base their work on the data he’s compiled.

While Davies is eager to help his colleagues in their research, he is also glad for the difference his corpora are making outside of academia. For many people, the corpora are tools for improving their language skills.

“They’re not using it for linguistic analysis; they’re doing it because they know that if their English improves, they will get better jobs,” he says. “If I can create tools that will help them do that, then that is a big deal.”

Most-worn book: World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts, by Andrew Wilson Pinch-yourself moment: Giving a presentation in front of 100 of China’s top publishers of dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference works Splurge: Downtime with nature Soundtrack: New-age music Midnight snack: Vanilla bean ice cream with freshly smashed strawberries from my wife’s garden, all mixed together First job: Elementary school custodian Scripture: Matthew 6:25–34

I practice the humanities by constantly analyzing my language and the language of those around me.

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5 0 YEA R S | 50 PROFIL ES

Danielle C. Leavitt STUDENT | Russian

“

S

tanding on the square that snowy night in 2004 changed something inside of us,” says Danielle Leavitt. “Somehow revolution gave birth to a new kind of fire in our hearts, and things have never quite been the same.”

Shortly after her family moved to Ukraine, they ventured out to join the cries of the Orange Revolution, and that night has stuck with Leavitt ever since, contributing to her decision to study Russian at BYU. She has since been named a Russian Scholar Laureate, completed two ORCA research grants in Rwanda and Ukraine, and presented her findings at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. She is also working on a minor in women’s studies.

One of the most meaningful lessons learned, however, has come from the written words of dozens of Eastern Europeans. “Over and over again, Russian literature convinces me of the truth that somehow, even amidst the horrors of war and corruption, humanity always transcends inhumanity,” says Leavitt.

Childhood ambition: When I was really young I wanted to be a Broadway star. Once my vision cleared a bit I only ever wanted to write.

Family Snapshot: In November 2004 my family first moved to Ukraine. We showed up with 43 pieces of luggage filled with everything we thought we might need for a year, among which was a can of French vanilla hot cocoa. Somewhere along the way to Ukraine, customs patrollers sliced through the can, so once we showed up in Kiev we had white powder leaking from our bags all over the luggage conveyor belt. We looked like a crazy, American drug cartel!

Scripture: The first phrase in Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.”

Inspiration: So many of my female friends in Eastern Europe— Ukrainian, Russian, Moldovan women—who do so much with so little.

I practice the humanities by attempting to witness others as they really are and to find peace in that.

26 BYU CO LL EG E O F H UM A N ITIES

George S. Tate FACULTY | BA English, 1969 | MA Comparative Literature, 1970 Professor Emeritus of Humanities and Comparative Literature

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hough he was a zoology major upon returning from his mission to Germany, George Tate realized he could not imagine a life without the humanities. Now a professor emeritus of humanities and former dean of Undergraduate Education, he believes the humanities give us a rare picture of inner experience that connects us with beauty, something he witnessed countless times as a professor at BYU. Tate engaged in making this inner experience and beauty accessible to his students, even once teaching visual arts to a blind student by describing color in terms of sound (the obverse of an idea he got from Gide’s Pastoral Symphony) while guiding the student’s hand to trace the form of paintings on prints.

“There are so many things in life that can be measured quantitatively,” Tate says. “But my own view is that the humanities open up an understanding of the inner part of human beings, both as individuals and with respect to the universals we share.”

Childhood ambition: Wildlife manager Most-worn book: Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen First job: Between my junior and senior years of high school I worked in the Grand Teton National Park. I washed dishes the first year and split wood the second year.

Favorite word: Lugubrious—deliciously onomatopoetic. It comes from the Latin verb to mourn, but it’s more like being a Puddle-Glum, gloomy and pessimistic.

Favorite quote: Maybe the sestet of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ sonnet, “God’s Grandeur”:

And for all this, nature is never spent;

There lives the dearest freshness deep down things; And though the last lights off the black West went

Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs— Because the Holy Ghost over the bent

World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

I practice the humanities by loving them and by relishing them and by being continually engaged in them wherever I go, regardless of the context.

“

Cristy M. Meiners

Michael A. Hoer

Marilyn Arnold

ALUMNA | MA Humanities, 2005 Former producer, Bob Edwards radio show

ALUMNUS | BA Chinese, 1980 Business Executive in Asia

FACULTY | BS English, 1957 MS English, 1958 Professor Emeritus of English

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f there’s one thing I’m really good at,” says Cristy Meiners, “it’s being a tourist.” Meiners spent the first half of 2015 traveling the world: volunteering at a library in Morocco, working on an archaeological dig in the north of England, and touring around Uzbekistan.

Meiners’ love of travel is directly connected to her love of humanities, which she chose to study because it is interdisciplinary.

She spent seven and a half years working as an arts producer for SiriusXM’s The Bob Edwards Show, where she was constantly researching the latest creative output and writing interviews for artists ranging from actress Julie Andrews to writer-potter Edmund de Waal.

Meiners says studying humanities was enriching. “It gives you a better perspective on the world around you,” she says.

Childhood ambition: Ballerina or professional horseback rider Soundtrack: The music of my soul is Dixieland jazz.

Midnight snack: I do really love good, quality black licorice. I like to eat it with a piece of bitter chocolate and a walnut. Or good Turkish dried apricots.

First job: Working at a children’s bookstore when I was 17 Quote: “How dull it is to pause, to make an end, / To rust unburnish’d, not to shine in use! / As tho’ to breathe were life!” —Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Ulysses Inspiration: Generosity of spirit

“

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he Chinese have a saying that if you’re going to do any business, first you have to become friends, and if you’re going to be friends with people, you really need to speak their language,” says Michael Hoer, who has spent much of the last 30 years living and working in Asia.

Hoer’s love for the language and culture originated on his mission in Taiwan. He cultivated it as one of the first 17 American students to study in China after the United States normalized relations in 1979.

Hoer returned to BYU for an MBA, which led to many business opportunities in Asia. He is a board member of Taiwan Fushing Industrial and he is a former president of the Taiwan Taichung Mission for the Church.

“China has done amazing things over the last 35 years, and to be a part of that and have a front-row seat because of my degree in Chinese has been a real blessing,” he says.

Childhood ambition: I really wanted to travel and see the world. I would pour over National Geographic as a small boy and dream of going to those places.

Most-worn book: Lonely Planet travel guides Splurge: Travel First job: The Boulder Rangers in Boulder, Colorado. They had a junior ranger program maintaining mountain trails. I was 14 years old, and the job paid 50 cents an hour.

Favorite word: You ban fa, a Chinese saying that means, “There is a way; anything’s possible.”

Scripture: Moroni 7:33

I practice the humanities by constantly seeking it.

F

ormer English professor Marilyn Arnold says a study of the humanities is part of what makes us human: “It reaches into the heart and mind, and it’s so enriching and keeps us in touch with our past.” In addition to teaching Arnold was also an assistant to former president Dallin H. Oaks and director of the Center for the Study of Christian Values in Literature.

Arnold has always loved the desert and being outdoors, and the humanities united her two worlds of nature and literature.

“It’s so much a part of who I am that I don’t think about it,” she says. She has written several books—from literary criticism to fiction—and has included western desert themes in her work.

Childhood ambition: Go to college Most-worn book: Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather First job: Picking raspberries Scripture: Alma 34, Mosiah 18, and 3 Nephi 17 Class lesson: Chaucer from Parley Christensen—I had missed a previous class and after reading a little bit in the book he looked at me and said, “Are you exhausted Miss Arnold?”

Inspiration: The desert

I practice the humanities by being myself and continuing to love the things I love and loving people and the out-of-doors and books.

I practice the humanities by being kind and loving to other people.

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5 0 YEA R S | 50 PROFIL ES

Michael James Wilson

Leslie Norris (1921–2006)

ALUMNUS | BA Spanish, 2000 | MA Spanish, 2002 Author and Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile

FACULTY | Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing and Poet in Residence

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rowing up in Argentina, Wilson developed a love for the works of authors like Borges, Piglia, and Arlt. Since studying Latin American literature at BYU, he’s contributed his own work to the literary landscape of the Americas, publishing five novels (Nachtrópolis, El púgil, Zombie, Rockabilly, and Leñador) and teaching at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. His books have taken his readers through boxing rings of futuristic cities and remote forests of the Yukon, and his classes have introduced his students to those same authors who first inspired him.

For Wilson, writing is a means of introspection. “There are moments that give me a sense of well-being,” he says.

“In many cases it has to do with writing and feeling that I am able to exteriorate something that I feel compelled to express.”

Childhood ambition: Adulthood Most-worn book: Stoner, by John Williams Pinch-yourself moment: Just now, due to the question Splurge: Books and music First job: Warehouse, moving boxes around Favorite word: Sometimes Favorite quote: “Not how the world is, is the mystical, but that it is.” —Ludwig Wittgenstein Class lesson: Know when to stop thinking

I practice the humanities by remaining curious about language and how I understand (and at times misunderstand) the world.

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s a teen Leslie Norris would ride his bike 28 miles through South Wales to listen to poets like Dylan Thomas and Vernon Watkins read their work aloud. Years later, he left a career in school administration at his wife’s urging to devote himself to poetry, a path that led to worldwide acclaim.

Norris continued to teach, though, and was a gentle and charismatic professor. But when he knew students wanted to improve their craft, his direction became as exact as the attention he gave every poem: The poem stands on its firm legs. Its claws are filed, brush and curry-comb have worked with the hissing groom to polish Its smooth pelt. All morning, hair by hair, I’ve plucked away each small excess; remains no trace of barbering, and all feels natural.

For Norris poetry was more than words on a page: it was the life behind those words—a life filled with loving relationships, moments in nature, and solemn reflection—that supplied the words for his pen.

“We must all become poets,” he once told a class, “whether or not we ever write a decent poem.”

Michelle Stott James FACULTY | Associate Professor of German

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nterested in studying women as portrayed in German fiction, Michelle Stott James traveled to Germany in 1990 to explore the literature. But what she found surprised her: thousands of works written by early women writers, long dismissed and shut out of the canon. “I thought, ‘Forget the female figures drawn by men; I want to work with the women!’ ” Wishing to rescue these voices from obscurity, James and her colleague Joseph Baker launched the Sophie Project, which aims to collect, preserve, and digitize rare German texts by women writers.

By collaborating with students over the last two decades, James has overseen the collection of more than 2,000 women’s texts and musical compositions. She enjoys watching student researchers discover themselves through the humanities.

Childhood ambition: Concert pianist Most-worn book: Freckles, by Gene Stratton-Porter Pinch-yourself-moment: Being proposed to by her future husband when she was 48 years old Splurge: Books (My husband and I have more books than the high school that my stepdaughter went to.)

Karen Lynn Davidson FACULTY | BA English, 1964 MA English Literature, 1966 Former Professor of English

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s a child, Karen Lynn Davidson was a self-proclaimed music and literature nerd. When she later devoted efforts to projects like the 1985 LDS hymnal, the Joseph Smith Papers, and a comprehensive volume about Eliza R. Snow, she felt completely at home.

Despite all her contributions to the fields of music and literature, however, she first and foremost considers herself a teacher. “I hope the best thing I’ve done is what I’ve done in the classroom,” says Davidson. “I had a chance to work with wonderful students at BYU.” Humanities still play a vital role in her life as she continues to seek a greater understanding of the human condition through old friends like George Eliot, Shakespeare, Auden, Yeats, Dante, and Housman. “We need thoughtful ways of having vicarious experience. Soap operas don’t do it,” she says. “Understanding the great panorama of the human race— other times, other places, how other people think and how they live—that’s what the humanities do.”

Favorite word: Chocolate

College nostalgia: Being a teaching assistant for Marshall Craig

Family snapshot: [My family] is constantly playing with words and language, making puns, and playing grammatical jokes.

Splurge: Metropolitan Opera on Demand First job: A teller at Home Savings and Loans in Burbank, California

Class lesson: Being told by a teacher in the second grade, “You know, you’re not the only person in the world.”

Scripture: D&C 25—surely, it’s the biggest bargain in the scriptures: blessings in return for singing.

David J. Boyce ALUMNUS | BA German, 1993 Senior Vice President at InsideSales.com; Vocal Point Cofounder

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f you love jamming out to BYU Vocal Point’s latest tracks, one of the people you have to thank is Dave Boyce. He cofounded the popular men’s a cappella group in between reading German texts, writing philosophy papers, and taking business exams at BYU. After graduation Boyce went to Harvard Business School, and he has since worked with several tech startups. He is now the VP of strategy at InsideSales.com. But, he says, “My family is my favorite startup.”

Boyce is also proud of the music tradition he helped create at BYU more than 20 years ago. “Vocal Point touches a lot of lives,” he says.

Most-worn book: Death in Venice Pinch-yourself moment: I was 24 years old, sitting in the boardroom on the 14th floor of the Monitor building at Ocean and Wilshire in L.A. as an intern, looking out over the Santa Monica beach. I just kept thinking, “How did I get here?”

Splurge: Music, probably. Shazam costs me a lot of money—a lot Favorite word: Serendipity Family snapshot: Crepes for breakfast on birthdays

I practice the humanities through family scripture study; we don’t just read through the verses: we pause, we have conversations, we ask hard questions.

I practice the humanities by reading and recalling things.

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department notes

American Studies Beginning fall 2015, American Studies 304 (Theories and Methods) and American Studies 490 (Senior Capstone) together qualify for the advanced writing general education requirement, allowing majors to develop their research and writing skills within the major as they strengthen their understanding of the discipline’s distinct methods and aims. American studies also continues to strengthen its internship program, sending students to such locations as Taiwan, Uganda, and Salt Lake City.

Asian and Near Eastern Languages Dana Bourgerie was appointed department chair to replace outgoing chair and new dean of humanities Scott Miller. Mark Peterson was appointed editor-in-chief of the Korea Journal, the oldest Korean studies journal in the world.

For the eighth consecutive year the Chinese section received a federal STARTALK grant to convene an intensive Chinese language program for high school students. After several years of service, Donald Parry stepped down as Hebrew section head, replaced by Stephen Ricks. The U.S. National Security Education Program expanded the scope of the Chinese Flagship Center’s K–12 grant to include Portuguese. James Toronto was called to serve as president of the Central Eurasian Mission.

Comparative Arts and Letters Mark Johnson was named University Professor of Ancient Studies 2014–2017. Roger Macfarlane received an Ovatio Award for contributions to the field of classics from the Classical Association for the Midwest and South. George Handley was invited to participate in the Halki Summit on Theology, Ecology, and the Word in Istanbul. Heather Belnap Jensen was a visiting research scholar at the Harris Manchester Summer Research Institute, University of Oxford. Carl Sederholm began serving as department chair. Joe Parry became interim dean of Undergraduate Education. Francesca Lawson’s article “Is Music an Adaptation or a Technology? Ethnomusicological Perspectives from the Analysis of Chinese Shuochang” won the Jaap Kunst Prize for 2015.

English From January through June 2015, Brian Roberts was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta, Indonesia. The 2015 English Symposium, directed by Gideon Burton and held March 19–20 in the JFSB, was a highlight of the academic year, with 500 people attending 26 sessions in which 123 English majors presented academic papers and creative

30 BYU CO L LEG E O F H U M A N ITIES

writing. In May 2015 Kimberly Johnson was invited to be one of the headline writers at the first Tbilisi Festival of Literature, in the Republic of Georgia. John Tanner was appointed president of BYU–Hawaii. In October 2014 Jill Rudy’s co-edited essay collection Channeling Wonder: Fairy Tales on Television was published by Wayne State University Press.

French and Italian In 2015, 22 students majoring or minoring in French worked in France as interns in a variety of organizations such as Les Petits Frères des Pauvres (Paris, Lille, Marseille, Toulon, and Toulouse), l’Université Catholique de Lille, the U.S. Embassy in Paris, and several startup companies through ESCP Europe. In addition, three students had the opportunity to work in France for seven months, teaching English to French students of all ages in the Bordeaux, Grenoble, and Amiens school districts.

German and Russian Jennifer Bown and Wendy Baker Smemoe hosted the Foreign Language Student Residence Symposium in March 2015. Tony Brown was appointed director of the Foreign Language Student Residence Program. Hans-Wilhelm Kelling received the Best Paper Award in the Humanities/Philosophy/Foreign Language Division from the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. The title of his paper is “Female Guards, Nurses, and Doctors in German Concentration Camps.” Grant Lundberg, David Hart, and Alexandra Brattos have produced “Russian for the 21st Century,” a new combined online/classroom approach to learning and maintaining advanced Russian language skills. Laura Catharine Smith is president of the Utah Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German.

Linguistics and English Language Alan Manning was awarded a Quarry Farm Fellowship from the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College. Cynthia L. Hallen’s Emily Dickinson Lexicon (edl.byu.edu) is now featured in the online Emily Dickinson Archive at Harvard University’s Houghton Library (www. edickinson.org). Mark Davies recently received a large, three-year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to expand the online Corpus del Español to two billion words from 21 Spanish-speaking countries and the Corpus do Portugues to one billion words from four Portuguese-speaking countries; he will also develop several related web-based resources for teachers and learners of the two

The Emily Dickinson Lexicon includes more than 9,000 words from the approximately 1,800 poems written by Dickinson.

languages. Marv Gardner created a new online publication, Mormon Insights (mormoninsights. byu.edu). Chris Rogers received a $75,000 National Science Foundation grant to analyze and document Máku, an endangered language of Venezuela.

Philosophy Philosophy has experienced a 36 percent increase in majors this year. James Faulconer returned from London, England, after serving as the resident director of the London Centre.

Katie Paxman and Justin White are new, fulltime faculty members. Michael Hansen is a new adjunct professor. Spring/summer adjuncts were Kirra Hyde and Brandon Bowen. Karen Lambert, the Philosophy Department secretary, retired at the end of July. Britni Exton is the new department secretary.

Spanish and Portuguese Orlando Alba gave a lecture at Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, Santiago, Dominican Republic, entitled “Observaciones sobre el radicalismo fonético del español dominicano.” In November 2014 Julie Sykes, director of CASLS (Center for Applied Second Language Studies) at the University of Oregon, presented a mini course entitled “Expanding Contexts: Teaching and Learning Language in Digital Spaces.” Cherice Montgomery facilitated an online, project-based language-learning professional-development initiative and co-designed and co-facilitated a summer institute on project-based language learning in collaboration with the National Foreign Language Resource Center at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and the Buck Institute for Education.

vox humana

Doing the Story Justice Gospel themes and imagery weave through the music of Latter-day Saint rock star Brandon Flowers.

JARED HESS

By Thomas B. Griffith

I am no maven of pop culture, but I have six children, and on occasion they try to keep the old man abreast of trends. A few years ago, a daughter told me, “It is now officially cool to be a Mormon. Brandon Flowers has made an ‘I’m a Mormon’ video!” Even though I was vaguely aware that Flowers was LDS and that as the front man for The Killers he was possibly the most widely known living Mormon, I had paid little attention to him or the band.

But spurred by my daughter’s enthusiasm, I watched the video. I was hooked. I am now a fan. Because Brandon Flowers, rock star, has filled his music, among the most popular on the planet, with gospel themes and imagery.

Here’s a sampling.

“Only the Young” is a meditation on the plan of salvation. In the video, Flowers uses images of fire and water, angelic beings ascending to and descending from heaven, and a familiar portrayal of the First Vision to highlight the story of the disciple living in a fallen world. “Nothing is easy. Nothing is sacred,” the disciple observes, and then cries to heaven, “Mother, it’s cold here. Father, thy will be done. Thunder and lightning are crashing down. They’ve got me on the run.”

And then a plea followed by an expression of hope: “Direct me to the sun [or is it Son?].

Redemption keeps my covers clean, tonight.

Baby we can start again.”

The journey from our premortal life to this world is a recurring theme in Flowers’s songs. In “Human,” he asks, “Are we human, or are we dancer?” Are we free to choose, or is our every move determined by our biology or choreographed by God? The disciple, on his “knees looking for the answer,” “dream[s] of home” and recalls glimpses of a premortal life, learning of grace, virtue, good, and devotion to prepare for this time of separation from God. In “Magdalena,” Flowers uses a pilgrimage from Nogales to Magdalena as a symbol for

the disciple’s journey in mortality. Enduring to the end, the disciple rejoices, “I will know that I am clean now, and I will dance and the band will play.”

Painfully aware that mistakes inevitably follow forgiveness, the disciple commits to getting up after every fall and staying in the covenant: “And if I should fall to temptation when I return to the evil throes, from Nogales to Magdalena as a two-time beggar I will go where I know I can be forgiven.”

Flowers sings of a different sort of pilgrimage in “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas”: not the journey of the resolute disciple, but the wandering of the unredeemed soul who “stumble[s] down the boulevard of neon-encrusted temples . . . looking for the grace of God in the arms of a fellow stranger.” It is only after the god of Las Vegas has lured you into his kingdom that he hurls the devilish taunt, “Didn’t nobody tell you? The house will always win.” It is always surprising to realize that he is the god of this world. But there is a way out of Satan’s realm, and once again, memories of our premortal past point the way forward. The wanderer has “a reoccurring dream” of a “little girl . . . back in Tennessee . . . playing hide and seek with a woman who used to know you very well.”

For his “I’m a Mormon” video, Flowers featured “Crossfire,” a song about eternal marriage that draws upon language from the Book of Ruth and, in the video version, what we know of Eve, the powerful and insightful protagonist from Restoration scripture. One can almost imagine Adam and Eve singing these lyrics as they exit Eden into the lone and dreary world: “We’re caught up in the crossfire of heaven and hell, and we’re searching for shelter. . . . Tell the devil that he can

Brandon Flowers, lead singer for The Killers rock band, is also a husband, father, and member of the Church. His lyrics reflect his faith.

go back from where he came. His fiery arrows drew their bead in vain. And when the hardest part is over, we’ll be here. And our dreams will break the boundaries of our fear.”

Studying the humanities at BYU taught us the hazards of interpretation. It is risky to reach conclusions about the meaning of a work and perhaps even futile to suppose one can discern the creator’s purpose. Even so, I can’t help but think that we are seeing in the work of Brandon Flowers, LDS rock star, a response to the challenge put to Mormon artists by President Spencer W. Kimball “to do justice in recording in song and story and painting and sculpture the story of the Restoration” (“Education for Eternity,” preschool address to faculty and staff, BYU, Sept.

12, 1967).

Thomas B. Griffith, a BYU humanities graduate, is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He previously served as BYU general counsel and as legal counsel for the U.S. Senate.

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Brigham Young University

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PROVO, UT PERMIT NO. 49

College of Humanities 4002 JFSB, Provo, Utah 84602

The cover of this issue features representations of the number 50 in a variety of numeral systems, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the College of Humanities.

1. BENGALI

Transliteration: pônchas. Dating back to about 1000 CE, Bengali is the native language of approximately 200 million people in Bangladesh and areas of India.

Famous 1 4 7

2 5 8

3

The river is famous to the fish.

6

The loud voice is famous to silence, which knew it would inherit the earth before anybody said so.

9

2. CHINESE

Transliteratiuon: wushí (Pinyin). Chinese, dating back to the second millennium BCE, has more native speakers than any other language, with about one-fifth of the world speaking some form of Chinese.

3. EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHS

Transliteration: díywu. Used from around 3000 BCE until early in the first millennium CE, hieroglyphs could be written in either direction and were read according to which way the symbols of animals or birds faced.

4. ROMAN NUMERALS

Transliteration in Latin: quinquaginta.

Roman numerals were first used by the earlier Etruscan civilization. In this numeral system some numbers, such as 4 and 9, are represented as partial subtractions.

5. HINDU-ARABIC

NUMERAL SYSTEM

What we now call Arabic numerals originated in India around the sixth century CE and were introduced to Europe via North African mathematicians six centuries later.

In the numeral system used with Arabic today, 50 is written ٥٠.

6. BINARY

The binary system uses only two symbols: 0 and 1. Each digit represents a doubling of the next, so 110010 denotes one 32, one 16, zero 8s, zero 4s, one 2, and zero 1s, or 32+16+0+0+2+0=50.

7. BABYLONIAN CUNEIFORM

The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds watching him from the birdhouse.

The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.

The idea you carry close to your bosom is famous to your bosom.

The boot is famous to the earth, more famous than the dress shoe, which is famous only to floors.

The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.

Transliteration: ninnu. This system first appeared around 2000 BCE. Babylonians used two ones to represent two, three ones for three, and so on, up to nine. At 10, they turned the stylus on its side to make a different symbol.

I want to be famous to shuffling men who smile while crossing streets, sticky children in grocery lines, famous as the one who smiled back.

8. ANCIENT GREEK

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do.

Transliteration: pentekonta. The numeral for 50, a lower-case nu, is manifest in all periods of classical Greek, from archaic inscriptions through the papyrological Greek texts of the fifth century CE, and on into the Byzantine period.

By Naomi Shihab Nye Naomi Shihab Nye calls herself a wandering poet; for four

9. MAYAN

Transliteration: kawinaq lajuj. The earliest Mayan inscriptions date to the third century BCE. Mayans spoke many dialects but wrote using a single, sacred language.

decades she has traveled the world leading writing workshops and sharing her work with students of all ages. A novelist as well as a poet, she has written or edited numerous books. The poem “Famous” is now a picture book from Wings Press with illustrations

by Lisa Desimini.