Real Stories

Learning in Pairs

Student:
Lee Beltran (Class of 2008)
Major:
Sociology and English
Favorite Class:
Paired Course; ENGL 370: Postmodern American Novel and SOC 375: Modern Society

In Whittier's paired courses, subject matters from different departments are linked in order to more fully explore the nature of knowledge and ideas. Being mentally nimble and able to apply learning across the disciplines are skills we strive to nurture in our students. Why shouldn't literature and sociology go hand-in-hand? They can and do. So do biology and history, or psychology and art. By understanding that knowledge is not compartmentalized, students are better able to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it throughout their lives.

"My favorite class was a paired course taught by English professor Dave Paddy and sociology professor Sal Johnston," says Lee Beltran, who is serving his senior year as one of Paddy's course preceptors. "The theme in that pair was about examining what 'nature' means, so both courses had readings around that theme, such as Graham Swift's Waterland—and the idea was to sort of radically investigate the terms of nature versus culture."

"The thing is, everyone was more confused by the end of the course than at the beginning, and it was still the best class I've ever taken. Maybe that's actually the reason why it was the best class. The ideas put forth were so challenging and new for us, that the class was more about figuring out the right questions than coming up with a final answer."