For Immediate Release—Monday, March 19, 2007
Contact:
Mary E. McCrank
Media Relations Officer
(585) 245-5516
SUNY Geneseo to celebrate 25th
anniversary of college's Humanities Sequence March 26-27
GENESEO, N.Y.—The State University of New York at Geneseo will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the college's Humanities Sequence with two events free and open to the public March 26 and 27.
In 1981-82, three professors-Distinguished Teaching Professor of History William R. Cook, Distinguished Teaching Professor of English Ronald Herzman and William J. Edgar, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Philosophy Emeritus-taught the first sections of this core foundation, which became part of our curriculum that year.
The Humanities sequence is designed to be the center of Geneseo's general education program and of liberal education in the college. The two courses which make up the Humanities requirement approach the subject of moral and political values using the methods of the three Humanities disciplines: literature, history, and philosophy. The goal of these courses is to acquaint our students with the major Western value systems by examining the basic readings from philosophical and literary points of view, and in a historical context.
In honor of the 25th anniversary, Geneseo will offer these events on March 26 and 27:
At 4 p.m. Monday, March 26, invited alumni will discuss their past and present in the context of Humanities. The panel discussion will be held in 208-210 Newton Hall.
Cook will chair the panel, which will include three alumni
and a current student:
Gregory Ahlquist '95. Ahlquist earned his master's degree in
medieval history from Syracuse University and is a published scholar who teaches
social studies at Webster Thomas High School. Ahlquist has served as an adjunct
professor at Geneseo, teaching Humanities, Western Civilization and Latin. Last
year, he was runner-up for the title of New York Public School Teacher of the
Year. For several years, he has been a reader of AP exams. Ahlquist lives in
Henrietta with his wife, Amy (Register) Ahlquist '93, and their two daughters.
Matthew Frahm '02 (M.S.Ed.'06) earned his bachelor's degree
and master's in education from Geneseo. Frahm is a social studies teacher at
Geneseo Central School. In his first year there, he was named Teacher of the
Year, unprecedented for a rookie teacher. He has served as an adjunct professor
at SUNY Geneseo, teaching in the School of Education and a section of INTD 105,
the reading/writing seminar required of all first-year students. Fraham will
teach Humanities in the fall of 2007, co-teaching with Cook, who taught him
HUMN I. Frahm has taught in a program for gifted children for The John Hopkins
University. He lives in Geneseo.
Dianne "Deedee" (Casey) Rutigliano '90 was a history major
at Geneseo and for several years taught social studies for Genesee Valley
BOCES. After graduating from Geneseo, Rutigliano studied Italian at the
Universita per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy. Currently a stay-at-home mother of
five children, ranging in age from 1 to 14, she and her husband (John
Rutigliano '95) and family live in Geneseo.
Takashi Furukawa '07 is a senior at Geneseo. Furukawa is
from Japan and grew up in a town near Sapporo. Furukawa is a double major in
anthropology and English and also writes poetry. In the past few months,
Furukawa has traveled to Italy and to Mexico. After graduation, he will return to Japan after traveling in
Turkey.
At 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, David Bevington, one of the world's foremost Shakespearean scholars, will present a campuswide lecture entitled "Hamlet's Two Fathers" in 214 Newton Hall. A reception will immediately follow the talk.
Bevington is the Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Humanities and Professor Emeritus in English Language and Literature and Comparative Literature at the University of Chicago. He has written or edited more than 30 volumes on Shakespeare and his contemporaries, including the edition commonly used in Shakespeare courses at Geneseo.
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