Talk with Rick Dennison
Rick Dennison, assistant professor
of English, teaches mythology to adult learners during summer session
and teaches college writing to on-campus freshmen during the academic
year. He is also the director of The Academic Center and The Writing
Center, and coordinates the Advanced Placement Summer Institute.
How
do you accomplish all that you do?
I’m Type A. I like to be
busy.
What do you like about teaching older students?
They’re
fun and motivated … they
even ask for more work sometimes. Or they’ll research a topic
on their own and bring it in.
What do you like about teaching freshmen?
I
like their enthusiasm. I’m a teaser, and I like bantering back
and forth. They’re fun to talk to. Students find me
open, and they come in and talk to me about roommate problems or
what they are going to do with their lives.
What are the differences
between adult learners and college freshmen?
The younger students
need more specific guidelines, and I’m in more of a
counselor/advisor role. I can give the older students more freedom
on the assignments … with broad direction. Also, I hear from
the older adult learners that they get so much more out of the readings
now. For example, one told me that when they read “Death of
a Salesman” in high school, it was just another assigned reading,
but that when they read it now for a course, they could really identify
with Willy Loman and what he was going through.
You teach mythology.
Are there any modern-day myths?
“Star Wars.” George Lucas
consulted with Joseph Campbell (who wrote The Power of Myth). Darth
Vader was the force of evil, Luke was the white knight and so on.
What’s
your favorite myth and why?
Prometheus, one of the Titans, who stole fire
from Olympus and gave it to mankind. I like the selflessness
he exhibited that benefited others.
What attracts people to
myths?
People like stories, and that’s what myths are. They’re
an attempt to explain what was happening, to seek truth … without
science. There’s interpretation involved, not just facts.
And people can identify with the characters. For example, people
can understand Hera’s jealousy (because Zeus fell in love
with another woman).
