Course Retakes

History of Portland, taught by Reiko Hillyer. I reference that syllabus and the things I learned in that course on a daily basis. Not only is it history of the region, but it’s also a baseline understanding of urban studies and the forces that play into urban development.

—Olivia Weiss BA ’23

History of Western art courses. I’ve been around the world in these last 50 years, and I’ve seen museums on every continent. Those hours with Stewart Buettner gave me a passport to another world. And I am forever grateful.

—Ronald Marks BS ’78

Japanese Tea Ceremony, Swimming, Marimba, Electronic Music, and Line Dancing. And this is nerdy, but I actually did enjoy Historical Materials, the infamous toughest course we had to take as history majors. And Nutrition, the No. 1 most useful course in my post-college life.

—Sierra Jenkins Abukins BA ’05

Philosophy of Religion, taught by Nick Smith. It changed my life.

—María Montoya BA ’05

The Nature of Lying with Brian Detweiler-Bedell. Such an amazing course that was taught one time, and I was lucky enough to snag a seat!

—Josh Oppenheim BA ’10

Choir with Stanley Glarum and Gil Seeley.

—Barbara Gaston BA ’76

Jim Grant’s course on statistics. It still helps me sort through the numbers to find meaningful insights, especially in today’s world where we’re inundated with studies and data points.

—Shawn Sehy BA ’93

I loved World Music and find myself to this day seeking out music in other languages, cultures, and times.

—Benita Altamirano Riesgraf BA ’01

History of Three Latin American Revolutions with Dr. Jack Corbett. A master of experiential learning pedagogy in the late ’80s when I was there!

—Heather Lang BA ’91

Plato’s Republic with Nicholas Smith. Changed what I thought education could be.

—Hunter Ellis BA ’12

Social Construction of Madness with Tom Schoeneman.

—Christopher Murray BA ’03

A poetry class with William Stafford. Another poetry class with Jeanie Knight. A women’s lit class with John Callahan.

—Leanne Shimada BA ’81

Biology of the Pacific Northwest (summer school course). I made a wild berry pie for part of the final exam.

—Jana Johnsen BS ’75

Any class taught by Professor Beckham! It’s why I became a history teacher. 

—Christine Turk Stransky BS ’87

Don Balmer’s Canadian Politics and Government, so I could travel to Victoria and stay at The Empress hotel! (And the drinking age was 19 … I didn’t say that out loud, right?)

—Todd Beaird BA ’88, JD ’91

So hard to choose! Robert Dusenbery’s course on the 19th-century novel, Mort Jacobs’ Chaucer seminar (especially when he took us all out for ice cream in lieu of a final exam), Jack Hart’s wonderful class on Swift and Defoe that made me think I wanted to do an 18th-century specialization in grad school, and John Callahan’s influential post–Civil War literature course, which introduced me to cultural studies. So many more!

—Elizabeth Grubgeld BA ’74