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Mimi Fenton, Associate Professor of English
An internationally recognized scholar receives an Outstanding Teacher Award for her work in the WCU classroom
When it was announced that Mimi Fenton, associate professor of English, had been named recipient of an Outstanding Teacher Award for 2006 by the South Atlantic Association of Departments of English, it came as no surprise to her students and fellow faculty.
Scholarly pursuits: Fenton, an internationally recognized scholar on the works of 17th-century English author John Milton, is known for her lively lectures and for constantly seeking new ways to make literature relevant for students beyond the classroom. Her teaching at WCU ranges from introductory courses for freshmen to Renaissance and 17th-century British literature for seniors and graduate students.
Bringing literature to life: Students in Fenton’s Renaissance literature classes learn about the role of the printing press in early modern culture by collaboratively producing a book. In her senior- and graduate-level classes on Milton, students write and deliver “prolusions,” formal oratorical performances modeled on those given by Milton himself at Cambridge University in the 1620s. They even wear Fenton's doctoral gown when they perform.
Renaissance woman: For a number of years, Fenton has led an international trip as part of her liberal studies course on the Renaissance. The itinerary of the course coordinates with the syllabus and with this academic year's focus on the Italian Renaissance and its influences, an 18-day trip to Italy and Greece is in the works.
Fenton’s philosophy: "[I am] absolutely certain that the most important ‘skill’ we can teach is that we are all worthwhile, complex, deep beings, not simply a conduit for marketable skills. Students leave my classes knowing a lot about literature and knowing it well, but they also learn that the value of literature is that it teaches about life, about the complexities of being alive.”
Top of the class: In addition to her recent honor, Fenton has received WCU's University Scholar Award (2006), a UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching (2004), and WCU’s highest teaching honor, the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award (2003).
Fenton’s book, “Milton's Places of Hope: Spiritual and Political Connections of Hope with Land,” will be published in fall 2006 by Ashgate, one of the world's most prestigious academic presses.
Scholarly pursuits: Fenton, an internationally recognized scholar on the works of 17th-century English author John Milton, is known for her lively lectures and for constantly seeking new ways to make literature relevant for students beyond the classroom. Her teaching at WCU ranges from introductory courses for freshmen to Renaissance and 17th-century British literature for seniors and graduate students.
Bringing literature to life: Students in Fenton’s Renaissance literature classes learn about the role of the printing press in early modern culture by collaboratively producing a book. In her senior- and graduate-level classes on Milton, students write and deliver “prolusions,” formal oratorical performances modeled on those given by Milton himself at Cambridge University in the 1620s. They even wear Fenton's doctoral gown when they perform.
Renaissance woman: For a number of years, Fenton has led an international trip as part of her liberal studies course on the Renaissance. The itinerary of the course coordinates with the syllabus and with this academic year's focus on the Italian Renaissance and its influences, an 18-day trip to Italy and Greece is in the works.
Fenton’s philosophy: "[I am] absolutely certain that the most important ‘skill’ we can teach is that we are all worthwhile, complex, deep beings, not simply a conduit for marketable skills. Students leave my classes knowing a lot about literature and knowing it well, but they also learn that the value of literature is that it teaches about life, about the complexities of being alive.”
Top of the class: In addition to her recent honor, Fenton has received WCU's University Scholar Award (2006), a UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching (2004), and WCU’s highest teaching honor, the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award (2003).
Fenton’s book, “Milton's Places of Hope: Spiritual and Political Connections of Hope with Land,” will be published in fall 2006 by Ashgate, one of the world's most prestigious academic presses.