TCNJ

26 The College of New Jersey Magazine "It's the best material from the worst place," says adjunct philosophy professor Mark Edwards of the works he introduces in Imprisoned Minds, a class about writings from behind bars. "Imprisoned authors have had a profound and inordinate influence on philosophy, religious studies, and political theory," he says. Edwards has taught the course for eight years, and he starts with the story of Socrates, the Greek philoso- pher who questioned the traditional beliefs in the gods. "The elite Greeks think that they can shut him up by putting him in jail," he says. That first day of class is always his favorite. "I remember when I first read Socrates, and just hearing this outra- geous punk voice from long ago," he says. "I repeatedly see his voice having that same effect on the freshmen I teach every year. It's so much fun." Edwards' course deals with classical questions of philosophy and concerns many of us share: What is the meaning of life? How can I find happiness? And what does it mean to live in freedom? Students read stories from Hebrew scriptures, the Bible, and medieval political thinkers, as well as the writ- ings of Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel, and activists Angela Davis and Martin Luther King Jr. "It's just this potent combination of amazing texts, great students, and the freedom to ask the biggest and hardest questions," says Edwards. Peter L. Ricco '19 took the class in 2014, but recently drew on its lessons as he worked as an emergency room nurse at Duke University Medical Center during the pandemic. "Thoughts of that class got me through a tough and isolating time," he says. "It helped me find hope." Ricco wrote to Edwards at the time to let him know it had always been his favorite course. "This kind of literature holds so much hope, so much power, so much light," says Edwards. "It's a chance to let these great voices from history impact and affect these students in whatever futures they pursue." LASSO LESSONS: WHAT TED LASSO TEACHES US ABOUT LIFE AND LEADERSHIP Lindsay Barndt and Erica Kalinowski don't hide their fangirl enthusiasm for Ted Lasso, the Emmy-winning television series that follows a small-time American college football coach as he is hired to lead a professional English soccer team. In "around the watercooler"-type discussions between friends, Barndt, associate director of co-curricular and leadership development, and Kalinowski, assistant dean of the School of Arts and Communication, marveled at how relatable many of the show's leadership themes were to their own jobs. "At one point, we just looked at each other and said, 'What if we taught a class together about leadership through Ted Lasso?'" says Barndt. Now, each week, the two sit down with their students to watch an episode and then talk about the topics — such as group dynamics, growth mindset, empathy, and trust — that emerge from the show. Some students, like Kat Kalabrat- zidis '26, had never seen the show prior to taking the class. She was skep- tical because she wasn't a soccer fan; but the business management major was quick to see the class's value. "We discuss the deeper meanings behind being a leader, and those are lessons I'll take with me into my business career," she says. Edward LaPadula '26 was drawn to the class because of his love for sports but admits his favorite assignment — to write a two-minute halftime speech from a coach's perspective — helped him understand rhetorical analysis. "I know how to use my voice to moti- vate people now," he says. "It has been an amazing experience to watch the students' growth from the very beginning of their leadership journeys," says Kalinowski. Students enter college with a lot of "Intro to" and "Foundations of" courses. At TCNJ, freshmen also take a seminar or writing course that may be themed around a professor's passion rather than an academic field. Constance Kartoz, director of the first year seminar program, says these classes are meant to "inspire students to consider how we might meet some of life's greatest challenges." We rounded up some favorites here. They may just make you want to go back to college. imprisonED minds: philosophy and religion from jail

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