In a Celebration of Scholarship and Service, Whittier College seniors were bestowed with a number of honors from departments and college heads. Sean Morris, associate professor of English and 2007 Harry W. Nerhood Teaching Excellence Award recipient, delivered the keynote address, "WWRHD: What Would Robin Hood Do?"
WWRHD? What Would Robin Hood Do?
English Professor Sean Morris 2007 Harry W. Nerhood Teaching Excellence Award Recipient Keynote Address Spring Honors Convocation April 11, 2008
"WWRHD?" What would Robin Hood do? These are the letters I put on the board in my class on Robin Hood as we begin to discuss how we will pull off a Robin-Hood-style ambush of another class: We burst into the room (the teacher is in on it), do things Robin Hood would do, and then explain why to the bewildered students.
What would Robin Hood do?
The answer not quite as easy as, "He steals from the rich and gives to the poor." Surprisingly, that catchphrase is not associated with Robin Hood until the 1930's. Another surprise for those who know Robin as Sir Robin of Locksley is that Robin Hood is never a "sir" before the Renaissance, when the nobility began to take interest in the old stories and to write themselves into the legend.
In fact, the original medieval ballads hold many surprises for modern readers. Over the last seven or eight centuries, Robin Hood has been continually remodeled, adapted to each new age—at one time seeking freedom in the woods, mistrustful of the rise of towns, at another promoting the reverence of the Virgin Mary or else helping out various "good fellows," and in our own times championing alternately the New Deal or family values.
In the class we investigate the core values that have not changed over the years, trying to understand why this tale is time and again dressed up in the new clothes of every era. Friendship is one value, and loyalty—but also disguise, and a sense of fair play. And I want to emphasize the word "play" as being just as important as the word "fair." Disguises in these stories are not just a change of outfit, but a willingness to explore the roles that come with the uniforms. Dressed up in new clothes, Robin Hood is sometimes a pottery salesman (a pretty bad one, as it turns out), a monk, a banker, or the king's retainer. Playing at each of these roles is a way for Robin Hood to evaluate them against his own lifestyle, to "try on" a life. Similarly, it is the uses of play, and of imagination, which form the center of my talk tonight.
Speaking of play, what would Robin Hood do if he were giving a speech at Honors Convocation? If you're looking to the exits for a horde of green-clad students to burst in shouting "Huzzah," believe me: I thought about it. Instead, if you search under the arms of your seats about half of you will find a secret message taped there. It looks like this [a rolled piece of paper]. Please take those out and unfold them and share with your neighbors: I'm going to take a little detour—two, in fact—for the sake of play, then tie them back to this idea of the importance of imaginary works.
The first line of your secret message reads: "Unmodcearig dæg cennande Þe." Believe it or not, this language is English—Old English, English 1,000 years ago, the language of the Old English epic poem, Beowulf—which bears some slight resemblance to the recent film of the same name.
There's a guide to pronunciation on your sheets, and I would like you to try it with me. (Pretend you're Robin Hood.) Un: with the vowel as in "foot." Mod: rhymes with "road." Cearig: "chay-uh-rig." Dæg: with the vowel of "dad." Cennande: "chen-ahn-deh." Þe: The weird letter is an old symbol for "th," unvoiced, as in "thing." The vowel as in "way." "Unmodcearig dæg cennande Þe." And l-e-o-f in the third line is "lay - uff."
My Graduate school buddies and I put this together for a special occasion out of words we found in Beowulf. Literally it says, "un-mood-cheery (unmournful) day of birthing to thee." And "leof" means "dear": "Happy birthday to you." I believe you know the tune. Is it anyone's birthday? Put her name in the blank, and please sing with me:
Unmodcearig dæg cennande Þe, Unmodcearig dæg cennande Þe, Unmodcearig dæg, leof ____ ["Caroline," as it turned out], Unmodcearig dæg cennande Þe.
Well, that was fun—or maybe it wasn't. But what was the point? You may remember this talk a little better (as if you needed to), or it might motivate you to learn to read Old English, especially the original Beowulf, just as the Robin Hood ambush aims to engage students in that course. But this simply raises the same question about Beowulf and Robin Hood. And it has been raised, in fact, by government officials in Great Britain over the last few years: Why should we ask students to learn old stories in dead languages? Or, as a friend of my mother's put it about The Lords of the Rings: Why bother reading about all those names and places and events when none of it ever really happened?
The ultimate question here is about the value of imaginative literature, about the value of play. What room is there in the "Real World" for Robin Hood or anyone else like him? Why waste thousands of hours inventing novels and movies and television programs—let alone millions of hours reading and watching them—if it only amounts to escapism?
Except that it does go beyond escapism—in many ways. And the one way I want to emphasize tonight brings me to the second detour I promised.
I pair my linguistics class with a class on social psychology, in which, every year, we view the film, Obedience, presenting Stanley Milgram's famous experiment about how far people will go in obeying orders. Subjects, in pairs, were told it was an experiment about learning—in particular, about the effect of punishment on learning. One subject went to a booth to answer questions while the other was set down in front of a row of electrical switches running from mild shock on the left all the way up to a severe shock on the right: 450 volts, with the word "Danger!" and a row of X's above it. These "teacher"-subjects had to shock the learners at every wrong answer, the shock getting more severe each time. The "learner"-subject was actually in on the experiment and frequently got the answers wrong. Soon he was shouting in pain and talking about his heart condition and how he wanted to leave the booth.
The question was: How far would the teacher-subjects go? Surveys predicted that only 1% would go all the way to end. But actually, 65% went all the way to 450 volts, despite the shouts pleading. Were these subjects monsters? No. It's quite clear from the film that they did not want to continue. Everyone objected. Many offered to repay the money they had been given in order to stop. Yet they still obeyed.
One subject kept coming up with excuses to stop—"I finished all the questions," "I got to 450 volts" (no more switches left)—but the experimenter insisted that he keep going, and he did. This subject was clearly worried about the learner, so why didn't he just stop? The reason is because of a failure of imagination. He could not stop because he could not imagine a way to do so.
What if he had thought of Robin Hood, and his whimsical irreverence toward authority? Or if he could have said, like Melville's Bartleby, "I would prefer not to?" Or, like Beowulf, if he could have stood up to face the consequences of refusal, however much he may have dreaded them? How many disasters of history might have been quitted or quelled if people could have imagined other ways to act? So often in life when we fail to act it is due to surprise: We don't understand the situation and can't sift through possible reactions and their consequences, so we sit stunned. But literature allows us to think things through in advance, allows us to "try on" different ways of reacting, different ways of being, and to test them out in the safe arena of play. Just as an inoculation prepares the body to fight off a virus, play builds models of behavior so that when a real situation arises we are prepared. The characters of our imagination stand beside us in times of crisis, allow us to make the choices we wish to make, allow us to be the people we want to be.
Play is not frivolous; it is experiment, testing and exploring. It is how we grow, how we learn to become greater than ourselves. If you can imagine it, you can change yourself. If you change yourself, you change the world. That is what Robin Hood would do. That is why literature matters, why teaching matters, and why I am so very honored to stand here tonight.
2008 Whittier College Academic Achievement Awards
Rhodes Scholarship Competition Lesley Cole, Nominee
Marshall Scholarship Branden Boyer-White, Nominee
Richard M. Nixon Fellowship Stephen Addezio Teresa Baranowski Caitlin Finley Daniel Strauss Neslie Tumulac
NEWSOM AWARDS IN FICTION AND POETRY
Fiction
First Place — Martina Miles "Sharks & Bathtubs"
Second Place — Jeremy Lum "Is this the End of Zombie Shakespeare?"
Third Place — Anthony Bursi "The Belle from Bellbuckle"
Poetry
First Place — Andrew Leggett "While You Read"
Second Place — Branden Boyer-White "Looking Like a Piece"
Third Place — Alex Johnson "In Dreams"
Honorable Mention — Jeremy Lum "the depressionist"
Martina Miles "Plastic and Purple"
DEPARTMENTAL AWARDS
HUMANITIES DIVISION
Art and Art History Outstanding Student in Art and Art History Conner J. McClure
English Language and Literature Outstanding Graduates in English Branden Boyer-White Whitney Gorton Lauren Stracner
Scholarly Writing Prize in English
First Place — Branden Boyer-White "That Divided and Rebel Mind: Encountering the American Satan in Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass and Herman Melville's Moby-Dick"
Second Place — Lauren Stracner "Melville and Whitman: 'Wicked' Writers Defying the Imposter God"
Third Place — Chris Kennison "Trouble in Paradise: The Contradictory Nature of Individuality and Community in Democracy"
Honorable Mention — Martina Miles "The Archetype of Judaism: Examining Robert Cohn and Anti-Semitism in The Sun Also Rises"
First-Year Student Writing Prize
First Place — Devika Ghai Rwanda and the Limits of "Conventional Thinking"
Second Place — Brittanie Waller "Fighting Back: Women's New Roles in a Developing Democracy"
Third Place — Rachel Bushman "Congestion Parking or Parking Space Taxes: Which Would You Choose?"
History Outstanding Graduate in History Nicole Greer
Modern Languages and Literatures
The Martin Ortiz Award for Academic Excellence in Spanish Karla Cortez
The Tara Molloy Service and Leadership Award in Spanish Maritza Cobian Kathryn Maiorano
Outstanding Students in French Josefina Campos Lesley Cole Heidi Rohling
Outstanding Student in Chinese Gladys Mac
Music Outstanding Performance in Music Eydie Aguilar Lesley Cole Quila Doyle
Outstanding Leadership and Service in Music Samuel Bremen Karen Chan Michael Limber Ronald Price
Outstanding Scholarship in Music Eric Rivera
Outstanding Creativity in Music Abram Siegel-Rivers
Philosophy Distinction in Philosophy Major Andrew Royal
Religious Studies C. Milo Connick Award in Recognition of Outstanding Work in the Field of Religion Heidi Rohling
Distinction in Religious Studies Major Matthew Baker
Theatre and Communication Arts Outstanding Student in Theatre Cody Goulder
NATURAL SCIENCES DIVISION
Biology Outstanding Biology Major Diana Mateos Lauren Shellard
Outstanding Contribution to the Biology Department Diana Mateos Jessica Schlegel
Outstanding Contribution in Research Esther Chan Jessica Schlegel
Chemistry The W. Roy Newsom Award in Chemistry Christa Rainville
Undergraduate Research Award in Chemistry Tenzing Doleck Christa Rainville
Mathematics Distinction in the Major Carlos A. Back Jose H. Ceniceros Desislava B. Petrova
Physics and Astronomy Outstanding Leadership Award in Physics and Astronomy Carlos A. Back
SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION
Business Administration Distinction in the Major Elliott Burr Christian Coffey Dicky Doleck Hansen Hunt Edward Kitaoka Blake Luitwieler Nadia Medina Chelsea Simcox
Outstanding Graduates in Business Administration Blake Luitwieler Nadia Medina
Outstanding Student in the Finance Concentration Samuel Livits
Outstanding Student in Accounting Concentration Dicky Doleck
Outstanding Student in the International Business Concentration Ashwin Chandra
Outstanding Student in Leadership, Dedication and Service Chase Dujenski Keith Hernandez Nadia Medina Chelsea Simcox
Outstanding Student in the Management Concentration Blake Luitwieler
Outstanding Student in the Marketing Concentration Nadia Medina
Murdy Writing Award Christian Coffey
Richard T. Clawson Service and Leadership Award Charles Acker Brian Cymbolin
Economics Outstanding Students in Economics Dan Aas Jordan Nishida
Education and Child Development Outstanding Academic Achievement in Elementary Education Terisa Do
Outstanding Academic Achievement in Child Development John Deurmeier Jessica Santoyo
Outstanding Service in Child Development Amanda Gardiner John Deurmeier
Kinesiology and Leisure Science Outstanding Students in Kinesiology and Leisure Science Cassidy Lake Shannon Parker Robbie Smith
Political Science Ben G. Burnett/Pi Sigma Alpha Awards for Outstanding Academic and Leadership Contributions by Seniors Lesley Cole Whitney Gorton Adam Steinbaugh
Psychology Distinction in the Major Laurel Brown Maritza Cobian Niles Cook Brittany Kernagis Gladys Mac Michael Nguyen Kacie Oviedo Jessica Santoyo Christopher Villanueva
Outstanding Students in Psychology: Academics Laurel Brown Jessica Santoyo
Outstanding Students in Psychology: Research and Scholarship Christine Arrington Laurel Brown Maritza Cobian Niles Cook Brittany Kernagis
Outstanding Students in Psychology: Service Christine Arrington Niles Cook
Whittier Psi Chi Review Award for Exemplary Research and Writing in Psychology Christine Arrington Laurel Brown Maritza Cobian Niles Cook Angela Pietrantoni Sharlene Silva
Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Outstanding Sociologist in Political Praxis Nicole Schmidt Frank Fuentes
Charles J. Browning Prize for Outstanding Student in Sociology Crystal Cedillo
Academic Excellence in Anthropology Lia V. Kozatch Rachel M. Tassano Yesenia Alaniz Janina Maniaol
Outstanding Contribution to Anthropology Tara B. O'Dea
Outstanding Student in Field Education in Social Work Ashley Wagstaff
Outstanding Contribution to the Social Work Profession Robert Graham Enrique Saldana
INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS
Global and Cultural Studies Contribution to the Major Janina Maniaol
Whittier Scholars Outstanding Student in the Whittier Scholars Program Stefano Fierro
SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Robert M. Treser Sophomore Leadership Award Melanie Abe Caroline Cox
COLLEGE LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE AWARDS
Student Life Leadership Awards Cassey Ho Adam Steinbaugh
Student Life Community Service Awards Shezad K. Bruce Daniel Strauss
Student Life Diversity Awards Erasmo Fuentes Arturo Rubio
Broadoaks Service to Children and Families Award Isabel Burrows
ALIANZA DE LOS AMIGOS
Leadership Award Carlos Salazar
Academic Achievement Award Jessica R. Santoyo
