Welcome to my class!
It’s great that you’re at Notre Dame. Now, it all starts. Here are some thoughts that, I hope, will be useful to you in making your transition to this great and utterly unique university.
Allow me to share a few insights about my teaching philosophy. These are partly based upon my role as an educator.
They also draw upon what I have learned as a Notre Dame parent. In other words, I already know something about your ways and practices!
First, you are at Notre Dame because you are intelligent and talented. Yet as you have already found, everybody around you is intelligent and talented, too. The greater challenge is for you to be interesting. This means that you will need to acquire the tools, the wisdom, and the passion to make people care about who you are and what you will become.
Second, I am not really interested in the conventional definitions of what it means to be educated at other universities. I emphasize analysis and understanding. If you can’t analyze and understand, you won’t be able to persuade. If you can’t persuade, we will have failed you.
Third, why Notre Dame? Until you graduate, you should keep asking yourself why you chose Notre Dame over other institutions, such as The Ohio State University (note the classy attempt to trademark the word ‘the’), the Leland Stanford Junior University, and various East-coast finishing schools. Did it matter to you that Notre Dame is a Catholic university? It should matter in some way. This question will be a serious part of our seminar.
Finally, to quote a prominent contemporary philosopher, “along with great privilege comes great responsibility.” University education is a privilege that few people in the world experience. Who knows why both you and I have been given the blessing of leisure time to cultivate our minds? We are morally obliged to make the most of it. As the Holy Bible says: “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light” (Luke 11:33).
My office hours are Tuesdays 1:30-2:30 and Wednesdays 2:00-4:00. My office is 2080 Nanovic Hall. You do not need a specific reason to visit me. I’m always curious to know what’s on your mind. My email: amcadams@nd.edu
I love teaching this particular class. I have designed it to be truly one-of-a-kind. I am glad you have decided to join me.
NOTE: Please turn off and do not use your technology during class. This includes electronic devices of any kind, such as laptops, i-Pads, cell phones, Kindles, video cameras, video games, or other personal digital devices. Above all: this is a no-tweet zone!