The year I matriculated into the Virginia Military Institute, the English department was in the beginnings of transitioning towards a Writing and Rhetoric based curriculum as opposed to the Literature based program I had been initially attracted to when I was in High School. To be honest, I was surprised and did not know what to expect but can say for certain that I am very grateful for the opportunity to develop along with the humanities department at our institute. Fortunately, I did not miss out on the opportunity to take part in the literature-based classes I was attracted to initially when I applied to the Virginia Military Institute. I dare say anyone could call themselves an English Major from the institute without having been enrolled in one of Colonel Miller’s Shakespeare classes.
The Major Figures course I was enrolled in was focused on William Shakespeare. Having had experience with the Power and Politics class before, I was interested in taking part in a literature-based perspective on his work as opposed to my previously rhetorically centric education. Close readings and even enacting different scenes from Shakespeare’s work was a great change of pace from my conventional learning environment.