Dr. Melissa Ladenheim

Associate Dean

Civilizations Preceptor

B.A. Hamilton College
M.E.S. Yale University
Ph.D. Memorial University of Newfoundland

• Scholarly Interests
  • Folklore and material culture, oral history, community-engagement, honors pedagogy, interfaith relationships
• Why I teach in Honors:

Serendipity describes my experiences teaching in Honors, because the term encapsulates the sense of discovery experienced each time you guide a group of students through the curriculum. Although we are exploring works that countless others have done in the centuries preceding us and doing so from a range of academic interests, working with some of the best and brightest students as they engage in profound discussions on the fundamental questions of belief, justice, and human nature is both enlightening and inspiring. Equally satisfying is when students find relevance in texts which, upon first inspection, seemed just the opposite. To paraphrase Heraclitus, it is the insight, not just the learning that makes this process so valuable.  Honors is liberal arts education in the best sense of that proposition and I feel privileged to be part of that process.