Mark Allen

Studying past cultures and seeking to understand early literatures deeply — even empathetically — are crucial intellectual activities, and I try to inspire my students to do so with vigor. "Critical thinking" is not only a matter of critiquing various points of view, but includes in even measure the complementary endeavor of comprehending unfamiliar mindsets in order to glimpse their specific and particular integrities. I try to encourage analogy as well as analysis, appreciation as well examination, and the play of the mind within a given set of assumptions as well as the interrogation of the assumptions themselves.