Allen MacDuffie, Ph.D.

I teach my students to approach texts both critically and open-mindedly, to apply a patient, sustained attention to everything they encounter from a poem by Browning or Shakespeare to their own writing. I believe the habits of careful noticing and critical reflection, the practice of close analysis and argument, and the willingness to try to inhabit a perspective very different from one's own are all essential skills for any future course of study or career path.