By Brandon Fey, Staff Writer
On Thursday, Oct. 12, Gettysburg College held its inaugural Paxton Chair Lecture in CUB 260 from 11:30 to 12:00. The Office of the Provost hosted Paxton Endowed Teaching Chair and Associate Professor of English Dr. McKinley E. Melton to give a presentation about the connection between teaching and advising in liberal arts education.
At Gettysburg College, Melton’s research has focused on contemporary black poetry performance and resistance, exploring the intersections of cultural, political, and spiritual traditions. His lecture, entitled “Learn to Live with the Questions: Teaching, Advising, and the Art of Interrogation,” was inspired by a quote from the author James Baldwin about the importance of interrogation and self-discovery in education.
In his talk, Melton emphasized the importance of asking questions and living with questions as a process through which one achieves their own identity. He argued that the role of an advisor is to provide tools and expose students to new ideas, inviting them to consider how their questions might inform their identity.
He reflected on an underrepresentation of faculty of color in academia and spoke on a need to address this imbalance to provide students with diverse perspectives so they may challenge intellectual and cultural hierarchies.
Melton emphasized the importance of critical engagement with questions of race, power, identity and sense of self across the curriculum, both in the classroom and through advising, to provide students with a well-rounded education. He claimed that advisors at Gettysburg College empower students to achieve personal and professional success and are credited with helping shape early career paths.
“I think it is imperative to remember that the work of teaching and advising is also about empowering our students to go forth in the world using the tools that they have sharpened in this place and applying them not only toward their personal success, but also to their ability to be agents of transformational change once they graduate,” Melton said.
He then reflected on a James Baldwin’s quote: “Ask questions of the universe. Learn to live with those questions. Achieve your own identity.” Melton focused on its relevance to teaching and advising.
Melton invited the audience to consider their own questions and how they can empower themselves and others to achieve their identities and make a positive impact in the world.
He ended the lecture by asking the audience, “Are we prepared to live with the questions that will help us to achieve our own identity? Are we prepared to live with the questions that will empower us to the world? If not, what’s stopping us?”
