Steve Benson - Comparative Literature, Latin

After ten years in the work force, Benson returned to college because of his love of great books and was one of the first students to sign up for the certificate program. He was pleasantly suprised by how much he got out of taking History 101: The History of Western Civilization.

"I was astonished by how very little I knew about western civilization, of which we are all undeniably a part. It was great to be able to trace the origins of modern society back to the times of antiquity and to find out along the way when particular changes came about and for what reasons. There was no element in the course that I did not find interesting and in particular I think that the Middle Ages were fascinating. There was so much going on."

"A lot of what we think of as being modern, for example, with the regard to the separation of church and state began then. I would recommend the course to anybody. Professor Wiesner-Hanks did a fabulous job, particluarly since I took the four-week summer course and everything had to be compressed. She hit all the major stopping points and did so with fluidity, bringing us right up to the Renaissance. Now I've got my foot on the Santa Maria and am ready to set sail!"