Barrett Oral History Project
Interview with Rachel Fedock
4 December 2018, ASU Downtown Barrett Suite
Primary Interviewer: Kylie Cochrane
Notetaker: Emma VandenEinde
Transcribed by: Nathan DeJonge
COCHRANE: Hello, this is Kylie Cochrane and Emma VandenEinde interviewing Dr. Rachel
Fedock, on December 4th at 1:30 pm in the Barrett Suite. This interview is part of the Barrett
Oral History Project. Our goal is to preserve a record of Barrett's history in honor of our 30th
anniversary. Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with us and share your
experience.
FEDOCK: No, thank you.
COCHRANE: So, we're just going to get started with some introductory questions. So, the first
question I have for you is, can you describe your personal history with Barrett?
FEDOCK: So, I guess it begins some time ago, far, far, far in the past. I was a student at Barrett,
and so I was actually a transfer student into Barrett, in my career at ASU. So that's when it
began, and then, I mean, it's come around to now where I'm now- I now have the wonderful
opportunity to teach here.
COCHRANE: Why did you decide you wanted to work for Barrett?
FEDOCK: So, to say one decides to work somewhere in academia would be a bit of a stretch
because job opportunities are very, very limited, but when I learned of the opportunity to work
for Barrett, I was so, so excited. And I mean, one of the reasons I was so excited and thrilled to
learn about that opportunity was because of how much I enjoyed my experience at Barrett, and
particularly my experience in The Human Event and Barrett classes, and just knowing that there
was a lot- there were smaller class sizes and there's a lot more interaction with students and the
classes were all discussion-based, because my previous teaching experience tended to be with
really big classes. And I mean, that's a different and fun experience in a different way. However, I
really wanted to have a chance to kind of develop more relationships, more academic
relationships with students, and I think those discussion settings really facilitate that rather than
kind of being, I mean, when one has literally hundreds of students a semester, the students get
kind of lost in the crowd. So, it's nice to get to know each and every student individually and
kind of watch them grow throughout the year and hopefully throughout their college career as
well.
COCHRANE: How many years have you been working for Barrett?
FEDOCK: This- I have completed three years and I'm going into my fourth year. So, I guess I'm
about, well, once this semester's over, halfway done with my fourth year.

COCHRANE: So, did any particular undergraduate experience influence how you teach here at
Barrett?
FEDOCK: Oh, an undergrad experience influencing how I teach? I guess, yeah, I guess I can't
really, in fairness, say anything in my undergrad influenced, kind of, my teaching. That's
certainly come through more of my teaching experience through my graduate program and other
teaching jobs I've had.
COCHRANE: Okay. What has changed since you first started working here?
FEDOCK: So much, a lot, but I mean, some things, the core of Barrett certainly remains the
same. I mean, it's expanded immensely. So, when I was a student at Barrett, well, Barrett only
existed in Tempe. And well, I mean, the Downtown campus didn't exist at all, neither did Poly.
And I mean, there was no residence complex. It was in Irish Hall. I don't even know, I think that
might still exist on ASU's campus. I don't know. But so, it was a very, very small community.
And they're just, and I mean, also, I think given, kind of, the time and the fact that it was so
small, well, I tended to be a student that kind of just like minded my own business and did my
work. And so, I was not aware of, really, programming or opportunity engagements. Maybe I
was and I disengaged. But I mean, there's so many opportunities now for students to get involved
in so many different things, be it service, or just a fun activity, or self-care. There's so many
different opportunities, internships. So that’s certainly changed quite, quite, a lot, the immense
growth. But in terms of the education, I think that's really the same because I still quite clearly
remember what my Human Event classes were like and they were fantastic. And so, I think the
spirit of those classes has remained the same over many, many years, from me being a student to
now me teaching here. So, I think that classroom experience is very much the same. And also,
Barrett did, at that time, still have a strong study abroad program, and I was lucky enough to
participate in that as an undergrad, so I think that’s certainly continued over the years.
COCHRANE: Where did you go?
FEDOCK: When I went, I, it was a, we went to three cities and the trip length was longer
because, just, costs have changed over the years. I think we spent three weeks in London, two
weeks in Edinburgh, and a week in Dublin. I might, I probably have that off now, but I want to
say it was about five or six weeks in, yeah, in the UK region of Ireland, so.
COCHRANE: That sounds like it was an awesome experience.
FEDOCK: Oh, it was. Yeah, it was really amazing. It was the perfect integration of academics
and experiencing the culture, and it was a lot of fun. And I made lifelong friends in that program,
even though I usually just kept down and didn't really socialize that much. That program
definitely expanded my social horizons.
VANDENEINDE: Just to establish a timetable, I know this is like kind of a taboo question, but
when were you in Barrett?

FEDOCK: Oh, I suppose I can say. So, since I was a transfer student, technically I didn't start in
Barrett until 2003.
COCHRANE: That was not that long ago.
FEDOCK: Kind of a while ago.
COCHRANE: So, in your past three years working for Barrett, have you worked on any past
special projects through the Barrett program?
FEDOCK: Let's see here. So, I mean, I have been involved with the Center for the Study of
Race and Democracy pretty regularly. So, I attend their events and volunteer at their events,
encourage my students to go to their events, and sometimes participate as a panelist. So that's,
I'm certainly passionate about the CSRD and the work they do, but I've also more recently started
working on establishing an inside-out prison exchange program for Barrett. So, there's already a
program running currently in criminology and criminal justice, but I wanted to start a Barrett
specific class. So that- I'm going to be teaching my first class in the spring with that model. And
the program is a program that started in 1997, initially by Professor Lori Pompa at Temple
University. And the idea behind this program is to bring, “inside students, incarcerated persons”
and outside students, traditional college students into the same classroom. So, it's a really unique
experience where people from immensely diverse backgrounds can get together and think about
the world's problems, so I think it's a really amazing opportunity for kind of both sets of students
to transform themselves and transform the world, the world around them. So, I'm really excited
to get that class going in the spring.
COCHRANE: What do you hope Barrett students specifically gain from a program such as this?
FEDOCK: This is going to sound very lofty, but I hope it changes their life. I hope it gives them
a perspective that they just couldn't have imagined before in learning about different people's
different life experiences, and also exploring the specific kind of topics in the class that we'll be
exploring. So, the course is Men and Feminism, and so I think when, of course, when people
think of feminism, people think about equality and liberating women, but in this course, I
actually want to focus upon how feminism liberates men as well, that men are also oppressed by
the patriarchy, and that's the main focus of the course, so really questioning gender norms that
are really harmful to men, thinking about what it means to be a man, and usually that means
being tough and not being emotional and cutting oneself off from emotion. And that usually
means objectifying women as a demonstration of power or being rich or things like that and how
that's actually really, really harmful to men, but also thinking about how feminism could be a
solution to that oppression for men as well.
COCHRANE: Where did your inspiration for this particular subject matter come from?
FEDOCK: Oh gosh, yeah, I guess… I mean, I've had a lot of- I've just had a lot of interest in
various social justice issues for a long time. That's a really good question. I'm going to have to

ponder that for a moment. So, and I mean, I think we've all, I mean, everyone has experienced
harm in some way or another. And I think, thinking about maybe some of my own experiences of
harm, and thinking about maybe men in my life that may have demonstrated that, when I've over,
reflecting on this for years, it really seems to me that a large reason that I think men cause harm
is due to these really oppressive gender norms that they internalize and then demonstrate. So, I
mean, so I've also been passionate about feminism, but I mean, I want to liberate men from these
oppressive structures, but that also is in turn going to help women. Like if men aren't
internalizing these harmful stereotypes, then they're also not going to be harming women then as
a result of that. So, I think it all kind of works. I think all of it has to be addressed. And we can't
just focus on liberating women or liberating men. It kind of all has to work together.
VANDENEINDE: Have you established a book list for that class yet? Like what materials
would you be looking at?
FEDOCK: Yes. So, handy dandy syllabus.
VANDENEINDE: I'm just questioning because I know Adichie wrote a really good letter about
feminism. I don't know if you've heard it.
FEDOCK: I'm sorry?
VANDENEINDE: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote the book called Dear Ijeawele or
Fifteen…
FEDOCK: Oh, I’m familiar with the- yeah, I've heard of that, but unfortunately, yeah, I have not
made it to that on my book reading list.
VANDENEINDE: Well, I highly recommend it. I'm just curious what sources you're consulting
for the class?
FEDOCK: So, we'll certainly be looking at a number of bell hooks’ works. So, we'll be starting
with “Feminism is for Everybody,” and then looking at some selections from her book,
“Communion,” and then also reading her book, “The Will to Change.” So those are the central
feminist works I'm going to be drawing from. And then, but we'll also be looking at
documentaries. So, we'll be looking at “The Feminist in Cell Block Y,” and that's actually a
documentary about a prison class that teaches feminism. So, and it's almost exactly what I want
to do in my class, so it works quite nicely with this class. Also, we're going to watch like “The
Mask You Live In,” “Misrepresentation,” to kind of look at some of those issues. What are some
of the other? We're also looking at some articles on different- the way masculinity can be
problematic in kind of different types of ways, depending on like ethnicity, so Chicano manhood
might be different from Black masculinity, and we'll be examining kind of some of those
differences as well. But we'll also be getting into some work on rape culture and how that ties
into the violence, I think, that just comes from these stereotypes, these oppressive stereotypes

that men are kind of forced to adopt in society. I mean, I could go on and on. I don't know how
many sources you want, but.
COCHRANE: No, my next question about this program. Is this the first semester that Barrett is
partnering with? Yes, okay.
FEDOCK: Yes, so this spring will be the first class happening.
COCHRANE: And is it just going to be a one-semester class? You're going to see how it goes?
FEDOCK: I suppose that's fair to say. I mean, my hope is certainly to continue this. I would
love to do it once a year. Logistically, that might be difficult, but I'd really hope we could do this
class every other year to give Barrett students that opportunity.
COCHRANE: Okay. Now moving on to another very important class, The Human Event. So,
can you talk a little bit about your teaching style and your approach to The Human Event class?
FEDOCK: So, well, I guess I'd first start out maybe with the commonalities. But I mean, I really
see The Human Event as a multicultural historical survey of various humanities, so exploring
philosophy, literature, poetry, art, religion, history, and exploring all of these kind of different
genres through various texts. But I certainly, I look, of course, at written text, but also film, as
well as documentaries and music videos that I'll often, and sometimes I often will pair a music
video with a text to kind of draw connections with that. So, I think I just totally lost my train of
thought. What was the question again?
COCHRANE: I was just asking about how you approach The Human Event course, because it
is such a diverse course, and every teacher has their own take on what The Human Event should
be.
FEDOCK: So, I mean, I really think I approach it more as a facilitator. So, I like to- of course,
I'm there to guide the discussion and set the parameters, and clarify things if there's confusion
along the way and make any corrections that may be necessary. But I really see the class as
largely led by the students. It's really a student-driven discussion. And in terms, I guess also in
terms of my approach, since my background's in philosophy, I mean, that's the lens in which I
kind of see everything through. And also having background within philosophy, studying a lot of
feminist philosophy, those are just some of the issues that tend to pop out at me more often than
others. So that might be a slightly different way I might approach The Human Event than others.
I might have more Beyoncé videos. I taught a Beyoncé class, so.
COCHRANE: Sounds like a fun class. So, besides your philosophy background and feminist
background, what other expertise areas do you say you bring to your Human Event course?
FEDOCK: So, I'm also working on actually a couple books right now on love. So, I always try
to push those questions in The Human Event, particularly the possible tensions or intersections
between love and justice. So, I think, and different texts bring that out, I think, in different ways.

So, thinking about whether love is, love can be just, or whether love requires justice, or maybe
love and justice are just two different realms that can't intersect. So those are philosophical
questions I'm interested in that I certainly bring to The Human Event. But also, I think just, I
often bring, especially in like 272, a lot of social issues about class and race and LGBTQ issues,
and so we kind of explore a lot of a lot of that kind of social issues.
COCHRANE: For the sake of this interview, can you explain 172 and 272, just for historical
context?
FEDOCK: Oh, okay. So yeah, 171 starts from, well, kind of the beginning of time, whenever the
professor wants to start, and it ends, I think, in 1600, and then 272 picks up from 1600 through
modern times. So that's the really only formal distinction between the two is these dates.
COCHRANE: So, looking at both of your semesters, do you have a favorite text?
FEDOCK: I would have to say, I mean, that's hard, but I thought about this for a while. I think
“Moonlight” might be my favorite text. Of course, that's a film, but that's, I think that might be
my favorite text. because it brings together so many of these issues that I care about in one film.
And it's just a beautiful, breathtaking film for one thing. The acting is completely impeccable.
And it brings together issues about oppressive conceptions of masculinity. It brings together
LGBTQ issues, issues of race, and class, and oppression, and incarceration, it just, it kind of, it
brings together all the important issues in my mind. And it does so, yeah, in a beautiful, in a
beautiful way. So, I think that would have to be my favorite. And the students certainly get a lot
out of it too. It's kind of nice. I talk about a lot of these issues separately and then the students
can also, I think, get a lot out of talking about all these issues brought into one film.
COCHRANE: I was also going to ask, what in your experience has been the students’ favorite
text from your course?
FEDOCK: That's a good question.
COCHRANE: Or a popular one that comes to mind.
FEDOCK: Yeah, I can never remember what I assign. I seriously have to- I mean, well, I think,
for 171, I recently assigned Lieutenant Nun, and that seemed to be very popular, and this is the
first time, yeah, that I've assigned it, and the students really seem to enjoy that text. And the text
is about, I'm actually not sure how to talk about Catalina's gender, because Catalina biologically
is female, but then lived as a male most of their life, but also sometimes in writing refer to
themselves as a woman, but sometimes a man. So, I'm not sure how to refer to Catalina. But
Catalina's story is that at the time, she was in a convent, and she hated it there. So, she broke out
when she was a teenager and lived as a man for pretty much the rest of her life. And this is
during the period, during colonialism. So, she went to the “new world” and participated in all of
those horrific acts. But it's just quite a fascinating story that, you know, that someone was able to
do that. So, the students certainly were, I think, really engaged in that text and the different issues

it brought about in terms of gender identity, but also colonialism and violence and yet bringing
about questions, yeah, what does it mean to be a man? What does it mean to be a woman? So,
that was really popular. And actually, yeah, I just finished up History of Ideas and I think a lot of
the students liked some selections from a poetry collection, “Red Hot Salsa” from, and that's a
collection of Latinx, Chicanx writers. And yeah, and it really brings together kind of a lot of the
poetry focuses on struggles with identity. And well, I think that's, I would imagine, well, I mean,
when I was that age, I mean, I think struggles with identity are pretty common in one's college
years. So, I kind of like to push that. It's like, think about this more. And in that text collection,
the identities are primarily struggles with, you know, one's American identity versus one's
Mexican identity or Dominican identity and how those can be in tension with one another, but
also how they can come together and be unified. So that's, I think, those were also some popular
texts too.
COCHRANE: What's the biggest takeaway that you want your students to walk away from at
the end of April?
FEDOCK: Oh, I want them to question everything. I don't want them to take anything for face
value. I think the most important thing in The Human Event is coming away with those honed
critical thinking skills. That's what I really want them to take away. I mean, it would be nice if
they, again, it's nice if one remembers like something they read, but I mean, the critical thinking
skills are what everyone needs. I mean, it doesn't matter what path you're going on, everyone
needs those critical thinking skills. So that would be the biggest takeaway I'd hope my students
have.
COCHRANE: Looking back on when you took the Barrett class, how has it been different
teaching it, and would there be anything you would have told yourself as a first-year Barrett
student?
FEDOCK: Oh, gosh. So, I might not be following the question, so, whatCOCHRANE: Oh, because you were a transfer student, so I guess what I'm trying to ask is, now
that you've been teaching the course and now that you see the other side of the intent of The
Human Event, what would you have told yourself when you were taking that class that maybe
would have answered your questions about what The Human Event is or how do I approach such
a discussion-based class?
FEDOCK: I don't know. I mean, I think that idea was pretty clearly presented when I took The
Human Event anyway, so I don't know if I'd really have to tell myself to do that because I think
that that was really, really pushed by the professors that I had, that it's really about critical
thinking, and so we should be analyzing these texts in a deep and significant way and think about
them in different ways and play with ideas, and I think that's what I tried to do anyway in the
course.

COCHRANE: So now bringing it back to the present, can you describe kind of a day in your
life here at work? You're working for Barrett in addition to your outside programs that you're
working on.
FEDOCK: Yeah, every day is so different. So, it's really hard to say, but let me see here. So,
every day is quite a bit different, but I mean, of course, I may be teaching class one day. Most
days I am meeting with students to talk about ideas in the class or to talk about their papers or
I'm meeting with thesis students that I'm working with. You know, I might be attending a CSRD
event or a Barrett lecture or something like that. As I talked about the Inside Out program, there's
a lot of organization and kind of administrative details to take care of with that, so I'm often
working on that, communicating with people. Also, of course, there's just- there's grading, there's
administrative stuff, and I also work with the travel program, and I'm also participating in one of
the travel programs this summer. So that also certainly takes up some time too, which is a lot of
fun.
VANDENEINDE: Aren't you going to Australia? Is that true?
FEDOCK: Germany and Switzerland.
VANDENEINDE: Germany.
COCHRANE: Can you talk a little bit about this program as well?
FEDOCK: Oh, yeah, sure. So, I am going along with Dr. Fette, who designed this program
Finding Frankenstein. So, it's going to be awesome and amazing. I may be a little biased, but
We're going, well, there's so many things I like about this program. Well, for one thing, I mean,
Germany and Switzerland are just amazing, but we're going to actually be going to some more of
the smaller towns so we can be more immersed in the culture there. Because when you go to a
big city, so if you go to a tourist trap, sometimes one may not even really feel like there's
somewhere that different than a place in the US. But, and also, I mean, as the theme is finding
Frankenstein, we'll be visiting significant places from the novel Frankenstein. So, we'll be going
to Frankenstein's castle. We'll be going to the glacier in France, the cave. There's so many places
we'll be going. I can't remember them all off the top of my head, but it's super exciting. And then
the class I'm teaching, well, so it may sound far off, but in Frankenstein, there's a lot of complex
identities. So, I'm actually kind of taking that idea and bridging it with Switzerland, which I think
has a complex identity, having at least four or is it five languages common in the country. And so
my class is focusing on Annemarie Schwarzenbach, who is not a well-known figure in the US,
but has kind of a cult following in Switzerland. And I'm going to be talking about her complex
identity in multiple levels. So, kind of, I want to say, it sort of mirrors Switzerland's complex
identity, also like Switzerland being neutral in the war in World War II, but what does that really
mean? And then Annemarie Schwarzenbach, she actually- she was kind of growing up at, she
was a young adult when World War II was breaking out and her parents were supporting the
fascists and she was strongly opposed to that movement. And she was actually a journalist, a

photojournalist, and a writer, and traveled all over the world writing stories and taking pictures.
So, she certainly had kind of maybe multiple identities in terms of kind of how much she
traveled, but also she dressed, she started dressing as a boy, like a boy, quote, when she was a
young child. And I guess just kind of always dressed like that throughout her life, so. And she
had relationships with both men and women, so she had kind of multiple layers of a complex,
complex identity. So that's how I'm kind of tying it in with the Finding Frankenstein. Since
Frankenstein, the characters in Frankenstein have a complex identity, this is another kind of
branch, branch of that.
COCHRANE: So, when you're coming up with this course, what is your first step when you're
given this opportunity?
FEDOCK: Well, so I guess it was- I mean, this totally just draws from my own lucky
experience. So, I only know about Annemarie Schwarzenbach because my thesis advisor is hermy dissertation advisor is a relative of hers, but also studies her and is writing a book on her.
She's become kind of more popular in the years in Switzerland. So yeah, she's Swiss, so it's just
kind of, dumb luck, if you will, that like when Dr. Fette proposed this course and was asking for
courses to be paired along with it, I thought, oh, maybe that could work. And well, it did.
COCHRANE: Do you have a particular mentor in Barrett or anyone that you've worked with
that's really stood out to you?
FEDOCK: Oh gosh, there's so many. Goodness, goodness.
COCHRANE: You can name a few.
FEDOCK: Yeah, Barrett is- I cannot emphasize enough how incredibly amazing Barrett is in
providing mentors to one another when first starting to teach here. Because I mean, it's, I mean,
to be frank, it's a pretty tough job in terms of, because none of us, we're teaching texts, as I was
talking about earlier, from all different disciplines. And we are not, we are, we don't have PhDs
and, you know, we don't have, we all don't have like six different PhDs. So, we need to kind of,
and, you know, designing effective discussion questions and things. I think it's a lot to take on as
a teaching job. But I think that luckily Barrett understands that. We get so much support from our
fellow colleagues. We actually have a mentoring program, so new faculty get paired up and
matched up with more experienced faculty. And actually the faculty members, I guess, just that I
work with most, who I was assigned to were Dr. O'Flaherty and Dr. Scott. So, they've been
incredibly helpful in helping me kind of figure out how this whole Human Event thing works and
the best ways to navigate it. I mean, but again, like so many people have been so helpful with
like little things here and there. That's why I have to just say everybody, but I've worked mostly
with them.
COCHRANE: Now, when you took Barrett, does your Barrett teacher still work for Barrett? Or
do you know that?

FEDOCK: Yes. Well, actually, The Human Event, no. They aren't at Barrett anymore. But when
I attended study abroad, two of those professors are still here. So, yeah.
COCHRANE: That’s great. So, my next question for you is, what makes Barrett Downtown –
since you took classes at Tempe – different from your previous experience with Barrett?
FEDOCK: Yeah, so Barrett Downtown is, I think, really unique, well, for a number of reasons. I
mean, we're literally embedded in the downtown community. Well, for one thing, it's in an urban
environment, which the other campuses are not. And also, we're not- Barrett Downtown is not
like sequestered off. It's not separated from downtown. It's completely, I mean, it's, you just kind
of, it looks like another, you know, downtown building. It's just completely integrated into the
city. So, I really like that feel, feeling integrated in the community and the city. And I think, and
it also provides then amazing resources just right outside our doorstep. So having, for instance,
like news stations right around the corner for journalism majors. And I mean, all the courthouses
are right down here, you know, we have the law school down here, and also so many hospitals
are in the area too, and we have the Mayo Clinic partnership. And then also just having so many
museums and theater venues, music venues, restaurants, I mean, it's all so tightly knit and close
in here. You can really walk to pretty much all those places from here, which I think is not,
things are not quite as accessible- I mean, they're certainly accessible from other campuses, but
it's super convenient and embedded, I think, in comparison like some of the other campuses.
COCHRANE: So, Barrett has this goal to cultivate global citizenship. How do you explore that
in your courses and then integrate that into your life as a teacher?
FEDOCK: Yeah, good question. So, I mean, I really certainly keep that in mind in designing the
syllabus, as do, I think, all the Barrett faculty want to make sure we include voices from all over
the world when we're constructing our classes and not focusing just on kind of the old white
Western man, which is kind of the academic canon. So that's certainly, I think, yeah, what I do in
my classes. But also, like another project I want to work on, there's so many projects, is that,
well, I mean, of course I'm participating in this study abroad, this coming summer, but I'm
hoping to design a new study abroad to Mexico City. I still need to look into this. I literally pretty
much just have the idea that I want to go to Mexico City. I don't know what that looks like yet,
but I'd certainly want to kind of- but that's another project I want to work on to kind of integrate
this idea of Barrett global citizenship in the college. And yeah, I don't think we, yeah, we don't
have- a lot of our trips often do go to European destinations. Of course, we have other
destinations too, but I'd like to get a look more into Mexico. I mean, it's right here, so. Well, I
mean, Mexico City's a bit further, but I think that would be a great opportunity for students to
learn about places that are not so far away and that we have a pretty close relationship with.
COCHRANE: Now, this is a pretty lofty question, but why is Barrett important to you?
FEDOCK: God, why is it important? I mean, so many reasons. I mean, I really, yeah, I really
like how Barrett focuses on the student experience and student success. And so that provides

opportunities to work with students on amazing projects and the opportunity to watch them grow
academically. And I mean having these amazingly high standards for honors education. I think
being in a place where we can really have the freedom to push students to really do the best that
they can is fantastic. I'm not sure if I quite answered that adequately, but.
COCHRANE: No, I think you did a really great job with that question. So that brings me to my
next question is how do you think your background helps you teach The Human Event? This is
more of an opinion question.
FEDOCK: Yeah, I know, but I wrote some stuff down for this one. Oh, okay. What was- it
prepared me, or?
COCHRANE: Yeah, like how does it make you qualified and what your background?
FEDOCK: Okay. Well, I guess it- as of this year, I've been teaching for- I've been teaching
critical thinking and argumentative writing for about 14 years now. So, I was teaching, I had
been teaching that for about 10 years before starting at Barrett. So, and as I was mentioning, I
think critical thinking is really what The Human Event is all about, developing those critical
thinking skills. That, I mean, that's really what my training is in, specifically in, of course, my
background is in philosophy, and so that's certainly a core subject that comes up in The Human
Event. So, I think that's certainly helpful in my being qualified to teach it. And I think, well,
again, I might be biased as I am a philosophy person, but I think philosophy is particularly useful
in The Human Event in developing those critical thinking skills and argumentative skills as it is
so, I mean, philosophy is really all about arguments. I think there's like a lot of misconceptions
about what philosophy is. Like people- when people ask the question like, what is your
philosophy? I don't really, that doesn't like, connect with me because to me, philosophy isn't just
like having a theory about something. It's really, and people are often thinking about, well, what's
your theory about life or something? So that's usually kind of what the question is getting at. But
it's not, but those questions often really aren't based on anything. It's like, well, I just think this,
but that's not what philosophy is. It's all about having theories based upon rigorous arguments.
And since it's all about rigorous arguments, I think that quite well prepared me to teach The
Human Event. I mean, I've even taught logic in the past too, which I mean, that really, I mean,
we don't, of course, we're not going to do that in The Human Event. That would really be drilling
down like what we're doing. I mean, I might argue that we are doing logic in The Human Event,
just not formally, just informally. So, I think, yeah, I've been prepared in those ways.
COCHRANE: So, based on your emphasis on forming strong critical thinkers, what do you
think makes a strong critical thinker? How would you define a person that has those qualities?
FEDOCK: Oh, gosh. I should write a paper on that. I'd have to think about that a lot. Yeah, that's
tough. Well, I guess as I was mentioning before, I think a strong critical thinker really questions
everything and doesn't take anything at face value, looks for evidence for claims, analyzes
claims, kind of tries to look at things from different angles in different ways, and tries to come up

with creative solutions to problems, kind of thinking outside the box. I guess that might be
roughly- I'd want to say a lot more about that, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head
at the moment.
COCHRANE: What has been the feedback you've gotten from past students about Human
Event, or even your current students? Are you able to share some things that?
FEDOCK: Yeah, I mean, I know it's a challenging course, especially the essays. I know the
students are often challenged there, but in my experience that more often than not, they succeed,
they lead the challenge. So, I understand it's stressful. But I think they really grow a lot
throughout The Human Event, tremendously in different ways. And yeah, I think- well, I mean, I
did just have the last- we did talk about some of this in my last class. They liked that sometimes I
pair videos with the texts and kind of analyze them together, so they certainly appreciate that. I
have it all written down on a piece of paper somewhere. But yeah, and in the other, I'm thinking
about like History of Ideas. They, yeah, they really appreciated different perspectives put forth in
like kind of looking at various different social issues. Actually, thinking about History of Ideas,
they appreciated that I wasn't trying to like tell them what to think, that I would interject every
once in a while, well, what about this idea or what about that idea? But they said like, and I very
much appreciate that because that's my goal. But yeah, but thankfully, I guess I think I achieved
it. So, the students said I did this year in that class anyway, that I was good about letting them
figure things out.
COCHRANE: So, now I'm going to move a little bit into the future. So, where do you see
Barrett going in the next 5 to 10 years and beyond?
FEDOCK: So, I guess, I mean, yeah, it's so hard to say. But I mean, I think I see it expanding
further into our communities. And forming more partnerships with, whether it be businesses or
institutions, I think that's been kind of slowly developing for quite some time. And as I'm trying
to develop relationships with various branches of the Department of Corrections for the Inside
Out class, like that being one example, but I know certainly there's other examples of becoming
more embedded in the community. Just even kind of using some of the venues out here for
events, things like that. So, I guess, it's so- that is such a big question, but I guess I'm going to
stop there.
COCHRANE: And yourself. Where do you see yourself in five to 10 years?
FEDOCK: Yeah, oh boy. Yeah, hopefully. Yeah, hopefully, I would say consistently teaching,
facilitating an Inside Out class through Barrett, working more with the Center for the Study of
Race and Democracy, and developing more partnerships and relationships with the Department
of Corrections to maybe find community solutions together and how we can just improve our
overall community. That would be, I guess, my hope. Or for the future.
COCHRANE: Is there a personal goal you have as related to your teaching for the next semester
or in relation to how you approach your classes that you'd like to share?

FEDOCK: Hmm, a personal goal? I mean, I guess, kind of going back to what my students were
saying when we were reflecting on class this semester, is really trying to find the perfect balance
of interjecting enough but not interjecting too much. That's probably what I think about the most
all the time. So, I think that's just always going to be a goal and trying to find that perfect balance
between, yeah, letting students develop all their own ideas, but I mean, but there needs to be
some guidance there and just knowing exactly when to intervene and when not to.
COCHRANE: Now, do you have any other comments on Barrett that you'd like to say or
anything that we haven't covered that you think any other projects that you're working on or?
You have anything as well?
FEDOCK: Yeah, I can't think of anything off the top of my head. I mean, well, I mean, maybe I
would say, like, I feel incredibly lucky to work here. This is such a, like- it's so amazing. My
colleagues are amazing. Yeah, everyone who works here is amazing. The staff is amazing.
Downtown, we all work together so closely. The students are amazing. It's just, I really lucked
out in terms of where I get to work. It's a really supportive environment and just really fun too.
VANDENEINDE: I do have one question. Do you have any like favorite like funny memories or
whatever from one of your Human Event classes from this year? I know in my own Human
Event class like I still remember some funny discussions about realizing that a text was about
two lesbian women and none of us knew for like a good half an hour.
FEDOCK: Ah, okay.
VANDENEINDE: So, like I was just curious like if you have any funny stories like that of like
human or like student realizations about anything or just something that you liked seeing in a
student.
FEDOCK: Uhh, gosh. I mean, there's so many little ones, but I'm trying to think, like, I need to
stand out. Nothing's like jumping. I get, might not be as good as your story, but I think there was
one story we read where, the ending is kind of ambiguous that maybe the two lovers, like, well,
one idea is that the two lovers just like went off to an island and lived happily ever after and then
someone else put forth the theory, maybe they're dead. Or maybe like the symbolism is actually
not literal and maybe this means they, they're like dead and they went to the afterlife. They didn't
go to an island, they're dead. Or, and then also there was the idea, in that same story, that maybe,
since the ending is so ambiguous, that maybe the whole thing was a dream and the story isn't
actually real, but yeah. So those were some like, “oh, you're like, wow” moments for students.
COCHRANE: Well, I think that answered all of my questions.
FEDOCK: Okay, great.
COCHRANE: Thank you so much for your participation. And then I also wanted to provide this
information to you is that if you have any more thoughts to share later on, please feel free to

reach out over e-mail to any one of us or Rachel, you've been contacting about the project. And if
you have any other questions, you can also contact vice dean, so.
FEDOCK: All right, sounds good.
COCHRANE: We're finished up. Thank you so much for your time and participation.
FEDOCK: Of course, of course.
COCHRANE: These were so awesome.