First Year Students

Dystopias

Simpson Colloquium SC 101 Q -  Dystopias (with Pauley)
                                     SC 101 R -  Dystopias (with Proctor)
M T TH F   1- 2 PM

What unpleasant fate might await our society? Will individual freedom be crushed? Will medical experimentation go terribly awry? Perhaps technology will enslave and dehumanize us.

All of these scenarios have been imagined as fictional visions of a troubled world set somewhere in the near future. In this class, we will explore a variety of dystopia novels like George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. We’ll also watch some films like Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange”,  Kinji Fukasaku’s “Battle Royale” , and Alfonso Cuarón’s “Children of Men”.

As part of our explorations, we will conceptualize, research, and create a fictional dystopia of our own. Dystopias are usually written as warnings about what might happen if certain trends continue. What shall we warn the world about? If the writing is of sufficiently high quality, we will publish the results.

Professors John Pauley (Philosophy) and Nicolas Proctor (History) will both teach this course.

Meet Your Professor
 John Pauley, Ph.D.
Professor of PhilosophyJohn Pauley

My main occupation in life is thinking.

I enjoy thinking for the sake of thinking and I also enjoy thinking about very difficult questions and issues across a broad field of disciplines. My outlook has always been interdisciplinary and I have always been attracted to several forms of intellectual endeavor.

Truth be known, I was a rotten high school student, mainly because I detested high school. At University I felt as if I had been set free. As an educator, I try to motivate students toward a similar sense of freedom. We are here at Simpson to think and move as deeply as we can into endlessly important and changing questions about the nature of ourselves and the world.

Critical Thinking is not, however, a course on pure thinking unrelated to real world problems. Students in this class are going to learn some fundamentals of good thinking, both in form and content, and then apply those fundamentals to very basic issues within our society.

Meet Your Professor
 Nicolas Proctor, Ph.D.
Professor of HistoryNick Proctor

I completed my B.A. at Hendrix College, a liberal arts school that is very much like Simpson in some ways but not in others (it does not have a football team or Greek system and is in a dry county in Arkansas). I thought I wanted to be an art major. Then I thought I wanted to be an English major. Then botany. Then English again. I finally settled on history during my third year, which I spent abroad at Oxford University. History seemed to be the discipline that would be most helpful in figuring out why things were the way they were.

The next year, I finished my degree in history, but I was burned out (Hendrix has a comprehensive examination and mandatory senior research project), so I went into a master's program in diplomacy and international commerce at the University of Kentucky, Lexington. I completed that degree, but in the course of it I decided that I wanted to focus on dead people instead of world peace. Consequently, I took a year off to work in a bookstore and read Russian novels. After I was through with that I completed a M.A. and Ph.D. in American history from Emory University.

Soon thereafter I was hired on to the faculty at Simpson. Today I teach various courses in American history and the Western Traditions sequence. My first book was Bathed in Blood: Hunting and Mastery in the Old South (2002). My current project, Forest Diplomacy: War, Peace, and Land on the Colonial Frontier, will be published in the near future as part of the Reacting to the Past series. My other research and writing interests include the secession crisis that led to the American Civil War, the rise of modern art, the Cold War, and zombies. 

Lindsay NashMeet Your Destination Leader (with Dr. Pauley)
Lindsay Nash

Hey everyone!! My name is Lindsay Nash and I will be your Destination Leader for " Dystopias” assisting Dr. Pauley.

I will be a senior for the 2012-2013 school year. I am an Exercise Science/Business Management double major with a minor in Human Resources. Along with being your Destination Leader, I am also on the Women's tennis team here on campus along with many other things. I have been involved with Campus Activities Board, President's Leadership Certificate, Students in Free Enterprise, Wesley Service Scholar, Student Government Association, Catholic Student Organization, and Intramurals. I have also had an on campus internship, work study job, and an Undergraduate Assistantship position. If you are interested in any of these, please don't hesitate to ask about them! I have a crazy passion for health and wellness so if you have any interest in nutrition or fitness, feel free to talk to me about that as well!

I love it here as Simpson College. The professors, people, and everyone really have a genuine care for everyone, so I'm very excited for you to be here!

I am a really outgoing person, and I love to talk about anything, whether it’s school or life related, I'm here to talk! I want to make sure you are all as comfortable as possible here at Simpson so if you are ever having problems, please be sure to ask. I have been involved in many many things as you can see above so if I can't answer a question, you can be sure I will find it! :) Just a little more about me, I grew up in Keokuk, Iowa and lived there my entire life until I came to Simpson. I was involved in many things in High School and they definitely carried over to college!

I’m on Facebook and Twitter if you would like to contact me, follow me, and/or add me as a friend—I’d love to get to know you all prior to our meetings in the summer!

JoAnna FreelandMeet Your Destination Leader  (with Dr. Proctor)
JoAnna Freeland

Hello! My name is JoAnna Freeland, I will be a senior in the fall, and I hail from the town of Panora. I have two older brothers, Jimmy and Josh, and a sister-in-law, Rena, who is married to my oldest brother Jimmy. Jimmy and Rena have one child whose name is Oliver and we all adore him! My father Gary is a pastor at Panora First Christian Church and my mother Roseann is the high school librarian at Panorama High School. I have two cats, Willy and Lilly. (We rhymed their names on purpose.)

In the past three years I have been involved in Student Government Association, Religious Life Community, College Republicans, college choir, band, Humans vs. Zombies, Pre-Law Society and a few others. I plan on getting a Political Science and History major and with these majors I want to go on to law school to get my law degree in constitutional law. I also currently have a part time job at People’s Bank in town, which I have had since I started at Simpson. I also have an internship with the Indianola Development Association in town, working on bringing businesses to Indianola.

In my free time, when I have some, I love volunteering at the Holy Grounds coffee shop in the chapel, going to Quench on Wednesday nights, volunteering at the Animal Rescue League, going to bible study, playing the piano, hanging out with friends and making random Wal-Mart or BK runs at midnight.

I am looking forward to helping you guys through your first year of college! It’s a great experience, and I hope I can be there to make the transition a little bit easier. Just to let all of you know Professor Proctor and the History Department are AWESOME!! You will love taking his class, and you won’t be disappointed. See you all very soon!

Meet Your Writing FellowTravis Williams
Travis Williams

My name is Travis Williams and I’ll be your Writing Fellow for Dr. Pauley’s “Dystopia” colloquium.  I’ll be a senior for the 2012-2013 school year and will be preparing to go to graduate school for English or Philosophy.  I enjoy reading and thinking about serious philosophical issue, and having conversations with others about those issues. I also enjoy teaching and learning from people.

I was born and raised in Des Moines Iowa. I attended Hiatt Middle School and graduated from East High. Currently I am an English and Philosophy major. My scholarly forté is in American romanticism/transcendentalism, surrealism, feminist philosophy, and French—but my academic interests span across the humanities. My favorite poet is Walt Whitman.

I am the current editor-in-chief of Sequel , Simpson College’s literary and visual arts magazine. The staff and I were responsible for publishing the 2011-2012 issue which is available near the entrance of the library. I’m also an active member of EAC (Environmental Awareness Club) and a Hawley writing tutor.

My hobbies are playing guitar, yoga, writing creative poetry and fiction, watching soccer, spending time with friends and family, composting for the organic garden on campus, drawing elaborate doodles, reading constantly, and laying in the sun when I’m bored.

If you ever need any help with writing techniques, reading strategies or just want to hang out then let me know! I love meeting new people so don’t hesitate to get a hold of me.

Meet Your Writing FellowKristina Kelehan
Kristina Kelehan

My name is Kristina Kelehan. I am a History and English double major with a Women and Gender Studies minor. I enjoy staying involved on campus, spending time with my sorority sisters in Kappa Kappa Gamma, and serving as a member of Alpha Phi Omega, the honorary service fraternity on campus. I enjoy working and drinking coffee at Holy Grounds Coffee shop in Dirlam Lounge, listening to and jamming out to music, going to theatre productions and random activities with my friends.

Last Updated: 5/2/12