As long as I have been a student at BYU, I have always adored the home of the Humanities: the Joseph Fielding Smith Building (JFSB). On bright, sunny days, I often meander into the Mary Lou Fulton Plaza and idle away several peaceful moments sitting next to the towering broken rocks. I listen to the …
Professor Elliott D. Wise on Affective Piety, Ekphrastic Mysticism, and Dramatic Teaching
Affect, verb: (1) have an effect upon; make a difference to. (2) touch the feelings of (someone); move emotionally. Elliott D. Wise, assistant professor of Art History in the Comparative Arts and Letters department, confesses that he teaches in a rather emotional style—dramatic, even—in part to keep people awake in the dim light of an …
On Wobbling Moons and Disciplines
I’m a sucker for astronomical clickbait. “The Moon is Wobbling!” got me. My world tilted on its axis when I discovered the rock that existed peripherally at the foggy edges of perception is a bit like a staggering drunk on his way home from the pub: reliably unstable on his feet, creating mild annoyance in …