English
Recapture your curiosity
“Once upon a time you were curious and persistent,” says English professor Michael Delahoyde. “You loved to be read to, and you wanted to walk, just so you could see what was up on the countertops. But over time much of your curiosity was eroded away. That curious energy can be a key asset towards asking challenging questions, researching authentic subjects, and directing your own educations."
Fun in the classroom
Professor Delahoyde teaches 200-level Shakespeare courses created primarily for non-English majors, as well as a few interdisciplinary humanities classes. He wants you to be willing to focus and work and participate in class even when enthusiasm seems totally geeky and uncool, and he’s willing to do just about anything in class to pique your interest. “I am perfectly willing to look like a freak for Shakespeare or Chaucer, or study odd topics like dinosaur or mummy films,” he says.
Ready to learn more?
"I focus on finding and exploring the 'great thing.' A well-known mythologist once said, 'people are not looking for the meaning of life; they're looking for an experience of life.' That is something literature and the arts and humanities can provide. I find it exhilarating to know that Shakespeare’s work emerged out of real experience, real pain, real concerns—out of someone's real life—instead of out of the blue, and that from his own life he made such amazing art. I’m passionate about that."
Quirky hobbies
I play popular music from the 1920s and '30s at retirement homes and wineries. I play piano, mostly solo, but I'm also in a neighborhood group that plays early Baroque plus some Piazzolla tangos. I also cook rice and spaghetti for my chickens.
Michael Delahoyde