Happy New Year, Lovers of Learning. I hope your semester is off to a good start. I continue to hear wonderful things about you from the faculty, who tend to rave about your contributions in class and the ways in which you enrich the educational expe-rience at Regis. In part, I think your love of learning is rooted in the “great”—or big, or timeless, or overwhelming—questions that you engage across the hon-ors curriculum. In the seminars in particular, you often come up against the most important questions any human can ask—questions such as “Why is there something rather than nothing?” or “What is justice?”

At times, the temptation is to throw our hands up in frustra-tion in response to such impon-derable things, but our seminars ask you to engage the questions instead.

What’s the point, you ask? I suppose there are a number of them, but let me share a few insights from the seniors to help you consider what the point might be for you.

Jeff Hassebrock suggests: “I've observed the formation that prolonged engagement [with great questions] brings. If we can just hang in there long enough, such questions can change the way we see the world around us and turn our comforting certainty into ques-tioning compassion. Men and women in service of others spring from such 'profound & prolonged' engagements...” I’m especially struck by Jeff’s sense that profound and prolonged

engagement might help us see the “point” of such large questions, because the facul-ty believes this as well and thus we continually embrace the questions over the long arc of your undergraduate education.

Another senior, Molly Sullivan, claims these cours-es “certainly made me more aware of the big questions in classes for my major, and allowed me to see connec-tions and causes I probably wouldn't have thought of before.”

Whenever I’m confront-ed with such large questions, I turn to the wisest people I know to help me better understand them. We’re fortunate to have the very wise Dr. Howe as our associ-ate director, and here’s how he responds to the question:

“What do we get out of engag-

ing the Big Questions, especially those that don’t find their ends in facile answers or answers of any sort? Such is the case with many of the questions involved in Chaos and Order, like ‘Why is there something and not nothing?’ I’d say that the simple act of seriously asking a question like this already puts us in a certain frame of mind—a mind taken up with a sense of mystery and provoked with feelings, of awe and grati-tude. Just in the asking of the question we find ourselves partici-pating in our humanity, partici-pating in life as beings who are at once humbled and appropriately confident.

As the French philosopher

Gabriel Mar-cel might say, much of what con-fronts us in our lives has less to do with prob-lems that need to be solved and more with mysteries that call for our partici-pation.” I think An-nie Dillard

would agree with Dr. Howe, and encourage us all to seek the mysteries that call for our participation.

In short, wherever you are in the Honors curriculum, we hope the great mysteries at the heart of our program are inspiring you to reach new heights in your thinking. Per-haps you’re a senior probing some of these questions as you wrap up your thesis or your final courses, or perhaps you find yourself as a junior, focus-ing on the challenges that might better promote justice in our world. Or perhaps you’re noting the ebb and flow of transforming forces as they intersect with a world perpet-ually in chaos and order, or in dialogue with mysteries of identity or meaning in tradi-tion and innovation. No mat-ter where you find yourself, welcome to the pilgrimage we call life!

Wise Words from our Headmaster

Volume 8, Issue 3

Honorable News

“I’d say that the

simple act of seriously

asking a question like

this already puts us in

a certain frame of

mind—a mind taken

up with a sense of

mystery and provoked

with feelings of awe

and gratitude.”

We Say, They

Say

2

Dr. Kloos’

Response

2

Dr. Dimovitz’s

Response

3

Father Feeney

Hails Hopkins

3

Alumni Corner 4

Inside this issue:

Regis University

1 March 2013 — Dr. Bowie, the Honors Dumbledore

the gender of the singer in the 1960s context really changes the impact of the song. I love how Shakespeare's plays can be put into a radically different set-ting but keep the original language, as with the 1996 film version of Romeo and Juliet, and be completely fresh and authentic at the same time. Finally, I want to draw attention to a not-widely-known Canadian television series,

We Say, They Say:

What is Your Favorite Modern Adaptation of a Classic

Word (Text, Film, Song, Work of Art) and Why?

Page 2 Honorable News

The discussions on our Honors board continue to excite lively responses and interesting ideas. This round our question

came from Dr. Kloos. See what students have said and what Dr. Kloos and Dr. Dimovitz’s answers are, and stop by

the Honors study room to see what our next question is by Dr. Fretz.

Slings and Arrows, about a theater com-pany. In each of the three seasons, they stage a different Shakespeare play: Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear. The series is clever, if a bit ridiculous at times, and it picks up Shakespearean themes in the various plots.

I like whimsical adaptations like Clueless (Emma) or Bridget Jones' Diary (Pride and Prejudice), or even The Lion King (Hamlet), because they see both relevance and pleas-ure in retelling and adapting stories. I enjoy cover songs that make me hear the lyrics in a new way; for ex-ample, Aretha Franklin covered Otis Redding's "Respect," and switching

Ideas for what our next conversation question should be? Let us know! Email Connie at cgates@regis.edu, or James Persichetti at

jpersichetti@regis.edu. And don’t forget to come by and add your thoughts to the board.

The Questioner Gives Her Answers

— Dr. Kloos, Religious Studies

ty to meet a scholar by the

name of Richard who also

came to speak to Dr. Palmer’s

Shakespeare class last year.

Richard sat down with the

class and told us a story of

when he got in a car crash. In

the moment of trauma he said

he could hear Hopkins’ vers-

es—for he studied them so

long—speaking to the very

emotions he had to cope with.

Hopkins changed his life and

lived with him. Hearing Rich-

ard recite the poet’s work was

like fire. You could see how

the energy of the poem inhab-

its his entire body in the way

he moved, the expression on

his face. The wonder and awe

was real and present in the

very classroom, and though

Hopkins wrote about a coun-

tryside across the sea, I could

see the cliffs and felt the very

same longing because Richard

gave it life.

Hopkins poetry cannot just

be read. It must be heard. It

must be experienced. My first

experience with the poet was

from these scholars, and they

Every year Regis Universi-

ty hosts the national Gerard

Manley Hopkins conference in

the spring, and every year we

get amazingly brilliant schol-

ars who come to talk Hopkins,

poetry, maybe a bit of Shake-

speare here and there, and

more. Last year I had the

pleasure of meeting two such

scholars.

The first was a lovely

woman by the name of Irene

who spends a third of her time

in Dublin, a third in London,

and a third in Denver. Most

notable for her discussions on

acting and her chronic longing

“to skateboard,” Irene is pas-

sionate about her studies and

full of youthful spirit. She also

was a major proponent for me

keeping my hair dyed blue and

purple, much to Dr. Bowie’s

dismay. She talks about poetry

with a certain twinkle in her

eye, and in the warmth of her

words you can hear the magic

of Hopkins’ work. They speak

to the soul.

After Irene I was graced

with the wonderful opportuni-

are coming back this year.

Allow yourself to be humbled

and inspired by the vivid and

captivating words of Gerard

Manly Hopkins and come see

the conference March 22-24,

Friday through Sunday. You

will have the incredible oppor-

tunity to listen to and see Fr.

Joseph Feeney, Irene Kyffin,

Richard Austen, and several

more electrifying scholars. Not

only that, but you also have

the chance to speak to them

personally, scholars who have

come from all over the world

to Regis.

—James

In a recent trip to St. Jo-

seph’s University in Philadel-

phia, I had the privilege of

listening to Fr. Joseph Feeney

speak about a poet and fellow

Jesuit of whom he holds high

regard: Gerard Manley Hop-

kins. Being one of the leading

Hopkins’ scholars, this Rever-

end is one of the most enthusi-

astic readers I’ve ever had the

pleasure of hearing.

The Dimovitzian Review

Father Feeney Hails Hopkins

←“I would say that the

best film adaptations are

usually of novels that

were not that good in

the original form.”

“He marched in place at

the podium, making

trumpet noises as he

went.” ↓

Page 3 Volume 8, Issue 3

As he gave his thoughts on

Hopkins’ life and works, he

marched in place at the podi-

um, making trumpet noises as

he went, explaining the nuanc-

es of each phrase, as if he him-

self was “charged with the

grandeur of God.”

Each time he spoke

(sometimes acting as multiple

people to narrate a story), he

clearly expressed his passion

for Hopkins. Luckily for Reg-

is' faculty and students, they

will have an opportunity to

hear Feeney speak at the Na-

tional Hopkins Conference,

hosted by the university, from

March 22-24.

—Andy

Francis Ford Coppola’s The

Godfather is a tightly devel-

oped cinematic experience.

Stanley Kubrick was a geni-

us at this, and his films not

only adapt mediocre works

of literature, but he often

tosses out everything but

basic premise in his trans-

formation. I would go back

repeatedly to Kubrick’s The

Shining, whereas once

through Stephen King’s The

Shining is really one too

many. Kubrick’s 2001: A

I could give a list of

films that are terrific literal

adaptations of novels, such

as Graham Swift’s Water-

land, Alice Walker’s The

Color Purple, or Kazuo Ishi-

guro’s The Remains of the

Day. But I won’t do that.

Instead, I would say that

the best film adaptations

are usually of novels that

were not that good in the

original form. Mario Puzo’s

The Godfather has a horrifi-

cally leaden prose style, but

— Dr. Dimovitz, English Department

Space Odyssey is a medita-

tive masterpiece, while

Arthur C. Clarke’s short

story The Sentinel reads

like most science fiction.

The only place where I

would say he does not im-

prove is on Lolita, although

when going up against Nab-

okov, one should be very

careful how one treads. At

its best, adaptation is de-

struction, and the more

destructive the change, the

better.

— James Persichetti, class of 2015 and Andy Horner, class of 2016

Attention Honors Students! Spring Fling March 20th at 6:30 in the Regis Room

(There will be Chipotle)

Hopkins Conference March 22-24 (see page 3)

Jim Daniels, Poet & Writer,

author of over 30 books, will

come speak in the Clarke Hall

Atrium at 7:30, March 11th

Summit call: If you are

interested in meeting potential

incoming Honors students and

want to help answer questions

they might have, contact Dr.

Bowie about the Honors

Summit held March 25th.

Theses Defenses will begin on

the 18th of March

Newsletter requests, ideas,

submissions? Contact

James Persichetti at

jpersichetti@regis.edu for

further information.

Congrats to Regis grad Honors Alumnus Laurel O. Defibaugh

who entered the first Regis School of Pharmacy class and will

graduate this year, already gainfully employed at Wal-Mart.

Stacey Smith, also graduating with the inaugural class, is in

the in the process of interviewing at Camp Pendleton naval

base, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and

other residencies in New York, Chicago, and Denver.

We continue to hear about Regis Honors Alumni success, be-

cause let’s face it, Regis Honors students rock.

Alumni Corner

Regis University

Honors Program

Address: Carroll Hall 121 3333 Regis Blvd H-16 Denver Colorado 80221

PHONE: 303-458-4360 E-MAIL: honors@regis.edu

WEBSITE: www.regis.edu/honors

Above: Jim Davis, poet and writer