It is often said that a person who reads lives a thousand lives, but how can we utilize those fictional experiences to better understand our own everyday lives? Christine Kern, PhD, associate professor in the Honors College, has always had a passion for literature. As a professor, she encourages her students to cultivate a love of reading in community that allows them to have a mentally, emotionally, and spiritually transformative college experience.
After graduating from Bethel University, Kern taught English in China through a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program. “I never thought I would want to be a professor, but I accidentally fell in love with teaching along the way,” she said. Kern went on to receive her MA and PhD in English Writing and Literature from the University of Wisconsin in order to pursue a career in higher education.
Kern visited the APU campus while she was training to teach in China with the English Language Institute. She was drawn back to the school because of her love for Christian students and the university’s Wesleyan background that allows for professors of all denominations to share their perspectives with students. Perspective is something she finds very important. “When you’re in the point of view of someone else’s story, they're telling you about their life in a way they wouldn’t necessarily be able to in conversation,” she said. “We can get so trapped in our own vision and understanding because it’s so limited, so I love to be inside other people’s perspectives in books.”
Since the Honors College curriculum is cohort style by semester, it allows Kern to revisit authors’ perspectives to constantly learn new things and take away new ideas. “When you’re truly sitting inside someone else’s perspective, their thoughts and voice allow you to discover new things and see how their ideas fit together, and there is beauty in that,” she said. “Honors students who come to read great books and give themselves over to reading without distraction are stepping into other lives and thoughts, and it’s such a gift because then we get to sit in colloquy and discuss what these books mean. Some books are better read in community, and students are working through these texts with the support of their peers to see layers they wouldn’t necessarily have seen on their own.”
Community is an essential part of the Honors College, and Kern deeply cares about
the connections her students make with each other through everyday life as they learn
alongside each other. “My idea of college is a lifelong process,” she said.
Kern said that Honors books ask students one of the biggest questions: why do we go on living? “Students get a sense that God has called them to this place at this time, and that was hard for me to learn,” she said. “The great secret is to simply ask God, then look closely for what He’s telling you. I care passionately about these holistic things and teaching students to focus on the moment.” Kern cited Augustine, who said that the only time humans are in contact with eternity is when we are living in the present. Colloquies are perfect chances to live in the moment because students are interacting with each other on a deeper level. “Books can be a form of escapism, but when you sink your whole concentration into a book, you’re not thinking about yourself—you’re thinking about the subject matter, and that’s where the growth happens,” she said. “Honors books allow students to bounce their minds off of the best minds in human history, and when you step into the author’s way of thinking, it changes you.”
Kern’s favorite book is Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, which has shaped how she approaches big questions in colloquy. Tolstoy’s writing constantly shifts point of view, but each perspective is a window into how humans make decisions about how to live in this world. “We’re stumbling around and have this craving to know more, and yet we can’t because we only live through life once,” she said. “People often ask me what the message of a book is, but if it could be condensed into a message, we wouldn’t need to read the novel, and it’s about learning how to pick out what is important when there is a multiplicity of voices.” Kern’s love for helping her students learn valuable life lessons and see literature as something that is a lifelong process of knowing themselves and the best way to live in the moment is a testament to the role the Honors College plays in students' education and faith journeys.