Dr. Allison Shutt By Rachel McLemore ‘12
Hendrix College history professor Dr. Allison Shutt claims she doesn’t have a favorite class but a favorite teaching moment.
One day at the end of a lecture, a student went to the board and circled something Shutt had written and said, “This is my contribution.”
“It all comes together when you see students own the information for themselves,” said Shutt. “That’s my favorite moment.”
Shutt’s path to her Ph.D. and college teaching started while she was an undergrad at William Smith College, a small liberal arts college in Geneva, N.Y.
“At William Smith, some encouraging mentors saw some talent in me that I didn’t see in myself,” she said.
Thanks to these mentors, Shutt had the opportunity to do two research papers as an undergraduate. Her junior-year thesis was on international sanctions against Rhodesia.. The other was an honors thesis on the nationalist struggle in Zimbabwe that introduced her to and prepared her for graduate study.
After graduating William Smith, Shutt enrolled in the Africa Studies program at University of California-Los Angeles. She planned to enter the private industry sector afterward to apply her knowledge of Africa, but her involvement in research at UCLA changed her plans.
“Research, both my own and that of my colleagues, drew me into teaching. It was insightful and provocative and made me want to share,” said Shutt.
Shutt has been sharing with students and colleagues at Hendrix since 1997.
“The students here are earnest and talented, enthusiastic and curious,” she said.
Your Hendrix Odyssey: Engaging in Active Learning encourages students to take those qualities, combine them with their interests, and gain extremely rewarding experience.
“Odyssey is a good idea that has gotten better over time,” Shutt said.
Student projects have also gotten deeper and more engaged with the subject matter over time, she said.
Your Hendrix Odyssey allows students to pursue applied uses of their classroom knowledge.
Within the History Department, Odyssey projects take several forms, particularly individual projects, group trips, and internships. One area that history students really benefit from is public history, said Shutt. Shutt advised one student’s internships at the State Historian’s office, Ellis Island and the Clinton Library.
Shutt and Dr. Carol West of the English Studies Department also led an undergraduate research Odyssey trip to South Africa.
Shutt, who has been at Hendrix for more than a decade now, has seen several changes at Hendrix in addition to the development of Your Hendrix Odyssey.
Hendrix is still small enough to get to know people, says Shutt. Although the faculty has grown in number, Shutt believes that they’ve also grown more excited and enthusiastic.
“My colleagues are hard-working, talented, conscientious, and committed to the students,” said Shutt.
The student body has grown as well, but “students are well-prepared and engaged.”
Rachel McLemore is a senior history major from Marion, Ark. She is a student writer in the Office of College Relations and a member of the Office of Admission’s Hendrix Experience Ambassador Team (HEAT).