"I'm Majoring In..." Middlebury Students Choose their Own Majors

The Independent Scholar is a rare breed at Middlebury. Each is passionate about a specific field that does not fit within one of the established majors and therefore has opted to design his or her own. If this sounds like an easy way out of unappealing classes, do not be fooled — blazing one’s own academic trail is no small feat. Without the stability of an existing department, hopeful independent scholars are required to construct support systems of multiple academic advisors to help plan and execute complex programs of study.  After an interview with the Dean of Curriculum, each proposal, which includes a list of courses, ideas for an independent senior project and “the aim of the program” (including potential post-graduation plans) must be presented to the Curriculum Committee for approval. According to the College Handbook, “A successful proposal must articulate a fully developed program of study, and will demonstrate compellingly that the student’s academic goals cannot be met through existing majors.” For the few determined students who successfully design majors of their own, the rewards are plentiful. Here, four students — two of whom have been approved as independent scholars and two still in the process — weigh in on what it is like to be four in 2,400.

April Dodd '13: Linguistics

When it comes to her self-designed major, April Dodd ’13 is determination, personified.

“Whatever it takes, I’m going to graduate with a Linguistics degree,” she said matter-of-factly in an interview.

Her journey began serendipitously, as she arrived at Middlebury intending to study Spanish and playwriting. In choosing to pick up French, she stumbled upon a fundamental self-discovery.

“I realized it wasn’t just the Spanish language that I loved,” she said. “It was learning languages.”

Meanwhile, despite her love of theater, she was not particularly drawn to the courses required for a theater major with a playwriting focus and so decided to explore other possibilities. In what she described as “kind of a fluke,” her roommate suggested that she explore interdepartmental courses, and it was there that she found Introduction to Romance Linguistics.

“It was one of those things where everyone else knew what I should be doing, but I didn’t,” she said.

She quickly found linguistics to be not only fascinating but also complementary with her passion for languages (which would soon include Russian as well). Once she expressed interest in the subject, she discovered more support than she had anticipated.

“A lot of language professors also have linguistics backgrounds,” she said. “Now they’re coming out of the woodwork.”

Still, as she works through the details of her proposal, “seeing the forest through the trees” is both an inspiration and a challenge.

“When I think about the fields, the careers, the doors that linguistics will open … I get so excited,” she said, “but right now it’s a matter of editing sentences to convince the committee to approve my proposal.”

Dodd believes that Middlebury’s emphasis on languages and studying abroad makes it the ideal setting for a linguistics department.

“The study of specific languages informs your knowledge of language as a concept, and the study of linguistics informs your speaking of languages,” she said. “While they’re not one and the same, they are so related.”

While a select few have pursued Linguistics majors at Middlebury, as with any Independent Scholar program, “it’s a little unnerving to not have a department,” Dodd said. “If we had a department, it would open it up to people.”

She was sure to avoid defining herself entirely by her current academic focus. “I’m a linguistics major, but I’m also a writer and a member of my family, and I want to keep being in plays,” she said.

“It’s hard to put all of that into a proposal.”

Her post-graduation plans — possibilities, rather — are appropriately diverse. Fields discussed included translation for nonprofit organizations, treatment of neurolinguistic disorders, comparative research in sociolinguistics and teaching English as a second language, for which she is already certified. Dodd’s current undertakings include a children’s book and a role in Marisol, which opens tonight.

“I want to be a linguistics major,” she said, “but — quoting poet Elizabeth Alexander — ‘many things are true at once.’”

Carlisle Overbey '11: War and Peace Studies

“When you look at all the conflict we have in the world, what are the causes and remedies?” It is a daunting question, to be sure, but it is also the reason Carlisle Overbey ’11 decided to design a War and Peace Studies major at Middlebury.

“My view is that if you understand conflict, you understand how to get peace,” she said.

Initially, Overbey anticipated a major in political science or international studies. Unfortunately, she said, “both disciplines really limited what I wanted to take.” She then began collaborating with professors to develop her own program of study.

The result was an exercise in versatility.

“When you take courses along a broad spectrum of disciplines, your writing style and learning style isn’t always going to match up with every course and professor, and it’s difficult at times to adjust,” she said.

Overbey feels strongly that such an interdisciplinary major could suit a vast array of students.

“There’s room for people who are interested in so many different things,” she said, comparing her “conflict-centered” approach to possible literary, economic and philosophical angles. During her time at Middlebury, she has noticed more and more student interest in the study of conflict and anticipates further enthusiasm for the major.

“To be the first one approved and to realize that there are all these seniors, juniors and [first-years] who are so interested — that gets me really excited,” she said.

After graduation, Overbey plans to go to law school, where she will study international and national security law. Her senior thesis focuses on the latter.

“My thesis is on pirates, the international legal framework surrounding pirates and how that ties into the conception of terrorists as illegal enemy combatants,” she said. She is particularly interested in how the U.S. has referenced pirates as part of the legal justification for the torturing of terrorists.

“My goal is to break that down,” she said. “It seems problematic to say that there are people who don’t have any rights.”

While she would love to see students follow in her footsteps, she reminds them that the Independent Scholar program is not to be approached casually.

“It’s not as easy as it seems on the surface,” she said. “I think that there’s a perception that Independent Scholars are taking the easy way out.”

On the contrary, “You have to take it really seriously…but if you’re passionate about something, that’s what you should be learning about.”

Bianca Giaever '12.5 : Narrative Studies

For Bianca Giaever ’12.5, stories are an indispensable part of life.

“I always knew I wanted to do journalism,” she said.

After gaining acceptance to a variety of colleges, some of which are especially known for strong journalism programs, she chose Middlebury for the liberal arts experience and soon found herself wandering down a unique academic path.

“I was constantly choosing classes that were very narrative-oriented,” she said; these courses, from Nature Writing to Cultural Geography, spanned several departments. Giaever pointed out the pervasiveness of narratives in the media as well as in the academic curriculum, citing podcasts and The Moth as examples.

“I think people really respond to stories,” she said.

She realized that what she truly wanted to study (and the way she wanted to study it) would require a great deal of extra initiative and began developing a proposal for a major in Narrative Studies.

“I couldn’t get it from any other department,” she said. “That’s why I could do it — because it was so interdisciplinary.”

Giaever warns anyone considering becoming an Independent Scholar that it requires an intense level of commitment.

“You’re going to have to jump through a lot of hoops, really want it and work hard,” she said. “Often the hardest part can be finding an advisor who can be there for you.”

However, positive relationships with her professors greatly aided the process.

“My professors knew me and knew that I was passionate about it,” she said.

Even after finding a support system and developing an academic plan, Giaever still experiences occasional bouts of uncertainty.

“It’s kind of scary having your own major, in a way,” she said. “I don’t know if I trust myself to take classes I’ll be happy I took later.”

With four full semesters left at Middlebury, Giaever’s career plans are understandably up in the air.

“[The major]’s been really useful,” she said. “Hopefully I can get paid for it later.”

Fortunately, the combination of a versatile focus and an open-minded attitude gives her a wide array of options.

“I’d do anything in journalism, radio, marketing,” she said. “Stories can be used for fundraising, raising awareness about causes … they can just be used for so much.”
She currently works for the Communications Office, which, as she said, “uses true stories for fundraising.” Despite the obstacles, Giaever is proud of her unique place in the academic community.
“It’s been kind of fun,” she said. “I like to refer to myself as the Narrative Studies department.”

Elias Alexander '12: Bardic Arts

If you had asked the high school version of Elias Alexander ’12 where he would be today, “majoring in Bardic Arts at Middlebury” would have been an unlikely answer. In fact, the Oregon native enrolled at Northwestern for his freshman year. Despite being “super dedicated” to theater, he soon realized that he wanted to broaden his academic pursuits. After a year of traveling in the United Kingdom, he came to Middlebury and began to consider a major in Environmental Science. Finally, however, “I managed to admit that I wanted to be a creative artist.” From his lifelong background in Scottish folk culture to his more recent travels, the major was a natural choice.

Alexander defines Bardic Arts as “the performance of myth and folk culture.” To elaborate, “it’s based on the ancient Irish triad of things that make a bard: playing the harp, knowledge of ancient lore and poetic power.”

Through the Independent Scholar program, he is constructing his own set of related courses in music, literature, anthropology, poetry and theater. Though he was initially discouraged from applying to be an Independent Scholar, his stubborn resolve eventually gained him the faculty support he needed.

“Once I indicated that I would do it no matter what, then they got behind it,” he said.

In order to take the opportunity seriously, he said, being passionate about a specific topic is crucial.

“You shouldn’t do it just because there’s no major that attracts you,” he said. “You should do it because you have a concept that you really want to explore.”

His homeschooling prepared him well for the initiative required for this undertaking.

“I was used to controlling my own education,” he said.

He is confident that the Independent Scholar opportunity will help him to maximize his “short, precious few years” at Middlebury.

“There are so many opportunities here. It’s amazing,” he said. “I want to use this time to take classes that will prepare me for what I want to do afterwards.”

Middlebury has already helped him to implement his passion in a real-world setting. Last spring, as one of four winners of the College’s Stonehenge Idea Competition, he was granted $3,000 to produce a performance of traditional folk tales and songs in his hometown. “Long Way Home: Traditional Stories and Songs of Our Ancestors and the Rogue Valley” allowed him to demonstrate the power of music in raising environmental awareness. The program finished with “Land on Shore,” a traditional American song with verses composed by Alexander.

And we’re coming home now…
We’re going to teach our children…
We’re gonna love this valley…