Faculty

Thomas Ahrens

I have taught INST 100, Growing Up in the Global Village, a course dedicated to exploring world literature and film. My interests include foreign language acquisition, German literature and film, translation theory and practice, and issues of multiculturalism in contemporary European culture. In addition to I.S., I currently teach English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and I have taught the German language and culture components for the Vienna SYE.

Lyle Barkhymer, Chair

I was a bass clarinetist in the Columbus Symphony for several decades and a Professor of Music before becoming IS Chair. I travel frequently, leading the Senior Year Experience to Vienna each December, and I have lived and taught in Japan. My interest in other cultures is evident in the IS Global Perspectives courses Approaching Japan through Its Arts and Aspects of World Music. I also teach music history in the Department of Music.

Sarah Bouchard

I will teach a new section of the sophomore level science IS course, entitled Why Sex? In this course, we will explore hypotheses pertaining to the evolution of sexual reproduction and survey the diversity of animal mating systems that have evolved. Students will have the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be human and to discuss when it is and is not appropriate to draw parallels between non-human and human mating systems. Laboratory activities for this course include examining mate choice in guppies and the ability of humans to smell "good genes." Academic interests: As a physiological ecologist, I am interested in interactions between the physiology of animals and their environments. My work primarily focuses on the nutrition and ecology of turtles and other reptiles.

Norman Chaney

I am a member of the Otterbein English Department. My academic and teaching interests are: early English literature; Shakespeare; the history and practice of rhetoric; linguistics; classical, Christian and Arthurian mythology; philosophy; and environmental literature. I try to bring all these interests to bear in my teaching of IS 300. My hobbyhorse interests are gardening, wood working, music and flying.

Allan Cooper

I teach INST 160 (World Geography and Human Society) which introduces students to how people organize their cultures within each region of the world. I've been fortunate to have traveled to most of the regions during my career, and am able to share personal insights in the classroom. One of my goals in this class is to get students to think of their futures in a more global context, and to encourage them to travel abroad to learn more about themselves and their own culture.

Beth Daugherty
I have, at one time or another, taught all the "comp & lit" courses in Integrative Studies - The Individual and Society, Growing Up in America, Relationships and Dialogues, and The Dilemma of Existence - and I enjoy them all! My academic interests include Virginia Woolf, the essay as a literary genre, modernism, women's literature, and detective fiction.

Tim Davis

Since the Spring of 1998 I have had the great pleasure of regularly teaching sections of Human Nature in the Christian Tradition (INST260) and Philosophy and Human Nature (INST 250) as an adjunct with Otterbein's Religion and Philosophy Department. My full-time job at Columbus State involves work with the Western Civilization sequence as well directing sections of Comparative Religion, both in the classroom and in an online format. For the past two years I have also taught Religion classes at Ohio State in their Comparative Studies Department. I hold an undergraduate degree in Ancient & Medieval Studies, a Master of Divinity with a focus on Theology, another Masters in the History of Christianity and a Ph.D. in The Study of Religion. My specialized research in Medieval Monasticism and the Cistercian tradition has yielded publication of 2 books, several journal articles and a chapter for a college reference work.

Paul Eisenstein

I routinely teach all three of the Integrative Studies composition and literature courses--INST 110, INST 270, and INST 300. What I am drawn to in all of them is the opportunity to ask the big questions: How should we think about the vexed relationship between the individual and society, and how might we make it less vexed? What does it mean to love and what are our hopes for intimacy? What does it mean to speak of a dilemma that belongs to existence, and what political or theological recognitions are involved in the consideration of such dilemmas? In the pursuit of these questions, I try to oversee a classroom where we are free to test assumptions, to take apart naively held beliefs and to stake out positions. I find most rewarding those times in a course where we encounter and inhabit a series of impasses or insoluble problems--in short, moments that require more thinking.

Annette Fieldstone

My interests in Social Psychophysiology and Somatics are evidenced in my classes as I integrate mind, body, and spirit into the study of the relationships between body systems and mental processes. Through individual and small group work with literature, art, music, and film, students can gain a fuller understanding of how they view themselves, their associations with others, and the world around them. To help students correctly interpret what they see or hear, I address critical thinking skill development, particularly between evidence and interpretation. In this regard, I emphasize scholarly writing.

Jim Gorman

English, I enjoy teaching first-year students in INST 105, Growing Up in America, but my favorite INST course is INST 270, Relationships and Dialogues, which can be described as a fast-paced romp through the literature of the "war" between the sexes, from Lysistrata (411 BCE) to Hairstyles of the Damned (2005). I am the Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) to Otterbein's sports conference, the Ohio Athletic Conference, and to the NCAA. I also am an evening adviser for Continuing Studies students.

Jeanne Griggs

I've been an adjunct professor at Otterbein since September, 2001 and have taught IS 110, 270, and 300. I also direct the Writing Center at Kenyon College. My academic interests range from poetry writing and dramatic interpretation to rhetoric, satire, and the use of irony, especially in the eighteenth century. I love the wide range of texts we use in IS to give students a look at different aspects of human nature. The Otterbein students remind me of myself and my classmates during our years at a small, liberal arts college, except that their accents are more northern.

Michael Haberkorn

I am a Professor of Music. I attended the University of Illinois, the Juilliard School and Columbia University, from which I received my doctorate. I have been awarded fellowship grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities to Yale University, Dartmouth College, Boston University and The Center for Black Music Research. I have taught in the Integrative Studies program for the past 25 years.

Debora Halbert
I teach courses on the future for the Freshman Seminar (INST 100). I am in the process of developing a course on Civic Engagement and Public Life that will be taught as a Social Science option in the freshman IS program. My research interests focus on intellectual property law and politics.

Gary Jackson
I teach INST 400 (Earth Science) and INST 350 (Biological Science), each with an environmental theme. My special interests lie in wetlands and ecological restoration.

Glenna Jackson

Religion is naturally an integrative discipline. My current travel and research focus on African oral, agrarian cultures as a means of understanding religious writings and contexts, especially those found in first-century Judaism and Christianity. My teaching in Zimbabwe and Egypt has resulted in an infusion of African influences in all of my classrooms, especially INST 260: Human Nature in the Christian Tradition, in truly integrative manner. Web site.

Amy Jessen-Marshall

As a professor in the Life Science Department I'm very interested in questions of science literacy for the general public. The Integrative Studies science courses attempt to challenge students to question scientific method and see the application of science to their own lives through current events and ethical implications for science. I teach IS240: Origins as part of a team, with Dr. Halard Lescinsky, where we examine the evidence in support of Evolution from several disciplines. I've also taught IS350: The Biology of Gender, which combines my interests in Women's Studies with Biology. My research interests include bacterial membrane transport proteins, in addition to bioremediation and extremophiles.

Dean Johnston
I am an inorganic chemist with an interest in molecular clusters, nanoscience, and the visualization of chemical structures. Dr. Robertson (Physics) and I co-teach a sophomore-level I.S. class, IS 240 - The Atom, where we trace the development of our understanding of the atom from Democritus all the way to the current revolution in nanotechnology.

Carolyn Kaufman
I teach Psychology and Human Nature in the IS program. I enjoy introducing students to psychological concepts, and I love discussing students' interests in how psychology affects our lives. I was trained in clinical psychology and practiced psychotherapy for several years, so I am especially interested in topics like relationship problems, trauma and PTSD, and media psychology.

Margaret Koehler
IS courses are about connection: among diverse texts, with students who represent a variety of backgrounds and interests, with contexts outside of literature. Most of my research has focused on early eighteenth-century British poetry, though that specialty has led me out toward a broader interest in poetry and what it can offer twenty-first-century readers.

Robert N. Kraft

I teach INST 130 “Psychology and Human Nature,” drawing from my own discipline of cognitive psychology and integrating works from history, philosophy, medicine, film, and literature. The course is motivated by one underlying question: what is human about us? Some of the material is old; some is new, reflecting both the timelessness of the issues as well as the freshness of contemporary perspectives. As one pioneering research psychologist remarked, “Psychology has a long past, but only a short history.” The course explores brain physiology, perception, language, thought, identity, intelligence, and social interactions – among other subjects. In the course, I also bring in general findings from my interdisciplinary research programs at Otterbein on enduring memory, emotion, and victims and perpetrators. In addition to INST 130, I teach courses on Cognition, Memory, Decision Making, Personality, and Research Methods.

Shannon Lakanen

I teach IS 105 and 270. As an English Department faculty member, my specialization is creative nonfiction writing, poetry writing, and 20th century American literature. I am also the advisor for Quiz & Quill, Otterbein's student literary magazine. All of my degrees are in creative writing: PhD from Ohio Univ, MA from Florida State, BA from University of Tampa, a little ole' liberal arts school a lot like Otterbein.

Paul Laughlin

Paul Alan Laughlin (M.Div., Ph.D., Emory University, 1971 & '75) I have been a professor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy since 1979, and served for eleven years as its Chair. I teach Introduction to Religion, Buddhism, Islam, and Religion in America, as well as Human Nature in the World's Religions and Philosophies in the Integrative Studies Program. I have has published many articles on a variety of topics in religion, and my two most recent books are Remedial Christianity: What Every Believer Should Know about the Faith, but Probably Doesn't (2000), and Getting Oriented: What Every Christian Should Know about Eastern Religions, but Probably Doesn't,(2005). I am a frequent featured speaker at professional conferences all over the country. I have been an amateur (ham) radio operator and a performing jazz pianist for over forty years. I reside in Westerville with my wife, Randy, and way too many cats.

Emma Perry Loss

I have taught INST 105: Growing Up in America in the Integrative Studies sequence and will teach other courses from the sequence in the near future. My interests are in 20th Century American Literature with emphasis on post-WWII literature and I am especially interested in how literature from the 1960s portrays the social change of that era. When I am not spending time on those topics, I also study Native American literature and write some poetry.

Betsy MacLean
I teach two sections of the IS 150 Western Civilization each year. My primary teaching area is 20th Century America, but also Soviet history. My research covers political and diplomatic history, primarily in the Progressive Era and during the administration of FDR.

Andrew Mills

I am an Associate Professor of Philosophy, with research interests in the philosophy of language, metaphysics, and the pedagogy of philosophy instruction. Sometimes my Philosophy and Human Nature course focuses on the ways in which our conception of human beings has been influenced by Darwin's theory of evolution, and sometimes it has been centered on the philosophical implications of the Leopold and Loeb murder case of 1924 - the first "Crime of the Century". All of my sections make use of novels, films, newspaper and magazine articles as well as philosophical essays.

Melissa Nutting

I am thrilled by the opportunity to celebrate the power of theatre through teaching the INST 330: Theatre and Human Nature course. I am a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance where I also teach theatre history, speech, and dialects and serve as the speech/dialects coach for Otterbein College Theatre productions. I hold an M.F.A. in acting from the combined program of Carnegie Mellon University and the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia, a B.F.A. in acting from Carnegie Mellon, and have also studied theatre history, script analysis, and criticism in Italy and England. I am a professional actor and a founding company member of the American Studio Theatre in New York City.

Leslie Ortquist-Ahrens

I have taught The Changing Concept of the Self in German Film and Literature as an IS 100 freshman seminar. My interests include German language and literature as well as international film and mass culture studies, and I am particularly fascinated by the intersections among words, images, and culture. I also bring to my teaching a background in faculty development and a strong interest in investigating and fostering student learning.

Alison Prindle

My 'home' department is English, where I teach Shakespeare and early modern literature, but I also teach in all the Integrative Studies composition and literature courses, and have done so from more than twenty-five years. These courses never go stale for me. The dialogue between great works of literature and Otterbein students - who bring their humanity, their empathy, and their own stories to the discussion - makes the courses always fresh and fascinating, always a discovery for me.

Allen Reichert
I am currently team teaching a class on the arts of Japan and my focus is on its history, literature, and poetry. As the library liaison to Integrative Studies I strive to meet the ongoing needs of IS through the expansion of our collection in print, film, and other electronic media.

Dave Robertson

I am a theoretical physicist with an interest in elementary particle physics. I teach INST 410, "Our Place in the Universe", which deals with the scientific conception of the universe as a whole, and humankind's place within it. I also teach a module of INST 240, “Discovering the Atom”, which is an exploration of the atomic structure of matter from the complementary perspectives of chemistry and physics.

Jiten Ruparel

I am interested in making Otterbein students worldminded. I want them to be aware, engaged and empowered. In the 21st century they must not only be US citizens, but global citizens as well. I teach INST 383: Modern India, serve on the IS Advisory, and chair the Films Without Borders activity which is sponsored by IS. We choose and screen films from around the world in their original language ( with English subtitles) in order to enhance the common book experiences of our students.

Joe Sachleben

I am trained at the interface between chemistry and physics and am interested in the fundamental aspects of the interactions between molecules. In particular, my research uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to probe the interactions between pollutants and soils. I am particularly interested in the quantum mechanics behind the NMR experiment. I teach INST 340, which concentrates on how chemistry affects the human experience. Progress in chemical knowledge has driven human civilization from the development of bronze and cement, to the current age of antibiotics and nuclear energy and weapons. I try to provide a basic knowledge of chemistry in INST 340 and then use it to describe aspects of chemistry that are relevant to everyone's lives.

Amy Kepple Strawser
I have taught Integrative Studies 105, Growing Up in America, in addition to German at Otterbein. My research interests include German and American poetry, contemporary film and women's studies. I am currently working on the biographies of several German and American women poets for the Literary Encyclopedia as well as an essay on twentieth century Jewish German women writers.