Centre News

Centre College's “The Art of Walking” CentreTerm course was featured Feb. 8th on NBC's Today Show as part of a segment on unique college courses! Other schools featured include Yale, Rutgers, Barnard and UC Berkeley.

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About the class: Dr. Keffer, who wanted to share his fascination with Immanuel Kant's philosophy in a way students could genuinely appreciate, explores Critique of Judgment for three weeks by examining the piece in the classroom and then putting the philosophy to the test by spending hours on walks. No nodding off in this class and nothing stiff, either, beyond the muscles of those unaccustomed to three-hour walks.

During the walks, Keffer and his students discuss natural beauty and other aspects of aesthetics, culture, history and other themes of Kant's great book.

In addition, they emulate the practice of the writer himself, who was famous for his long, thoughtful daily walks.

The class never ventures far from campus for a specific reason. “Like Immanuel Kant, we stay within a 50-mile radius of home—of Danville—preferring a near-campus experience to farther journeys,” Keffer says.

On their walks, the class strolls through nature preserves, battlefields, cemeteries, the nearby Shaker Village and several farms.

Students are given reading assignments, but they're given freelance “walking assignments”, as well. This approach to otherwise dense material empowers students to look for beauty and interact in a world that is often moving too fast to observe.

For more information about “The Art of Walking,” click here.