Reader's Digest thinks Centre's 'The Art of Walking' course is fun

By Abby Malik

DANVILLE, KY—"Shakespeare? Fin de siècle art? Premed? Bo-rriiing! Here are some new classes students are choosing instead."  

So says the September issue of Reader's Digest, in which Centre College's Dr. Ken Keffer and his CentreTerm course "The Art of Walking" are featured in the magazine's special "Laughterpedia" section. "The Art of Walking" is included in a list of five out-of-the-ordinary university courses. Reader's Digest has a circulation of 8 million.

The course, taught by Keffer, Stodghill Professor of French and German, takes an approach to philosophy that is anything but lightweight or business-as-usual. Keffer explores with his students Immanuel Kant's "Critique of Judgment" in a variety of unusual settings during the College's unique CentreTerm. No nodding off in this class and nothing stiff, either, beyond the muscles of those unaccustomed to three-hour walks. The class discusses hefty reading assignments in the morning and then explores the ideas in more informal "walk and talk" sessions in the afternoon. Keffer and his students stroll through nature preserves, battlefields, cemeteries, the nearby Shaker Village, campuses and farms of the Bluegrass.

This isn't the only recent hype the course has received. In May 2009, the course was featured on Jeopardy! during 2009 College Week. The answer, which was worth $1,000, was the last question in the "Scintillating Syllabus" category: 

Answer: Kentucky's Centre College offered "The Art of" this, a lost mode of transportation; Monty Python likes it silly.

Question: What is "walking"?

A contestant answered the question correctly.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.