While creating presentations about how identity is constructed, students said they learned more about their own identities and sense of self.
Four Honors College classes presented Constructing Identity, a series of events about how people become who they are, Wednesday at Cardinal Hall.
The first presentation was "Personality and the Psychology of Identity." Lucinda Woodward, assistant professor of psychological science, said she was impressed by not only how much her students learned but by how much she has learned.
"I know that I don't have to be the center of the classroom because students will engage in their own learning," Woodward said.
Junior Alexis Pawlarczyk said she was skeptical of how legitimate the class would be at first, but she learned a lot about psychology, her classmates and herself.
"I wasn't nervous, but then I realized that I was sharing intimate information with a big group of people," Pawlarczyk said.
For her presentation, she spoke about finding Jesus and read a poem about an ex-boyfriend from high school for the first time in front of people.
The next segment was "Ethnography of Religion, Self and Other." Ethnography essentially means the writing of a culture, and for this class students were asked to question their religious identity, Jeff Brackett, assistant professor of religious studies, said.
For her project, sophomore Katie Major went to a Spiritualism camp in Chesterfield.
"It's a very complicated religion," Major said. "It was an interesting, eye-opening experience."
Major said Christianity is the basis of the religion, but it respects the authority and existence of other religions as well. After visiting the camp, she said, she felt torn between skepticism and wanting to believe.
During the third segment, "Photography, Visual Culture and Identity," participants were encouraged to look at photography exhibits while lunch was served. This segment included slide show presentations, individual poster displays and a portrait segment.
Assistant professor of history Timothy Berg said during the course students learned that portraiture is complex and contested. Students in the class tried to capture the true expression of participants by asking them to think of something very personal before taking their portrait.
Senior Alison Mulert said that her group project for the photography segment was about context and meaning.
"We learned that people's first impression of an image and how they feel about it can change once they realize the motives of the photographer," Mulert said.
"Constructions of Otherness" was the last presentation, given by students of English professor Frank Felsenstein.
Sophomore Kristal Taylor said the class learned about stereotypes in literature against Jews, Muslims, Africans and French people.
"It was interesting to see how these stereotypes pop up in different time periods and places," Taylor said.
The professors said they could see what kind of an effect these courses had on their students.
"They learned more about their own sense of self while working on these projects," Brackett said.
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