Pancho Savery, Professor, English & Humanities

For the last eleven years in a row, Savery has taught sections of a course entitled “Humanity in Perspective.” A collaboration between Oregon Humanities and Reed faculty, “Humanity in Perspective” is a year-long humanities course offered for free to adults who face financial hardship and who do not have a college degree. Savery explains, “There are students in the class who are 18 and there are others who are 70. Either way, they bring their lives into the classroom.” Texts range from ancient Greek and Roman classics, to the Declaration of Independence, to modern day American literature. Savery believes that this course helps students think more articulately about ideas, which in turn allows them to more fully participate in the democratic process and to make their voices, as marginalized citizens of this country, finally heard.