Sitting off to the side of a classroom in Rodda South, I scan the room for familiar faces. None appear to me, but I see the smiles of some complete strangers and the furrowed brows of those totally immersed in Sudoku puzzles and the books they are reading. Talking to some of them, they seem excited to be in the Science Fiction and Fantasy literature class —a feeling I am not well acquainted with in my classes. Soon thereafter, English professor Troy Myers walks in. On the desk he drops his cell phone, keys and a copy of Dune.

As the class begins to delve into the final chapters of the book, I feel the room getting hotter. My throat begins to get dry and my eyes start to sting. I ignore it and look through my backpack for a bottle of water. Precious, life-giving water— something I learn through the conversation of the class, is more precious in the Dune universe than any diamond or ruby. Trying to stretch my legs, I find them ankle deep in sand—hot, dry, blistering sand. Troy looks back at me and, as if somehow sensing my impending doom, closes the book, and the sand is gone. My throat and eyes feel fine, and the rest of the class is still deep in conversation
about the book.

I quickly come to realize how intense and vibrant the discussions are in Myer’s class. They dive into the canon of these genres, covering works from Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring’s trilogy. One draw of this class is that it is a nice alternative to the same old English literature course; Myers tells his students that “reading a book doesn’t always have to be so bad.” But it’s not just about reading these books; under the guidance of Myers the students are able to make connections to modern day social and ethical problems through their in-depth conversations that take place during the class.

Myers is also very careful in selecting which books to include on his reading list, avoiding titles such as the Harry Potter series and other more child-oriented fiction. The pieces he chooses for the class all contain college-caliber literature.

“I look for books with literary value,” says Myers, “I always ask my students, ‘If you were teaching this class, which one or two books you would want to read?’ So with that I just continue to build up my library.”

And Myers is definitely not running out of material anytime soon. Students continue to offer their literature suggestions—which is exactly the kind of enthusiasm that keeps this class alive—and it makes it all worthwhile not only for Myers but for the students as well.

“The thing I love the most about this class is there is not one person who hasn’t read at least one of the books on the (reading) list,” says Myers.