Forrest Perry is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Saint Xavier University in Chicago. He earned his doctorate at Vanderbilt University, where he also worked in the Center for Teaching, the Writing Studio, and the Center for Ethics. The bulk of his teaching and research falls within the broad category of political economy and includes the following issues: the nature of capitalism and alternatives to it, racism, education, and the environment. His articles and book reviews have appeared in the a number of journals, including Communication, Capitalism and Critique, the Journal of Social Philosophy, Rethinking Marxism, Teaching Philosophy and the Monthly Review.

PART I:

PART II:

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT MY INTERVIEW WITH FORREST PERRY by Cindy Kamp:

“I’d like to be remembered as a good teacher . . . who engages students not just by making them laugh but by waking them up.”  – Forrest Perry

As a college professor, Forrest explains the importance of his work in the classroom during our interview. While he recognizes the value of research and the role that it plays in the academy, he makes clear that his first priority is the teaching that he does, day in and day out at Saint Xavier University in Chicago.

At the beginning of our discussion in interview one, Forrest talks candidly about his childhood and says, “I grew up wealthy and white.” This statement encapsulates an essential aspect of his background. That he is so aware of its significance makes him – I think – rather unusual. He discusses the brand consciousness of his early years, and the way in which wearing Polo clothing, for example, was an obvious marker of wealth and status.

He also talks about how his parents were able to pay for his undergraduate education and help him buy a house when he was a graduate student at Vanderbilt University. They assisted in like manner later in Chicago when he began teaching philosophy at Saint Xavier University.

As I listened to Forrest respond to my questions, I was struck by his conscious appreciation of how these advantages of class and race made his life easier than the lives of many other people. He is aware that he has never had to face the prospect of true economic instability, whether in the form of a home foreclosure resulting from job loss, the inability to afford a college degree, or education debt that can take decades to repay.

While most of the guests on Your True North have a strong set of personal values which they can readily name and discuss, Forrest admits that he struggles to identify values in his life. Yet, during our discussion it is apparent that his life is clearly directed by strong ideals and commitments, whether or not he thinks of them as ‘values.’

One of the things he places great value on is the importance of “not being dismissive” of other people’s points of view. His thoughtful explanation of how and why he listens to other viewpoints might be as important a value in this world as anything else. This is certainly a key component of his work with students, providing space for them to express their opinions and ideas in the classroom. His use of the simple question, “Why?,” is an excellent way to gain an understanding of someone else’s point of view, even when the listener is in disagreement.

As a college instructor, Forrest works to help his students develop ‘critical thinking’ skills, and he explains that one of the methods he uses is helping students make connections between what they learn in the classroom and their experiences in the world beyond. An example that he cites is that while teaching about food production in the US, he often uses an article written by Michael Pollan about confined animal feed operations or CAFOs. These facilities supply much of the ground beef used for fast food restaurants. One of the environmental issues associated with CAFO’s is the amount of manure that they produce, posing risks for local groundwater.

Forrest explains that if, while eating a hamburger, his students picture an animal feedlot with its huge piles of manure, then he has helped them make an important connection that links not only the classroom with the world beyond, but also personal action to a larger environmental issue. As a passionate and committed educator, he is raising his students’ awareness that personal choices are intimately connected to that wider world.

DATE RECORDED:  9/9/16

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