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Mohamed Abdelhafez, Rashauna Johnson, Russell Johnson and Mark Osadjan all have been honored with the Glenn and Claire Swogger Award for Exemplary Classroom Teaching, which recognizes outstanding teachers with College appointments who introduce students to habits of scholarly thinking, inquiry and engagement in the Core curriculum—the College’s general education program.

Creativity and curiosity are often key to learning according to Russell Johnson, Assistant Instructional Professor and Associate Director of the Undergraduate Religious Studies Program and Core Sequence. With a background in improv comedy, the assistant instructional professor in Divinity uses the skills learned on stage to make philosophy and religion more relatable.

“Improv and philosophy have more in common than one might think because they’re both about asking the question, ‘if this, then what?’”

In a subject where questions that provoke deep thought are a common occurrence, putting students in a creative mindset is one of the most important things to unlock new ideas and breakthroughs.

“My goal is for students to use their imagination as much as they use their reason, since true understanding involves both.”

Having taught at UChicago since 2019 after earning his PhD from the Divinity School, Johnson knows the type of pressure that undergraduates can be under, especially pressure to specialize early on. This is why he believes the Core is so important to the educational process within the College.

“The Core exposes students to skills they might otherwise neglect or not think about focusing on, whether that be philosophical arguments, chemistry experiments or appreciating poetry,” said Johnson. “This curriculum encourages students to step out of their comfort zones and experience a broad range of intellectual pursuits.”  

The result of this process is something that continues to impress him each year. To Johnson, students are not only willing and ready to take on new challenges, they embrace them.  

“Instead of thinking, ‘I don’t know anything about ancient Babylon’ and doubting whether they could write a paper about Babylonian mythology, these students are always willing to take risks and think alongside authors from cultures different from their own,” he said. “To me, that type of eagerness is what I appreciate about students in the Religion Core.”