From Thesis Project to First Novel: One MLA Student’s Story
Felipe González Giraldo shares how his UChicago MLA experience empowered him to fulfill his literary ambitions.
For Greg Swinehart, the University of Chicago’s Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) program offered an opportunity to move beyond a career rooted in engineering, business, and technical subjects and engage with the wide-ranging ideas and disciplines that make UChicago distinctive.
We had the opportunity to sit down with Greg to hear about his experience in the MLA, his motivations, and his ongoing journey of lifelong learning.
What first drew you to the MLA, and what were you hoping to explore through your studies?
Greg: I was drawn to the MLA because of its preeminent position in adult continuing liberal arts education. It has no peer. The small class sizes, world-class faculty, diverse classmates, and rigorous expectations all appealed to me. After my career in engineering and business, I started exploring ways to expand my academic foundation. My educational experience had primarily focused on technical subjects such as engineering, science, an MBA from the University of Chicago, accounting, and economics.
I wanted to round myself out intellectually and nurture my more aesthetic academic interests in philosophy, literature, and history.
What has it been like to be part of the University of Chicago intellectual community, and what has been the most meaningful or valuable aspect of your MLA experience so far?
Greg: We all know that the University of Chicago’s intellectual community is preeminent in the world and this is certainly manifested in the Graham School. Although there are many dimensions of the experience that have been meaningful and valuable to me, the most important to me is the breadth and volume of new knowledge that I have been exposed to and absorbed. By design, an MLA isn’t intended for deep specialization in a single topic, but rather to provide the opportunity to explore a wide range of subjects. With that said, I now know so much more about history, philosophy, biology, and political science than ever knew before. This program has plugged huge gaps in my academic experience.
From Moby-Dick to human evolution, you’ve taken a wide range of courses. How has engaging across disciplines shaped the way you think about learning and ideas?
Greg: Not only have I been able to go well below the surface in so many areas of inquiry, but I have also been able to cross reference and synthesize different disciplines. Thinking across domains and looking for unique connections between ideas or phenomenon can lead to richer and more creative thinking. The experience in the MLA program has given me scaffolding for considering issues and ideas more multidimensionally than ever before. For example, I wrote a paper in a history of technology class that drew heavily on evolutionary theory that I studied in Professor Martin’s Human Origins class. I’m currently taking a course about the history of Taiwan where I’m connecting the history of technology innovation to Taiwan’s semiconductor industry.
You’ve mentioned Bob Martin’s course on Human Origins as particularly influential. Can you recall a moment when a comment, piece of feedback, or class discussion shifted how you were thinking about an idea or argument?
Greg: Professor Martin’s Human Origins class is one of the most influential courses I’ve taken in my life. First, Professor Martin is a giant in his field, yet he provided an incredible amount of detail in his critiques of my papers, and his feedback was critical to me as a thinker and writer. The most influential aspect of his class is that it sharpened my understanding of causation. Causation is a foundational concept in natural science, social science, and philosophy. His course provided a rigorous scientific and philosophical framework for considering causation. By exposing the class to a large corpus of scientific papers related to evolutionary biology and requiring us to critically analyze these papers with a focus on causality, my analytical skill increased dramatically. I have been able to apply this skill to other domains after this class. Everyone’s schedule is different and everyone’s interests are different but anyone who can take Professor Martin’s class early in their MLA career will be well served.
One of your stated goals for entering the MLA was to become a better writer. How has the MLA shaped your writing, and how has that growth influenced the way you think?
Greg: Becoming a better writer was absolutely one of my objectives for the MLA experience. Have I accomplished that? Yes, but I still have a long way to go! The feedback I’ve received on the many papers that I’ve written has shaped me as a writer particularly regarding sound argumentation. My career had been rich in the use of analytics and technical argumentation, but I had never applied those skills to fields such as literature, philosophy, or social science. I did not appreciate the use of analytical methods applied to the liberal arts. Had you asked me a few years ago to do a critical analysis of a poem I would have had no idea where to start. Yet in my first class in the program, I was taught how to do just that. Furthermore, working to become a better writer has made me a better reader, something that the MLA stresses very strongly. I now read with better tools of discernment and appreciation. My final thesis now looms as a big writing challenge for me, but I look forward to it and am anxious to start.
What does lifelong learning at Graham represent to you?
Greg: Although the end of my time in the MLA program is within sight, I feel strangely like I’m moving to a new starting line in my commitment to lifelong learning. What do I mean by that? First, as I mentioned above, I’ve benefited tremendously from my expansion into new academic domains, and I want to continue that journey. That is what led me to matriculate into the Basic Program: I look forward to 3 1/2 more years of intellectual growth through engagement with dozens of influential texts and thinkers, guided by world class faculty and shared with accomplished classmates. Secondly, the MLA experience has motivated me to explore another master’s degree. The challenge for me is that the MLA has broadened my interests so much that I will have a difficult time deciding what to focus on next!
Greg’s experience shows how education can open new intellectual paths at any stage of life. His journey demonstrates that it is possible to sustain a career, nurture long-standing interests, and still make room to explore new fields in depth. We’re grateful to be able to share his example with others who are considering their own next step in learning.
If you’re interested in exchanging and sharpening your ideas across multiple disciplines, take our quiz to find out if the MLA is right for you.
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