The honors program at George Fox University replaced the general education package with a 4-year course of "great books" to be read at a fast pace and discussed in roughly 20-person seminars. As you might suspect from such a description, the program is, for the most part, full of nerds. That's probably why we decided it would be fun to hold a marathon seminar.
How did that work? Well, a marathon is 26.2 miles, so our seminar was going to be 26.2 hours long. No single person would stay for the entirety, of course—a Google Doc was sent out for people to choose slots on. Caffeinated beverages and snacks were to be provided throughout and we would all take at least an hour-long shift in support of the marathon. The texts were limited to ones in the freshman year so that the entire program would have equal access.
So that's how it worked. The more interesting question at this point is probably... how did it go?
The tone of the event varied as widely as the texts and the people discussing them. Most involved hadn't reread the book since freshman year, so the freshmen themselves were at an advantage on memory. During the daytime shifts, professors came in to lead a couple hours of seminar at a time.
The gatherings were quietly lively and the mix of students was something we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. A professor unexpectedly came as a participant at one point, creating an atmosphere of student/professor bonding that is harder to achieve in traditional classes. Jokes were made and texts were lovingly reread.
Things changed at night. The professors took their leave and seminars were held by upperclassmen. Some of them had a serious tone, true, and topics as heavy as the nature of death were discussed past midnight by a group of sleep deprived honors students.
That said, silly times abounded as upperclassmen started to shift off the subject of the book at hand and begin warning those in the lower grades about the dangers of the philosophies they would soon encounter.
"Watch out for Descartes," warned a particularly emphatic student. "If you do, you'll get to fall in love with Hume."
The exact meaning of these statements remain unclear to the recipients, but everyone is sure the meaning will be revealed in time.
The event ended in a breakfast at 9:12 A.M. the next day, and the first "Homerathon" was completed.
Overall, I'd say the best thing about the whole experience was the reminder that really, we're here to learn, and we're here for the texts, and we're here for the community.
When it's 1 A.M on Tuesday night and you have 150 more pages of philosophy to read before Thursday, it can be easy to see the program as something we're being forced into. Events like the Homerathon remind me of what the honors program as a whole is supposed to be about.
