My Courses
- English 257: Literature of Western Civilization I
- English 258: Literature of Western Civilization II
- English 207: Persuasive Writing
- English 313: Business Writing
- Core: The Monsters We Make
“I have divested myself of everything but pity – and some scorn – while putting down the insignificant events that bring on the catastrophe.” - Joseph Conrad on Heart of Darkness, letter to Richard Curle (publisher), 13 December 1898
Thomas Drake
College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences
Department of English
Instructor
With UI Since 1997
- M.A., English Literature and Writing, University of Idaho, 1996
- B.A., English, University of Idaho, 1994
Tom spent a highly politicized childhood in the California Central Valley, New York, Arizona, Los Angeles, Mississippi, Mexico and the Bay Area. He has slam danced to the Clash in San Francisco, hitch hiked across Israel and Alaska and spent his formative years looking for Thoreau in Bonners Ferry and Lao Tsu in China, running chain saw in the Selkirks, and generally wandering around looking at things. These days he is passionate about his wife and daughter, teaching, studying religion, politics and science, Italy, playing music with his friends and mountain biking.
Selected Publications
- “It’s Alive! The Life Span of an Interdisciplinary Course in the Humanities”. Journal of General Education, V 57, No. 4 2008
Research Projects
- Travel to Italy researching Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance
art, architecture and literature as relevant to teaching curriculum.
2007, 2008, 2009
AREA OF SPECIAL INTEREST
- Drake is interested in showing
the farm kid in the back row that Homer, Voltaire, Keats, Marx, Sartre
and Foucault are all relevant to how he will spend the rest of his life.
Toward that end, he’s interested in teaching students how to seek out,
identify and challenge assumptions, and how to examine the histories of
those beliefs they assume are inherently “True”.
Awards and Honors
- Alumni Award for Excellence, 2003
- Naval ROTC Certificate of Appreciation, 2002