Professor Randoms: Dr. Marjorie S. Allen

By Jen Colletta
Collegian Editor
April 5, 2006


  Photo taken by Sara Allen

Full name and title: Dr. Marjorie S. Allen

How long have you been at La Salle? Next year is Allen’s 30th year here.

What courses do you teach? Allen teaches a variety of writing, literature and liguistics classes in the English Department. She is also co-director of the Leadership and Global Understanding Program, where she instructs the introductory and capstone courses. Additionally, she teaches English 100 for the Academic Discovery Program over the summer. This coming semester she will be teaching an Honors Course in the Literature of the Holocaust.

What is your educational background? “I have a Ph.D. from Princeton in literature and linguistics,” Allen said. She did her undergraduate work at the University of Rochester.

When did you decided you wanted to be a teacher? “I was so lucky as a student in that I had wonderful teachers who transformed the lives of their students. There was never any doubt in my mind that I wanted to be like them,” Allen said. Although her parents wanted her to be a lawyer, she decided that the teaching profession was what she wanted. “University professors have the best of all worlds—wonderful students, opportunities to make a contribution in their fields of study, great books to read and colleagues to talk with. I grew up knowing that one of my uncles would teach sitting under a beautiful tree, outside, with his students. I couldn’t imagine anything more fantastic than that!”

What is the biggest challenge that you’ve encountered with teaching? “So many students come to college today without the literacy skills necessary to succeed,” Allen said. “Not only my biggest challenge but my biggest pleasure is seeing such a student develop those skills and go on to graduation and a career.”

What is your favorite aspect of your job? “I enjoy working one to one with students in conferences, independent study courses and student research,” Allen said. “I remember how exciting it was for me as a student to work with a professor individually, and I find the same level of excitement now as I sit in my office with a student struggling with a text or a paper, ultimately making the kinds of discoveries that change the way that student sees the world.”

What is your favorite movie? Allen’s favorite movie this year was Syriana. “It combined my interest in current affairs, ‘thrillers’ and political/social commentary,” she said.

If you design one course to teach, what would it be? “As a co-director of the Leadership and Global Understanding minor, I designed [along with Louise Giugliano and Robert Vogel] the introductory course to the minor where students look at responsibilities of citizenship in their local, regional, national and global communities,” Allen said. “I love teaching it, which is really a misnomer because the course empowers students through student-centered pedagogy to work together as teacher-learners.”

What are some of your hobbies or interests? “I am interested in the power of language in movies, books, television, advertising and simple conversation,” Allen said. “I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t say I also loved baseball, the Philadelphia Orchestra and, because of my children, Allen Iverson.”

If there was one lesson you could impart to your students before they graduate, what would it be? “I would remind them that what really matters in their education is their ability to apply what they have learned here to their lives beyond La Salle—not just in terms of a career, but in terms of life choices. They need to see their education not in terms of 40 separate courses, but rather, consider how these courses fit together and enrich each other,” Allen said. “I’d tell them to spend time reflecting. I’d encourage them to read and talk with each other and believe that they can change the world because of their talents and ideas.”

collettaj1@lasalle.edu