Teacher Favorite, Dr. Scarborough
Dr. Scarborough is an institution at OHS, and his passion for DFRL is infectious. Contributor Gemma Haney learns more about him in the interview below.
Pixel Journal: Food (especially dessert) is often used as an example in DFRL; do you have a favorite food? If it’s something that you enjoy making at home, would you be willing to share the recipe?
Dr. Scarborough: I love eating (and sometimes making) good food. French pastries, croissants, pain au raisin, etc. This could be a really long list. I don’t think I have a great palate, but I try to make up for it with volume and enthusiasm. At home, some of my mainstays are Marcella Hazan’s famous spaghetti sauce (just made this at special request for my daughter’s birthday dinner), a tortilla soup (complete with homemade tortilla strips) from Rick Bayless, and an Indian Butter Chicken recipe of dubious authenticity but that’s pretty tasty anyway. Common themes here are butter and tomatoes.
PJ: What is your favorite aspect of OHS?
DS: For me, it’s two things: the people, and what we get to do and talk about. It’s uniquely wonderful to get to talk about big and important ideas with people who love ideas and are eager to explore them with creativity. My colleagues are also not just amazing and talented, but also ridiculously kind. I’ve always been a bit sad that I wasn’t able to be there in person to share in that aspect of working together.
PJ: If you could give OHS students one piece of advice, what would it be?
DS: Take advantage of this. You have such expertise and passion all around you. Just ask.
PJ: What was the most memorable OHS moment that you have had?
DS: There are really too many. So many surreal Centra/Saba/Adobe moments (including a new one, recently. in which a fire alarm went off while a student was presenting; she calmly evacuated to the backyard and continued). But it’d probably be one of the first graduations, when the unpolished newness, strangeness, make-it-up-as-we-go character of the school at that time was on display. Dr. Failor and I once ended up trying to barbecue for 80-100 people, right after a Costco run and right before the graduation ceremony. The first prom was pretty memorable too. It’s been fun watching these early events turn into traditions and institutions at the school.
PJ: Favorite Book? Movie? Reality TV show? Regular TV Show?
DS: The truth is that I really love science fiction and a bit of fantasy when it comes to TV and movies. Lots of good fodder for philosophy classes. Favorites include Gattaca, Battlestar Galactica, and everything Stargate. Yeah, and Game of Thrones, too. A fair bit of HGTV also gets watched in our household.
With respect to books, I stick mainly to non-fiction. That’s where I indulge my not-so-secret desires to be a historian. Now that I don’t have to worry about accreditation anymore, I’ve been on a bit of a general history binge (sometimes I cheat and see what the OHS history and Latin classes are reading these days), but I usually try to find some American history or politics that I can incorporate into class. Good stuff I’ve read recently are Akhil Amar’s The Constitution Today, Eric Foner’s The Fiery Trial, and Paris, 1200.
PJ: What is one thing that will always make you laugh uncontrollably? (it could be a joke, meme, or something that someone said once)
DS: The absurd. Sorry, CRA joke. But perhaps it’s not so far off the mark: political comedy can usually do the trick.
PJ: What is the most bizarre thing that you have ever experienced?
DS: I guess talking enthusiastically about philosophy to my computer screen doesn’t count as bizarre anymore, either in the context of my daily life or in the general march of onlineness. I still think having kids is pretty bizarre. The notion that they let you leave the hospital with a tiny, fragile human seems inconsistent with typical medical precautions and general good sense.
PJ: Can you tell us a story about an interesting moment in your life?
DS: I spent parts of my junior year in college in Paris, first as part of an overseas program, and then in the summer doing “research” on my own. From some of my other answers, this time clearly left its mark on me. But it was pretty wondrous to be able to roam around in that city, learning about its good things, bits of history, where to go and sit to soak it in. It’s also where I met my wife (even though we had previously lived in neighboring dorms and been in the same logic class), so that time has special resonance. I really enjoyed the chance to indoctrinate my kids into the city last fall. It was fun to experience the kid-side of the city for a change, and also to watch my youngest daughter become a seat-vulture on the metro.
PJ: If you could meet one person, living or dead, who would it be and why? Where would you want to meet with them?
DS: Despite the fear of falling into cliché here, I think I’d have to go for a famous philosopher. I’m sure it should be Edmund Husserl, so I could ask him some academic questions about my dissertation. But in truth, I think I’d go for someone who was a bit more…ancient. Plato? Aristotle? Especially if we could meet then and there.
PJ: If you had to create a conspiracy theory, what would it be and how would you go about getting people to believe it?
DS: I have a hard enough time believing what’s out there in broad daylight. I’m not sure there’s much need for conspiracy theories to liven things up. Maybe the real trick is getting people not to believe in conspiracy theories. Maybe Core can help?