At first glance, it appeared to be a campus tour. But the "tour guide," gesturing toward the Mudd Science Building, was Colby staff architect Joe Feely. The discussion was of variations on Georgian-style architecture, the symmetry of Beaux Arts campus plans, whether buildings are aesthetically "successful."

The class was Philosophy and Art (Philosophy 298) taught by Bob McArthur, Christian A. Johnson Professor of Integrative Liberal Learning. McArthur was there, surveying cornices and porticoes with the rest of the group, but he had stepped off to one side as yet another guest lecturer helped students see an artist's perspective.

Feely's presentation on campus design followed Tina Wentzel (theater and dance) on the nature of dance. Pianist Cheryl Tschanz Newkirk (music) who has played Carnegie Hall, among many other venues, spoke to the class about why performers perform. Jon Hallstrom (music), who conducts, composes and teaches computer music at Colby and Juilliard, spoke on what composers do.

For many students it was a broadening experience. "I never even recognized [computer music] as an art form," said Russ Casper '02.

He does now, and like other students in the class, he views art from a different perspective. The course moved from Chinese ceramics to the Colby College Museum of Art to Kant, from Plato to Versailles to Andy Warhol. In addition to viewing art and meeting artists, students designed a memorial of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Submissions ranged from a structure that floated in Johnson Pond to a grove of apple trees that would bear fruit every September.

Students' assessment of their peers' work was influenced by the course itself. "We learned to look at art in terms of an artist's intention rather than just our own impressions," said Katy Bruski '02. She and friend Jennifer Coughlin '02 said the class spilled over into dorms and cafeterias. "We've had some heated discussions about what is art and what isn't,'" Coughlin said.

McArthur, meanwhile, said it was the students who raised the quality of the discussion beyond his expectations. "It was breathtaking. It was unlike anything I've ever experienced as a teacher," he said. "I've been amazed. "They've taken this class to the next level.'"