If students are early, they are on time. If students are on time, they are late. If students are late, then they should not bother coming at all.
UW-Madison students will not find this information in the course timetable, but it is how Professor Harold Scheub runs his class.
\It's not because I'm a scrooge,"" said the professor of African languages and literature. ""It's because of the integrity of the course.""
His class is like a coherent narrative, explained Scheub. If his students miss class, they miss the story.
At 73, Scheub is an award-winning teacher and master storyteller. Originally from Gary, Ind., Scheub spent a total of 10 years in Africa, both studying and teaching African oral traditions. He has published 16 books.
Scheub's infatuation with African language and literature began when he taught in Uganda after earning his master's degree in English Literature at the University of Michigan in 1960. At the time, eastern Africa was gaining independence from British rule. English teachers were needed to help the unprepared native people take over the reins of government.
Having worked four years in the Air Force as a jet mechanic, he was unable to travel as much as he wanted, Scheub seized the opportunity.
""I jumped at the chance,"" he recalled. ""It just changed everything. I fell in love with it.""
Scheub came to UW-Madison-the only university in the U.S. that grants degrees for African languages and literature-to earn his PhD. He became a faculty member in 1970. Since the early 1980s, he has taught the African Storytelling.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11 a.m., Scheub brings Africa to the attention of 500 students in a crowded lecture hall. But don't expect a picnic. He is extremely demanding of his students, taking attendance every day at the start of each lecture, an act practically unheard of by other professors with classes that size.
""I'm a real stickler,"" Scheub said. ""Every lecture builds on what has come before, so if a student misses a class, the course makes absolutely no sense. They have to be on time, and they have to stay for the full 50 minutes.""
Even more, Scheub does it all without the help of teaching assistants, a task that would prove daunting to any professor, let alone a 73-year-old.
""I love the big class,"" Scheub said. ""It takes enormous amounts of energy. When I'm finished with a 50-minute lecture, I'm knocked out.""
And the big class loves him. UW-Madison senior Freddie Birts is currently enrolled in African Storytelling and said Scheub's approach has a positive resonance with his students.
""I think a lot of students learn to appreciate it,"" Birts said. ""He just wants his 50 minutes, and I respect that. He's a harsh grader, but he's always there for his students.""
On four separate year-long trips, Scheub walked approximately 6,000 miles up and down the southeastern coast of the continent. He collected oral narratives from the Xhosa, Zulu, Swati and Ndebele peoples. He speaks eight different African languages, including those four.
""I simply walked everywhere,"" Scheub said. ""This was very illuminating for me, not just from the point of view of the stories ... from the view of what was happening historically.""
In all, he has accumulated approximately 10,000 stories on tape and film, and the UW Memorial Library has recently finished a two-year project digitizing into the entire collection. Scheub has future plans to return to Africa-but not for research.
""I have enough stories to last me three lifetimes,"" he said, ""but my friends in Africa can't write, so the only way to maintain those friendships is to go to Africa.""
But for Scheub, the stories are what living and teaching is really all about.
""Human beings cannot do without story,"" he said. ""Stories give continuity to our lives. They give us the kind of framework we need to function.""
""We tell the same stories but we give them modern dress,"" he said. ""Joseph Campbell was right,"" he added, referring to the author of mythology and folk traditions. ""It's the hero with a thousand faces. You don't have to watch the 'Star Wars' or 'Harry Potter' pictures to see that,"" he added.
Though probably well-versed in these two fantasy titles, Scheub has yet to see the recently released film ""Hotel Rwanda"" which documents the atrocities suffered by the Tutsis in their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda. Though the film focuses primarily on specific events that occurred just 10 years ago, Scheub said this conflict has existed long before the 1990s.
It's also one in which he believed the U.S. should have been far more involved in African crisis.
""President Clinton was very frank about this-this country's got a lot to answer for, because we should've been deeply engaged in that,"" said Scheub, citing the former president.
U.S. policy regarding the AIDS pandemic in South Africa is symptomatic of the problem.
""I think that once the initial horror of the pandemic in this country was under control, we close our eyes to what's happening in Africa ... what's going to happen in Indonesia, India and China,"" Scheub said. ""They're poor, they're black and nobody gives a damn.""
Scheub, who has no immediate plans to retire, also said that though he only grades exams, he wants students to take away the stories from his class.
""I push my students really hard, and some get mad at me because I'm so pushy. Students for me are exciting,"" he added. ""The key is not to send everybody to Africa, but rather to make Africa a part of them.""
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