At first glance, the office of Dr. William White Tison Pugh appears to be a normal faculty workplace at UCF. But walk in, look around, sit down and have a conversation with the person behind the desk and one will soon realize this is not a typical office nor an average professor.
He pushes his round-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose as he sits behind his desk in room 302 of Colbourn Hall grading a student-written essay. A copy of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” sits to the right of him, while the 25th Anniversary edition of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” rests to the left.
“He joined UCF in 2001 and has accomplished more during his time here than anyone I know,” said Dr. Barry Mauer, a friend and professor of English. “He was promoted and …show more content…
In 2016, he was the recipient of the UCF Teaching Incentive Program Award, as well as the UCF College of Arts and Humanities Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.
“He has earned everything he’s gotten at UCF and then some,” said Mauer. “His classes are quite popular and very interesting. He teaches about Chaucer, the Bible and Harry Potter. Students love him.”
Pugh began teaching a course on Harry Potter in the summer semester of 2010. He offers both an undergraduate and graduate level course on the subject.
“I love the Harry Potter books, and students have been very interested in the class,” Pugh said. “The English department has been very supportive and it’s one of my favorite classes to teach.”
The course is not simply for those who want to watch Harry Potter movies and write a synopsis of them; rather, it delves into the literary roots of the stories.
“The class examines the Harry Potter novels in relation to their literary qualities,” Pugh said. “We read all seven Harry Potter books and dig deeper into the function of the story. We also discuss what makes this series such a phenomenon, what makes it unique and not so
He pushes his round-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose as he sits behind his desk in room 302 of Colbourn Hall grading a student-written essay. A copy of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” sits to the right of him, while the 25th Anniversary edition of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” rests to the left.
“He joined UCF in 2001 and has accomplished more during his time here than anyone I know,” said Dr. Barry Mauer, a friend and professor of English. “He was promoted and …show more content…
In 2016, he was the recipient of the UCF Teaching Incentive Program Award, as well as the UCF College of Arts and Humanities Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.
“He has earned everything he’s gotten at UCF and then some,” said Mauer. “His classes are quite popular and very interesting. He teaches about Chaucer, the Bible and Harry Potter. Students love him.”
Pugh began teaching a course on Harry Potter in the summer semester of 2010. He offers both an undergraduate and graduate level course on the subject.
“I love the Harry Potter books, and students have been very interested in the class,” Pugh said. “The English department has been very supportive and it’s one of my favorite classes to teach.”
The course is not simply for those who want to watch Harry Potter movies and write a synopsis of them; rather, it delves into the literary roots of the stories.
“The class examines the Harry Potter novels in relation to their literary qualities,” Pugh said. “We read all seven Harry Potter books and dig deeper into the function of the story. We also discuss what makes this series such a phenomenon, what makes it unique and not so