Jack Pharr explores the artistic, spiritual and cultural traditions of gardens

2017 Jan 30

Jack Davidson Pharr, was one of ten Wofford College students to participate in the Glorious Gardens Interim class during January 2017. The class has considered a variety of topics, including front lawn garden wars, environmental impact, land use, aesthetics, garden design, cultural and spiritual implicatoins, sensory gardens, and the use of gardens in civic and political life. In addition to visiting Hatcher Gardens in Spartanburg, S.C., the students also visited Brookgreen Gardens, Biltmore Estate, Edisto Memorial Gardens, Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden, the Wells Japanese Garden and Wofford's Goodall Environmental Studies Center, among other public and private gardens. Students in the course also are required to complete a variety of readings and a research project that will be shared with the campus community.

Interim frees students and faculty to spend the month of January focused on a single topic designed to expand the walls of the traditional classroom, explore new and untried topics, take academic risks, observe issues in action, develop capabilities for independent learning and consider different peoples, places and professional options. During Interim, the ordinary should become extraordinary and filled with depth, discovery, reflection, challenge, academic rigor, experimentation, exploration and intellectual adventure.