A few semesters ago, I had a student in my lit class. Call him Paul. Nice guy, somewhat engaged with the material, often enthusiastic about lectures and even class discussions, though when I asked a specific question, it usually turned out that he hadn't quite finished doing his reading for class. After twenty years of teaching, I don't remember all my students. But Paul sticks in my mind for a couple of reasons. First, he was just the kind of student I like to get in my general education classes -- a student who won't go on to major in literature or even the humanities necessarily, but who seems to enjoy being exposed to Russian literature. He learned something, and his world got a little bigger. That's what general education is all about. But there's another reason I remember Paul. It turned out that for him, the subject matter wasn't entirely new. Towards the end of the semester he told me: "I really love listening to you talk about Russia and R
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