TU in the News: Reiner featured by New York Times, Washington Post

Lecturer Andrew Reiner contributed articles to the New York Times and the Washington Post magazine this month. 

Honors and CLA lecturer Andrew Reiner
Honors and CLA lecturer Andrew Reiner

Towson University College of Liberal Arts Department of English lecturer Andrew Reiner contributed two articles to national news publications over the last two weeks.

One was an article to the New York Times titled "Teaching Men to Be Emotionally Honest" on Monday, April 4.

Throughout the article, Reiner explores similar themes to those he covers in his Honors College seminar "Real Men Smile: The Changing Face of Masculinity."

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"I wanted the course to explore this hallmark of the masculine psyche — the shame over feeling any sadness, despair or strong emotion other than anger, let alone expressing it and the resulting alienation. Many young men, just like this student, compose artful, convincing masks, but deep down they aren’t who they pretend to be," notes Reiner in his article.

The second was featured in the Washington Post magazine on Thursday, April 7.

In this article, he highlighted the growing use of stillness and meditation as a learning tool in college classrooms.

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Reiner uses examples from a Bryn Mawr College physics class and a Harvard art history class to illustrate the theory that "thinking slow" is just what this generation of multi-tasking, distracted college students need to succeed in class.