By Abram Farrington | Staff Writer
While some professors teach with slideshows and worksheets, history lecturer Dr. Anthony Gaspar teaches material in a unique way — through impressions.
Gaspar brings energy into his classroom with lively vocal and physical impressions with enthusiasm. The staple of his first year of teaching has been impressions of historical figures.
“I want to respectfully inhabit the person I’m talking about,” Gaspar said. “I do a lot of presidents, and one time recently I pretended to be a general from the Civil War with a heavy southern accent.”
According to Gaspar’s Baylor faculty page, he specializes in the Medieval Byzantine Empire in the high and later Middle Ages and its association with the Latin West. At Baylor, he teaches U.S. in Global Perspective: American Empire in the Globe 1756-2003 and Byzantine History and Civilization.
Gaspar grew up in theater and film, which he said propelled him into his unconventional teaching style. Gaspar naturally developed a knack for acting, and it grew deeper in high school with his theatrical streak. His experience set the stage for his teaching style.
“I like the entertainment aspect of a lecture,” Gaspar said. “This started from my childhood when my dad and my brother and I watched tons of movies from the 1930s all the way up to the present day.”
One of Gaspar’s students, Pittsburgh, Pa., sophomore Sophia Iliff, said Gaspar’s energy is what brings the lectures to life.
“He can tell that history is not everyone’s forte,” Iliff said. “But his burning passion and energy for history is contagious. It keeps the class awake and tuned in, which he does a good job at.”
While history classes have a reputation for being boring, Iliff said Gaspar’s impressions bring even the most mundane topics to life. Gaspar’s teaching helps her understand the relevance of the material.
“He will have his own spin on the material, and I think that when it is funny, I can grip the content a little better,” Iliff said.
Gaspar’s impressions and energy don’t just keep people awake, but they also set the tone in the classroom. Not only does he receive laughs, but he also helps students stay attentive and learn. By and large, that is the goal of Gaspar’s lectures.
He knows classroom morale plays a huge role in the curriculum, and said he wants to shift that paradigm with more energetic impressions.
“If we’re going to be miserable all the time researching, we are going to be miserable,” Gaspar said. “Morale will sink. You are going to have to find some way to have a little fun while respecting the material.”
