The Beacon Award Winner 2009

Dr Tracy J. Revels

Associate Professor and Chair of History at Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC

Professor Tracy Revels received her doctorate at Florida State University in 1990. She is a very active Sherlockian, a member of the Survivors of the Gloria Scott scion in Greenville, SC, which means every meeting is a commute. She is a regular contributor to their newsletter, has written plays for the scion and has recruited some of her students to become members. In September 2007, she contributed a paper to the Sherlock Holmes Festival in Tryon, NC.

A Press Release from Wofford College describes Dr. Revel's longstanding interest in Sherlock Holmes and her thrill in receiving the Beacon Award for 2009.

An Awards Ceremony was held at the Hansom Wheels meeting on 19 February 2009.

HUM 101: Detecting Humanities

Everything I Really Needed to Know in HUM 101 I Learned From Sherlock Holmes

In the HUM 101 Course Syllabus, the objective is to help students become better writers and critical thinkers. By using the Sherlock Holmes stories as a springboard, the class learns more about the historical world of Victorian England. Students are also challenged to critique and analyze the stories, as works of literature and as mysteries, and to consider questions of morality and ethics that the stories raise. The central theme of the class is the power of observation, how it works in stories and in real life. Students are asked to apply the methods of deductive reasoning to various classroom challenges. It is hoped that students in this course will become better thinkers, more observant of the world around them and more aware of the need for precision in their academic work.