Behind the syllabus: Lee Carleton

What do you do during the weekends?

Since I'm working on my Ph.D. in Media, Art and Text at Virginia Commonwealth University, most of my time is devoted to studying for that and to my teaching at the University of Richmond. Most weekends I make breakfast for my wife and son, walk down by the river with my dog and catch up on my reading and writing. Sometimes we take a trip to the mountains or attend local arts events such as R. Crumb's talk.

What's the craziest thing you did when you were in college?

Hmmm...that's a tough one. My undergrad work was at a Bible college, so there wasn't much "craziness" going on unless you count the Bible-thumping. We were not allowed to listen to rock music or go to movies, but I took a date to see "The Amityville Horror" and she felt so guilty about it that she turned us in -- now that's crazy. I also explored local caves and used to reload pistol ammunition for target practice with one of the deans. He had a basic setup in his basement and we made the bullets out of lead from tire weights that we melted in a little crucible and poured into molds.

What's one thing your students would never guess about you?

I used to work for Jerry Falwell at the Moral Majority in Washington, DC.

Contact staff writers Maria Ribas at mariaelisa.ribas@richmond.edu or Maggie Finucane at margaretfinucane@richmond.edu