Though some professors are scheduled to teach a couple hundred students each semester, Interim Provost Peter Conn and Associate Professor of English and Director of Women's Studies Rita Barnard have been given the opportunity to reach a class of 460,000.
As experts for Oprah Winfrey's Book Club, both Conn and Barnard have been responsible for answering questions via the Internet about works chosen by the talk-show host.
Conn, who is the expert for the club's current read, The Good Earth by Pearl Buck, was contacted by the director of Oprah's Book Club in early September about serving as the chief consultant for the novel.
Conn noted that his love for the work inspired him to accept the temporary position.
"I am a significant admirer of Pearl Buck's career and her life and her accomplishments and ... I was delighted by the chance to share what I know with such a large audience," Conn said.
Barnard, who provided online analysis for Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, was the first person to serve as an academic expert for Oprah's Book Club.
The club, founded by Oprah in 1996, initially focused on works of contemporary fiction, but in 2003 the club was re-launched to include classic works such as John Steinbeck's East of Eden.
Barnard said that she was initially contacted by Oprah's company Harpo, Inc. to be a book expert.
Harpo narrowed down the thousands of questions posed by readers to 12 questions every couple of weeks, which Barnard then tackled. The professor said that she answered six of them every two weeks between the months of October 2003 and January 2004.
"I thought it was kind of funny, because I came home and my husband said, 'Oprah called,'" Barnard said.
The way in which Barnard answered questions and interacted with readers differed from the way she teaches academic classes.
"I tried to make people more literary readers ... to think a bit more analytically than simply saying 'I could identify with the pain of the main characters,'" Barnard said.
Barnard noted that she focused on making the books more accessible for the readers.
"Where I could, I would add a little bit of a personal touch so I wouldn't be this faceless person" answering questions, she added.
Faculty Director and Kelly Writers House founder Al Filreis said that in choosing both Conn and Barnard, Harpo Inc. could not have found more appropriate experts.
"No knows more about Pearl Buck as Peter Conn, so it's a no-brainer," he said, adding that as a teacher specialized in South African literature, Barnard was a good fit for Cry, the Beloved Country, which is set in South Africa.
Barnard said she enjoyed her time as an expert for the novel.
"I managed to achieve my goals of being an intellectual [while] still giving a lot to Oprah's readers," Barnard said.
She also noted how her experience as a book club expert fit in with her research and academic interest.
"This idea of the mass media has always interested me," Barnard said, adding that she thought it would be interesting to see how the mass audience approached reading Paton's work.
Conn, who is unable to teach this semester as a result of his role as interim provost, said that his being an expert has enabled him to interact with students again, though on a different level.
"It puts me back in a teacher's role, which is my favorite role," Conn said.
Both Conn and Barnard noted that they are avid supporters of Oprah's work and believe it is essential to encourage reading among all people.
"I believe that Oprah Winfrey has done more to encourage Americans to read than any other individual I can name, and I believe reading is indispensable to the welfare of the society that prizes education," Conn said.
The 'Oprah effect'
Books chosen for Oprah's club have not only gained literary attention, but often rocket onto best-seller lists. Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth: Oprah's most recent selection, this portrait of pre-revolutionary China led to Buck's Nobel Prize for literature. Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye: The selection of this book marked the fourth Morrison book to be featured in Oprah's Book Club. Winfey even turned one of Morrison's novels, Beloved, into a movie in which she starred. John Steinbeck's East of Eden: This masterpiece, which details a family's journey across America during the depression, was Oprah's first "classic" book club pick. Jacquelyn Mitchard's The Deep End of the Ocean: In order to elevate the intellectual level of her show, Oprah picked this book in 1996 to begin her book club. The novel, which describes the tragedy of losing a child, rapidly became wildly popular.
