Alex Sim Finds Beauty in Film and Medical Humanities

In my quest to report on the most interesting events, courses, and people of the Duke University English Department, it was impossible for me to miss Alex Sim. Sim, a senior from California, studies English and Pre-Med. The English Department Ambassador finished his senior thesis last semester, and now awaits responses on his Medical School applications.

Sim knew he wanted to study English going into college. He grew up loving to read, and spent much of his early summers at his local library reading books. As a Pre-Med student, too, building humanities into his schedule ensured a well-rounded education. “My experience [in the English Department] has been great,” he explains. “There have been so many great professors I’ve gotten to work with, which has definitely expanded my knowledge of English. I think the curriculum is well structured to push you to engage with different areas and styles of writing.” 

One of Sim’s favorite courses was “Chaucer” with Professor David Aers. All the readings were written in Middle English, which Sim had never read before. “It was a totally new experience,” says Sim. “[Aers] did an excellent job of getting us situated in the time period and familiarizing us with the language.” Teaching seminar courses on Bob Dylan and Post-Cold War American Literature, Professor Taylor Black has been a mentor during Sim’s time at Duke. “Black always pushes you to think harder about the things that you thought you knew—and also happens to be one of the funniest people I've met. He just really cares, and isn't afraid to show it," Sim says.

Another one of Sim’s favorite courses was “Hitchcock and Company,” a film course taught by Professor Michael Moses. Moses served as Sim’s thesis advisor, a huge help to the thesis writing process given Moses’ knowledge of film. Sim’s thesis, titled Historical Visions: Reinventing Historical Narrative Through Word and Image, focuses on “analyzing the dialectic relationship between word and image as present in the concluding sections of Sergei Eisenstein’s silent film October: Ten Days That Shook the World and William Blake’s prophetic book America a Prophecy.” In the process, Sim discusses the role of revolutions in literature, and Hegelian and Marxist perspectives of human history. Sim got the idea because he wanted to write about graphic novels, but realized that there wasn’t much theoretical research about the medium.

Sim says that starting his thesis was the hardest part of the process. “It’s very different from writing an essay for a class where you’re given prompts and have a sense of the direction that you want to take it in before you even start,” Sim explains. “But with a thesis, you’re asked to come up with your own thing and then go from there.” He chose to write his thesis over the summer while in New York, which gave Sim access to the public library system for research. Having time to dedicate to his writing helped, too. “Once I got into the rhythm of it, it was a lot more doable, and even enjoyable towards the end when I saw everything come together,” he says.

In addition to his thesis, a work that contributes to the body of academic knowledge accessible at Duke University, Sim also leaves behind the legacy of the house course that he taught alongside peer English major Robin Wang last year. “Contemporary World Cinema” focused on global auteurs and the national contexts their films were situated in. Over the course of the semester, the class watched thirteen movies from Asia, Latin America, and Europe. As an instructor, Sim helped design the syllabus, select films and related readings, and lead class discussions.

Looking forward, Sim plans to go to medical school, a prospect which is “more nerve-wracking than exciting.” He is interested in incorporating his humanities education into neuropsychiatry in the form of neuroaesthetic research, which, as he explains, focuses on “why we find things beautiful.” Psychiatric tools such as art therapy, while successful, do not have a strong scientific basis to explain and understand their role in the psychiatric world. Further research can better implement these programs into mainstream psychiatric practices, and Sim hopes to find a future in the field.