LT Chad O. Dorr, Master Instructor

LT Dorr's interest in Irish Literature began as a midshipman in 1987 when he took a Modern Irish Literature Course. As a result of that class, and the honors program for which it was designed, he and eleven classmates participated in a summer study program in Ireland which included a week programme in Dublin at University College and a week at the Yeats International Summer School, Sligo. While in Dublin, the group studied with noted scholars including Declan Kiberd and Anthony Roach, and met Seamus Heaney for a private reading at his house (Then-Midshipman Dorr is standing, far left; Heaney, seated center).

The interest in Irish Literature continued during his senior year with a seminar course which served as a follow-up to the summer study. In the Spring semester, 1988, he began work on his Master's degree at University of Maryland, College Park. While there, he focused as much as possible on Irish topics including papers on Brian Friel's Communication Cord and Yeats' Noh plays for a Modern Drama seminar. He graduated from USNA in May of 1988 with a Bachelor of Science and from UMCP in December of the same year with a Master of Arts.

Prior to returning to USNA as an instructor, LT Dorr went to flight school in Pensacola, Florida, was designated a Naval Helicopter Pilot and reported for duty in San Diego where he flew SH-60B Seahawks for the Saberhawks of HSL-47. As an instructor, LT Dorr has taught courses in the entire range of offerings from the department, from Practical Writing (remedial composition) to majors electives like Modern British Literature and the Western Literature surveys. In addition, he has been the Navy's Primary Consultant for the English Subspecialty Program and an Integrity Development Seminar facilitator. He will report to LHD-5, USS Bataan in September, 1997, for duty as part of ship's company in the Air Department.

In the end, this course is the culmination of ten years of LT Dorr's interest in Irish literature, history and culture. While the course objectives are the official-sounding checklist of objective goals, his one subjective goal of the semester was to pass on the passion he found to the next generation of midshipmen.