Furman English professor Melinda Menzer, Ph.D., knows exactly why she swims.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I\u2019m swimming, I\u2019m smiling,\u201d she writes in her blog, 10mileswim.wordpress.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Menzer is smiling a lot. She literally travels miles in the water in her spare time, training for and competing in things like the five-mile, open-water Lowcountry Splash<\/a> held in May in Charleston, S.C., and last summer she realized there was a way to combine her love of the water with her love of words.<\/p>\n The \u201cWhy We Swim\u201d May Experience (May X) course was born.<\/p>\n \u201cI was reading a lot of really great books about swimming, and it seemed to me this would make a great class,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is reading about swimming, we\u2019re learning about swimming, and we\u2019re actually swimming.\u201d<\/p>\n So, what, like the difference between freestyle and the backstroke? Not quite.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve read historical, first-hand perspectives, nutrition and swimming\u2014so the whole spectrum,\u201d Sean McBratnie \u201915, an English\/philosophy double major, said. \u201cOne of my specialties is race and sexuality, so that\u2019s why I was really interested in the ways swimming is sexualized and how racism resulted in the desegregation of pools.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, the racist and class history of public pools in the Greenville area was a big focus of the class. Students read Contested Waters: A Social History of Swimming Pools in America<\/em> by Jeff Wiltse<\/a> before taking a field trip to the Upcountry History Museum and visiting several old public pool sites. Two\u2014Cleveland Park, which the city closed rather than being forced to integrate, and Green Forest pool, which was used by black people\u2014no longer exist, while the third\u2014Gower Estates\u2014is now open only to members.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is one of the most exciting parts of the class as far as I\u2019m concerned,\u201d Menzer said. \u201cWe talked about the segregation and integration of pools and its impact on different communities. Drowning rates in the African-American community are much, much higher than they are among the white community, across the U.S., in particular South Carolina, and it has to do with historical lack of access to pools.\u201d<\/p>\n Somer Faust \u201915, a Piedmont, S.C., native, gained a new perspective on the place she has always called home.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really glad I did it. We learned things I didn\u2019t know about the community pools that used to be here, and integration, and that\u2019s why they closed them. I didn\u2019t have a clue and I\u2019ve lived here forever,\u201d Faust, a health science major, said. \u201cUntil it was brought to my attention I had no idea, so there have been some really neat aspects to this class.\u201d<\/p>\n Another neat aspect was the final field trip: A 1-mile open-water swim on Lake Hartwell. In many ways, the great outdoors is the final frontier for even strong swimmers used to pools and lifeguards, and, as Lee Ann Sharpton points out in her book<\/a> Swimming Studies<\/em>, the challenges are as mental as they are physical.<\/p>\n \u201cShe talks about her uncertainty in open water, how\u2019s she\u2019s anxious. She uses words like it\u2019s \u2018her perfect nightmare.\u2019 It\u2019s thrilling but it\u2019s dangerous,\u201d Menzer said.<\/p>\n Some in the 12-person class like McBratnie, the president of the Furman Swim Club, were more equipped for the final challenge than others. Faust says she \u201ccan doggy paddle from here to China\u201d but took the class to get better in the water.<\/p>\n It worked, because she seemed excited as she prepared to board a van in the Daniel Chapel parking lot bound for Hartwell.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a whole lot more effortless of a swim (for me) than it was before I started,\u201d she said. \u201cI have never attempted a 1-mile swim, but I am definitely up for the challenge she put in front of us that I would never have put myself in front of.\u201d<\/p>\n Menzer, a certified lifeguard, said that everyone in the class had to pass a basic swimming test to be eligible, though ultimately she wanted it to be as inclusive as possible. Because swimming itself is.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really excited about swimming. Swimming is something that\u2019s a big part of my life. I like doing it. I like reading about it,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd getting to share this with these students, I\u2019m learning an awful lot from them. Their experiences with swimming are not the same as mine, so our conversations have been really interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n