FIVE WITH A FALCON: Philosophy Prof. Brad Bannon from Athens to Assassin's Creed

Dr. Brad Bannon has been inspiring Fitchburg State students to join them on a Philosophical Quest year after year since 2015.  In this episode of Five With a Falcon, one of their philosophy students, Jacob Tawa (COMM '28), talks to Prof. Bannon about how they connect with Fitchburg State students from all disciplines in the study of the human person and the world around us, as well as their journey as an adjunct faculty member teaching courses in the Humanities, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Sustainability Studies.  

This episode was produced, hosted, and edited by Jacob Tawa.  Jacob is a Communications Media major with a concentration in film/video production; he is also a member of the improv club.

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Episode transcript here.

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This episode was produced in COMM 2015 Podcasting during Spring 2026.

Click here to learn more about Perseverantia.  Join us for programming updates on Instagram.  Or reach out with ideas or suggestions at podcasts@fitchburgstate.edu.

Transcript

[ Five With theme begins ]

Jacob Tawa (host): And welcome back to Five with a Falcon. I'm Jacob Tawa and I'm here with... 

Prof. Brad Bannon: I'm Brad Bannon.

Jacob: Thank you, Brad. So if you could just introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about yourself so that the viewers at home know who you are.

Prof. Bannon: Sure, well, I'm Brad and I'm an adjunct professor here. I'm in my 11th year at Fitchburg States.  And I teach philosophy and ethics and interdisciplinary studies and sustainability.  Don't know – I’m like a utility player. yeah.

Jacob:  That's awesome well you've told us about your career here at FSU.  Could you speak on – are those the classes that you've always been doing or do you think that  – or is that just this semester?

Prof. Bannon:  So, I was originally hired in 2015 to teach world religions. So, my doctorate is in comparative theology, so Hindu-Christian comparative theology. So, you know, I've studied a lot of religion and definitely well qualified to teach that class. So, that's originally what I was hired to do. 

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I do hold a master's in philosophy. Also, my dissertation, my work in theology is very philosophical, very much grounded in epistemology and ethics. So these are the things that I've studied the most. 

And so, yeah, so my second semester here, I was asked to teach Philosophy of Human Person and I loved it. Absolutely.  So I've been teaching that pretty much ever since, you know, over various forms of it.  And then...

Yeah, after I'd been teaching here a year or two, then I was asked to do Interdisciplinary Studies because actually study of religion is very interdisciplinary. The whole idea is, you know, you're studying – the study of religion is the study of human persons, which is anthropology – which is also religious philosophy. 

So yeah, it's kind of, I mean, you can't really study religion without interdisciplinary, you know, methods. So, so yeah, I was already to teach the interdisciplinary capstone course.

And then, yeah, from there, when the school added a Sustainability Minor last year, then, you know, I was tapped into to teach that course too, in Environmental Ethics, you know.  So things that I care very much about.

Jacob:  Yeah. Got sort of juggling a lot of things on your plate, doing a lot of these different classes, all within your different expertise. If you could just quickly talk about where – you've been here since you said 2015 or 2016? 

Prof. Bannon: 2015. 

Jacob: Where was it along the line you think that you found a sense of belonging or do you think you found that immediately?

Prof. Bannon:  Hmm, not immediately. No, I mean, it takes time, especially for an adjunct because I'm only here a couple of days a week.  So it's harder to, you know, be a part of a community, but the, faculty here, the faculty here are all very friendly. 

The faculty, all – every single one of them cares very deeply about teaching – and I do too. So we always have that in common. And so, yeah, I think, you know, I mean, I think really the first one to reach out was David Svolba – who is now the chair of the Humanities Department, but at the time just, you know, other Philosophy professor. 

And so we would, you know, hang out and drink beers and talk about philosophy and that kind of stuff. And so, yeah, kind of built a community around there.  But over, you know, the past decade, I've gotten to know a lot of the professors and so build a sense of community. I don't think it's the same as if I were a full-time professor, but, you know, as much community as one could have as an adjunct – I definitely have had here.

It's a different experience. 

Jacob:  Absolutely. I think that makes a lot of sense. And I'm glad that you have found some, I should say. 

What do you think, if you think you could name one – because I guess this is probably a difficult question for anyone but especially for someone who's as many classes as you – what do think your greatest accomplishment here at Fitchburg is?

Prof. Bannon: My greatest accomplishment at Fitchburg. So I've been working on the course, you know, Intro to Philosophy for, for, mean, since I started pretty much. And, I think, I think, you know, every time I've taught it, you know, a change a little bit and updated a little bit and, you know, I feel like I really understand that course really well. 

And I understand how, you know, students are going to receive the different topics and that kind of thing. I just really feel like I've gotten to a point with that intro course that's – you know, just, I Prof. Bannon (cont’d):  mean, compared to where I was the first time I taught it, you know, it's like night and day. 

Yeah. So I feel like my greatest accomplishment, I think is that, is that course and structuring that course. Although that's at my, the way I teach the interdisciplinary capstone thesis course that too. Yeah. I've, you know, in the beginning, I barely knew what I was doing. 

I was trying to teach students to write like a Master's level capstone course, which is not the right thing and not the right vibe. And over the years, I have come up with a system that students really connect with and vibe with. And it's like people that normally aren't great at writing take that course. And they're like, “wow, I really wrote a capstone thesis that I care a lot about that really reflects me and my interests.”  So yeah, I think those two courses.   

I really like course design. So course design, course planning, I feel like that's what really gets me going. And so I'm pretty pleased with those two courses in particular. 

Jacob: I think that’s fascinating. I think your, your magnum opus if you want  – like here that you think not some specific project rather just the refinement of your actual courses.  I think it’s really interesting that it’s like an intro course and a capstone course which I assume is some reflection of a high level, some kind of end of – not end of semester, end of journey course.

Prof. Bannon:  Yeah that’s right.

Jacob: Yeah, so I think that’s very cool that the two things you’re invested in are literally the introduction and the ending, you've kind of, got those two parts down. You're very confident. You start strong and you end strong.  I think that's very important. I think that's a lot of, think it's super cool. 

So just last question here, and I don't want to rush anything along, but we're breezing through this. Do you think there's a way that you can identify or ways, plural, that you have grown or transformed during your time here at Fitchburg?

Prof. Bannon:  I mean, I don't know how I could limit it to just one. There's just so many ways. I mean, I think – yeah, I mean, I think, you know, being in any place for this, you know, for over a decade, you know, I just really have gotten to know the students.  You know, and of course the students change, but there's a, there's a vibe at Fitchburg state, you know?  Yeah. I don't know. think I identify and connect with the students in a lot of different ways. 

So yeah, I don't know I think teaching a course isn't just about knowing the material. It's, I think, maybe more than that is knowing the students and knowing what to expect from the students and how to connect with students and how to teach students. 

And so, yeah, I think over the years, yeah, that's been the biggest advantage is just learning how to connect with students and how to teach the topics. 

For example, you know, so many of the students here are Game Design majors, Film and Video majors, Psychology majors, Nursing majors. You know, there's – it's not everything, right?  It's, there's a, there's a – I mean Fitchburg State specializes in those areas. 

And so, you know, over the years I've come to use more examples and metaphors that connect with those – use more films in my classes.  Which then, you know, the film students really enjoy. 

Jacob:  They appreciate it.  We really like that.  Thanks. 

Prof. Bannon: Thanks. You know, I use, games like, Assassin's Creed, like for example, in my intro to philosophy class, I have a section on Plato and during that section, you know, we talk a lot about Athens and the city of Athens and Socrates’ sort of daily activities and that sort of thing. And to sort of bring that alive, I created a video, you know, that uses Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which just takes place in ancient Athens and Socrates and stuff like that. 

You know, this is something that connects with the film students, but also connects with the game design folks.  You know, crafting and sort of shaping my courses to really tailor it towards the Fitchburg State community and Fitchburg State students, I think, you know, has made all the difference because then students kind of connect with the material. They understand how it relates to them, their own lives, and their own interests, and their own career and future. 

So yeah.

Jacob:  I think that's super sick.  I think that makes a lot of sense or just being able to form connections and communicate the material in ways that make sense as you find what people are usually coming to Fitchburg State for.  I think that makes a lot of sense that, as you get acclimated to this new environment and see all these people around, you change yourself in some ways, but also just change the ways you have to communicate to those people in order to properly facilitate their learning. 

I think that makes a lot of sense. That's super cool that you're able to – and I'll speak from personal experience here – able to communicate these things in a way that just makes sense when you're talking about sort of high concept stuff like you do in philosophy, at least high concept to me, I guess. I guess that's relative. 

I think that makes a lot of the way that you'll so often use metaphors or you'll go into like scientific explanations with regard to – and this is sort of like when you the rods in your eyes can perceive things like this.  

I think that makes a lot of sense and it helps it reach different crowds that may not have understood the initial message. 

Prof. Bannon: Right on.

Jacob:  So I think that's great. Do you have any sort of closing thoughts or last things you want to share about yourself as we wrap up?

Prof. Bannon:  Well, you know, I think, you know, another thing I've learned over the years is, I mean, since we're recording this podcast right now, and – of course, as you know – I use podcast, you know, discussions in my, in all of my classes. 

And there's this, this philosopher, Bell Hooks, that has had a huge impact on me. And she said, she wrote in one of her essays that the, you know, the main thing that a university professor should be teaching is teaching students how to listen and communicate with one another. 

And, you know, I think that's exactly what the podcast does. And I think that's what – Yeah, so over the years, it's not only about teaching students how to listen and connect with one another, but, you know, also just being like, you know, eavesdropping on those conversations like our listeners are now, I guess.

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You know, you just, yeah, you just, you learn a lot from, you know, almost like being an invisible fly on the wall kind of thing in those discussions.

Jacob:  I really beautiful.I think that's super sick. 

Prof. Bannon: Right on.

Jacob:  Alrighty, well I think that was a lot of good material. Thank you so much, Brad. Happy to interview you. I really appreciate you coming on. And that has been Five with a Falcon, guys. Thank you so much for listening.

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Tori Kiolbasa:  You're listening to Perseverantia, the Fitchburg State Podcasting Network. 

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