He calls the class "amazing, memorable, unforgettable, one of the best two or three classes at Harvard."

What most impressed Wyant was when Coles found out he was writing his thesis on Tolstoy, a favorite author of his, and spontaneously offered to be Wyant's thesis advisor.

While Coles may not have the personal relationship with the 19th century writers that he did with Williams and Day, the idiosyncrasies of his personality and background color his chosen course readings.

For instance, Coles' father, a British Jew originally named Philip Cohen, was a "great admirer" of George Eliot.

And Flannery O'Connor's iconoclastic style fits Coles perfectly.

"She had little patience for the secular pieties that a lot of us take for granted," says Coles.

According to Richard O'Connor, "unconventional" was always the best way to describe Coles, who was prone to wearing sweaters with holes in the sleeves to important meetings.

Over the years, professionals long out of graduate school--if they ever attended graduate school at all--have flown in to Cambridge from across the country in order to serve as teaching fellows for Gen Ed 105.

Last fall, Terms of Endearment star Debra Winger led a section. Coles says she did a great job.

Not long ago, Bruce Springsteen--a friend of Coles'--had expressed interest in the usually thankless job. He attended a couple of lectures, delivered a presentation on Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man as his audition and was ready to serve as a teaching fellow for the course.

However, Springsteen's touring schedule conflicted with the weekly sections and Tuesday morning meetings with Coles.

Moral Matters

Flannery O'Connor's work also brings out an idea Coles has focused on in his recent scholarship--the notion of moral intelligence.

Coles says O'Connor novels show that "you can be smart and well-educated, but not necessarily good."

In his recent The Moral Intelligence of Children, Coles questions whether American children are being taught the right things in school.

"When you're trained to use your mind to answer multiple choice tests," he says, "you forget the other ways of using your mind."