Who’s Feeling It? Can You Feel It?

By: Alexandra Riewer
Posted In: News

Dr. Khalil Habib stands before his class in a suit coat, blue Oxford, red tie and pressed khaki slacks. The sun generously beams through the windows lining a classroom on the second floor of O’Hare Academic Center. The building overlooks a vast, green lawn extending to the historic Newport Cliff Walk and drops down to the clear blue of the Narragansett Bay. Habib begins by exuberantly asking his students how they are doing and if they are ready to go. “Do you want to do some exercises?!” Habib exclaims. He unfortunately has to cancel class on Monday, and a student in the back of the room jokingly sobs at this heartbreaking news.

A warm day of a New England spring has finally graced the students of Salve Regina University, and one would assume their desire to be lying on the beach than sitting in a desk. But this thought does not seem to faze any of the students of Habib’s Philosophy and Responsibility class on this Wednesday afternoon, as he effortlessly holds their attention to Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince”.

Habib has earned the reputation of a difficult professor, but in his class students learn the difficult readings of Plato, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Aristotle. One of his trademark teaching styles is his ability to put himself into character of each of the philosophers. But he has difficulty choosing one favorite philosopher. If he had to choose, he said Plato for his irony, comprehensive analysis, and respect for the mind of philosophy.

Habib has been assistant professor of philosophy at Salve Regina University for five years now. His love for philosophy and political science is easily recognized in the classroom as he reads exuberantly from “The Prince”. Dr. Lois Eveleth, undergrad professor chair of philosophy at Salve Regina, first interviewed Habib when he applied for the job. “He oozes enthusiasm for teaching and loves the students,” Eveleth said. “He erupts in the classroom.”

Although teaching and philosophy are two of his greatest passions, Habib considers his family his greatest accomplishment. He is currently married to his wife Cressida. They have two boys, Jordan, 10, and John Owen, 8, and are living in Saunderstown, R.I. His two sons were actually partially responsible for his decision to work at Salve Regina, he said.

Habib’s enthusiasm for philosophy and political science could be strongly rooted in his Middle Eastern background. He was born the second of four children in 1974 in Lattakia, Syria. He and his family moved around many times, living in Lebanon, as well as Bahrain, a small island off the coast of Saudi Arabia. At the age of nine, Habib and his family came to the United States. “It was a dream of the family’s to come to America,” Habib said. “For my mother, America was the peak of it all.”

When they arrived to the states, Habib and his family first lived in Houston, Texas. As he recalls, the first thing they wanted to do when they got to America was go to McDonald’s. “We thought ‘this is it. We’ve made it.’ I’ll never forget it,” Habib said. “I got a Happy Meal. And it came with a toy.”

After only one year in Houston, the Habibs moved to Augusta, Maine, where he attended Cony High School. He played soccer and tennis and was also very interested in playing guitar. When asked how his brothers and sisters would describe him, Habib immediately responds as “funny and the class clown”. He said his first paid job was doing comedy skits at the high school. It was the first time he actually got paid to do something he truly loved, he said. He couldn’t believe he could get paid to do it. His humor nonetheless continues to carry over into his classroom.

He then attended the University of Maine where he majored in political science. Habib found an outlet when he took Dr. Michael Palmer’s political philosophy course. He attributes his love for philosophy to Palmer and the second he met him, he knew he wanted to be a teacher. “When I saw Michael Palmer teaching Plato and Aristotle and connecting it to the world around me,” Habib said. “I thought, ‘wow. I didn’t know you could do this.’ The best teachers in my life have shown me alternative ways of looking at the world in an engaging way.”

The two still remain great friends, and earlier this spring Palmer invited Habib back to give a lecture. Palmer recalls how surprised he was because he started to talk about his time back at University of Maine and began by making jokes to calm himself down. “I believe he was having a surreal experience being on the side of the lecturer and seeing me on the side of the audience in the classroom,” Palmer said. Habib was honored to be able to lecture back at his alma mater, and he actually got choked up. “It surprised me,” Palmer said. “He doesn’t come across as the emotional type.”

After graduating from the University of Maine, Habib attended University of Toronto to receive his masters in political science, and then Boston University for his Ph.D in philosophy.

Habib’s impressive qualities contributed to Salve Regina’s decision to hire him back in 2004, Eveleth said. “His background is very broad and he has a good knowledge of the history of philosophy,” Eveleth said. “But especially his background in the Middle East is very important. Anything after 9/11 made our school need to know more about the Middle East. He knows a lot from the philosophical and political point of view.” Not to mention his family’s strong religious background. His sensitivity of religion to one’s life put him in a unique position, especially at a school like Salve Regina, Eveleth said.

As for now, Habib plans to stay teaching at Salve Regina for many years to come. He also continues to work on his writing and get students involved in his research. His love for travel will be fulfilled this summer when he takes a group of students from Salve Regina to Oxford for a four week study abroad program. “I love traveling with my students,” Habib said. “I give it my all. I am so passionate about it. I get them out of their rooms, help them see the country and get over their fears.” Habib is also teaching a special topics course in philosophy and literature, and cannot wait, Habib said.