The Transformative Power of Literature: Dr. Brent Cline

Written by Liam Martin

When I walked into Dr. Brent Cline’s office, the first thing that caught my eye was a large, striking painting of a wild-eyed Russian with a long beard, nineteenth-century author Fyodor Dostoevsky. The painting formed quite the contrast with Dr. Cline himself, a friendly young professor with a quick and often self-deprecating sense of humor that endears him to his students. 

Even though this is his first full year teaching at Hillsdale, Dr. Cline is no stranger to the College. After receiving his Ph.D in English from Western Michigan University, he taught at nearby Spring Arbor University for 15 years. During that time, he began teaching one three-hour class per week at Hillsdale before accepting his current position.

When asked why he chose to study English, he answered that it was because of a handful of books he fell in love with as a teenager. 

“There were particular books that were very formative to me and changed who I was and who I wanted to be,” he said. “I always assume that what I love, I can convince others to love as well. So I thought maybe I could find a gig where I could be around these kinds of texts.” 

These books include the writings of Dostoevsky, who he sees as his primary inspiration, as well as Albert Camus, Victor Hugo, J.D. Salinger, and Cormac McCarthy. “I can still remember being 18 years old and holing myself up in my grandmother’s back bedroom in West Virginia over Christmas break and doing nothing but reading Crime and Punishment,” he explained. “My mom kept knocking on the door and saying, ‘Hey, there’s family here to see you, come on down,’ and I kept being a snotty teenager. I just loved locking myself in a room and reading a book. That was my rebellion.”

Originally Dr. Cline wanted to be a high school teacher, but eventually he decided to go to graduate school. What drew him to Hillsdale, however, was his experience with the sort of students the College forms. 

“My favorite thing about Hillsdale,” he said, “is that the students buy into the project, so I don’t have to sell them on the importance of a class like Great Books.” The same, unfortunately, is not true at many other schools around the country. “A lot of really good English professors at other colleges are trying to bring the ideas of goodness, truth, and beauty contained in these texts to their students, but it gets really exhausting,” he said. “The fact that I don’t have to convince my students of the importance of reading The Divine Comedy makes it a blessing to teach.” 

One example of this, and what surprised him most about Hillsdale students, is that students actually come to office hours. At other colleges, Dr. Cline would work on grading and doing other work during his office hours, but at Hillsdale, he says most of that time is instead taken up with talking to his students. 

The best thing about his job, he added, “is just seeing students actually transformed by the works that they’re reading, that it actually makes a difference in them.”

Students’ engagement with their studies has a massive impact on campus culture, even on non-students. “The music, the art, and the thriving intellectual culture on campus is really beautiful,” Dr. Cline observed. “I like to bring my kids to campus, even to things that go over their heads, because I want them to know that, although their life won’t always be this way, it is possible to have this sort of environment.”

Now, as a full-time professor at Hillsdale, Dr. Cline is helping to foster that culture through exposing students to literature and the powerful truths it contains. By teaching students of all majors in the sequence of Great Books core classes, he hopes to form future generations of Hillsdale students and share his passion for stories with others. 

Dr. Brent Cline


Liam Martin, ‘25, is a native of rural Ohio and plans to major in History. In his free time, he enjoys coffee, Shakespeare, Latin chant, and debating politics and religion with whoever will listen.


Published in April 2022