In the “competition” between CHex and REx, one program stands out not for what it produces, but rather who it creates. I believe that CHex is not just about reading books or analyzing art, it is about understanding what it truly means to be human. 

PDS English Department Chair Dr. Karen Latham, the leader of the Creative Humanities Experience, puts it simply: “studying the humanities teaches you how to think, how to think creatively, how to think critically.” While the REx program teaches students to master the external world through experiments and data, CHex teaches them to better understand their internal one. 

In our current social and political climate, the humanities are not a luxury–they are urgent. In a world drowning in AI and technology, Dr. Latham argues that “what humans need to hold onto is our curiosity and our creativity. That’s the one thing AI cannot replicate: the human emotion, that idea of spontaneous creativity.”

The difference between the two programs is not academic, but rather fundamental. Whereas REx focuses on mastering content, CHex emphasizes connection. Students explore Frankenstein not simply as a novel, but as a warning about creation and responsibility. They study painters, musicians, and poets not for tests, but to understand how artists throughout history have grappled with the same questions we face today.

At the end, students do more than just write another essay: they identify a project that truly inspires them–something political, personal, or just born from their own creativity—and they bring it to life. The difference is simple: REx teaches students to understand the world as it is. CHex allows students to imagine the world they want to see and gives them the tools to create it.