So here, finally, is the lowdown on my classes. I have one class per day starting on Tuesday. I enjoy them all quite a bit, though two would be better if they didn't start at 9, sadly those are my favorites.
Tuesday: 2-4 pm: Geographies of Home
Geography here is like a combination of sociology and history, human geography that is. This class is a 3rd year course, which means it is taken by geo students in their final year at university. It seems quite easy and straightforward for being an upper level but I am most definitely not complaining. It is also very interesting material though this is somewhat ruined by the fact that my professor gives us the slides and then reads directly from them on the screen. She seems to be a nice lady but people talk in class while she lectures and she does nothing about it. I cant comprehend that; at home the students would be tossed out. Anyway! The class is focused on the meaning of 'home' be it the physical dwelling or the feelings/emotions we connect to the word. We study particular places at particular times looking at the human relationships and connotations of the word home. For some home is a place to relax, feel loved and escape to, while for others it is a place to fear or run away from, or home could be a place to long for when you do not have one. Fascinating stuff really. Were discussing home in relation to the concept of the 'motherland' and the design of a physical house in relation to the dynamics of the family who lives in it (i.e. the situation of the kitchen as a the focal point of many family homes, and who spends the most time in there, who has the power, etc. etc.) The class will include a field trip to an interior design museum I am very excited for; it has rooms that are decorated according to the styles of decades from the last few hundred years. More on that as it comes closer.
Wednesday: 9-10 and then 12-1: Politics and Society During the Reign of James I
The first hour is a lecture that never starts on time because no one, the students and professor, can get there on time. That second hour is a seminar, or the discussion equivalent for Brits. However, what is wonderful here is that I have no TAs. We meet in the professors office and discuss the packet he gave us in lecture. The professor is awesome by the way, probably late 40s to early 50s and exactly what I always imagined a British professor to be like. Somewhat thin with rimless glasses, sometimes just in slacks but today wore a 3 piece gray suit that made me very happy. He is a history professor but cant for the life of him remember genealogies or names (i.e. "Catherine was his first wife? Or Margaret? Wait no, that was his sister? Oh I don't know, never mind!") He also makes excellent connections between James I's reign and current American politics, Hitler's regime, and the upcoming British general elections. Witty and cynical, he is utterly wonderful.
As for the class itself I am really interested in the material (not just the professor!) : ) I have always studied right up to James I (who was the monarch of England right after Queen Elizabeth I) because I was so fascinated by the Tudors. An excellent background to have I must say, and I am excited to continue my education down the line to the Stuarts, though this course will only cover James I and thus I will need to study on my own for the rest of his dynasty. And that will not be a problem because it leads to the English Civil War and later the Jacobite Rebellions (which thanks to a certain historical fiction I know lots about).
Thursday: 9-1pm: Contemporary Hollywood Cinema
So who would have guessed that this is my favorite class? I am one of only 4 Americans in the class, and along with a friend of mine we are the only ones from LA. This had the professor (awesome guy who is 40 but is so cool that I wouldn't have put him over 29) very excited. The first day he asked the class who had been to Hollywood and if their visions were destroyed and some of the class raised their hands. He called on some Brits and then pointed to Danny and I saying "What about you, I saw hands over here." Danny and I looked at each other and said ,"Well were from LA so..." The professor thinks we are just great, its just lovely. The class focus can be read in the name, with emphasis on the relation between film and American politics, economics, etc. in the current period. We started with 1970s the first week with a screening of Shampoo and last week was the 1980s with Flashdance. As he said, not necessarily the best movies but those that are of their time. Tomorrow we will discuss the 80s and watch a 90s movie. Its really great to discuss American film from the point of view of a non American with non American peers. He gave us a handout that had a flow chart of American politics that explained the United States political parties better than anything I had ever seen in my life as it was so dead on. Also, the only project for the class will be a film note that is about an American film from 2001 on as he wants us to be able to discuss film following 9/11. I think I am going to do Catch Me If You Can (which is good because I have that DVD with me) and because I can relate it to cinematic nostalgia for the past, the crime/detective genre and American flight/travel following 9/11. Go me!
Friday: 2-3: Reinventing Britain
Another geography class though this is a first year course. Which is surprising because it seems way more intense than my other class. Three of my friends and I really only signed up for it because the title sounded good and it has a FIVE DAY FIELD TRIP to northern England the last week of the semester. How cool is that? The class is basically about how Britain, though England in particular, is transforming as the industrial economy it was once known for is being exchanged for what they are calling a 'knowledge' economy. This will be a bit more difficult for us Americans, thank goodness my grade doesn't really count and I have friends in it, because we have little to no knowledge about current English affairs of this sort. But I figure I will know a lot more about contemporary Britain when I leave. Plus, that field trip, which will take us to areas most affected by the closing of factories and manual labour industries, is going to be awesome.
And that's all folks. Sorry if I rambled a bit. Questions? Comments? Sarcastic remarks? : )
Tuesday: 2-4 pm: Geographies of Home
Geography here is like a combination of sociology and history, human geography that is. This class is a 3rd year course, which means it is taken by geo students in their final year at university. It seems quite easy and straightforward for being an upper level but I am most definitely not complaining. It is also very interesting material though this is somewhat ruined by the fact that my professor gives us the slides and then reads directly from them on the screen. She seems to be a nice lady but people talk in class while she lectures and she does nothing about it. I cant comprehend that; at home the students would be tossed out. Anyway! The class is focused on the meaning of 'home' be it the physical dwelling or the feelings/emotions we connect to the word. We study particular places at particular times looking at the human relationships and connotations of the word home. For some home is a place to relax, feel loved and escape to, while for others it is a place to fear or run away from, or home could be a place to long for when you do not have one. Fascinating stuff really. Were discussing home in relation to the concept of the 'motherland' and the design of a physical house in relation to the dynamics of the family who lives in it (i.e. the situation of the kitchen as a the focal point of many family homes, and who spends the most time in there, who has the power, etc. etc.) The class will include a field trip to an interior design museum I am very excited for; it has rooms that are decorated according to the styles of decades from the last few hundred years. More on that as it comes closer.
Wednesday: 9-10 and then 12-1: Politics and Society During the Reign of James I
The first hour is a lecture that never starts on time because no one, the students and professor, can get there on time. That second hour is a seminar, or the discussion equivalent for Brits. However, what is wonderful here is that I have no TAs. We meet in the professors office and discuss the packet he gave us in lecture. The professor is awesome by the way, probably late 40s to early 50s and exactly what I always imagined a British professor to be like. Somewhat thin with rimless glasses, sometimes just in slacks but today wore a 3 piece gray suit that made me very happy. He is a history professor but cant for the life of him remember genealogies or names (i.e. "Catherine was his first wife? Or Margaret? Wait no, that was his sister? Oh I don't know, never mind!") He also makes excellent connections between James I's reign and current American politics, Hitler's regime, and the upcoming British general elections. Witty and cynical, he is utterly wonderful.
As for the class itself I am really interested in the material (not just the professor!) : ) I have always studied right up to James I (who was the monarch of England right after Queen Elizabeth I) because I was so fascinated by the Tudors. An excellent background to have I must say, and I am excited to continue my education down the line to the Stuarts, though this course will only cover James I and thus I will need to study on my own for the rest of his dynasty. And that will not be a problem because it leads to the English Civil War and later the Jacobite Rebellions (which thanks to a certain historical fiction I know lots about).
Thursday: 9-1pm: Contemporary Hollywood Cinema
So who would have guessed that this is my favorite class? I am one of only 4 Americans in the class, and along with a friend of mine we are the only ones from LA. This had the professor (awesome guy who is 40 but is so cool that I wouldn't have put him over 29) very excited. The first day he asked the class who had been to Hollywood and if their visions were destroyed and some of the class raised their hands. He called on some Brits and then pointed to Danny and I saying "What about you, I saw hands over here." Danny and I looked at each other and said ,"Well were from LA so..." The professor thinks we are just great, its just lovely. The class focus can be read in the name, with emphasis on the relation between film and American politics, economics, etc. in the current period. We started with 1970s the first week with a screening of Shampoo and last week was the 1980s with Flashdance. As he said, not necessarily the best movies but those that are of their time. Tomorrow we will discuss the 80s and watch a 90s movie. Its really great to discuss American film from the point of view of a non American with non American peers. He gave us a handout that had a flow chart of American politics that explained the United States political parties better than anything I had ever seen in my life as it was so dead on. Also, the only project for the class will be a film note that is about an American film from 2001 on as he wants us to be able to discuss film following 9/11. I think I am going to do Catch Me If You Can (which is good because I have that DVD with me) and because I can relate it to cinematic nostalgia for the past, the crime/detective genre and American flight/travel following 9/11. Go me!
Friday: 2-3: Reinventing Britain
Another geography class though this is a first year course. Which is surprising because it seems way more intense than my other class. Three of my friends and I really only signed up for it because the title sounded good and it has a FIVE DAY FIELD TRIP to northern England the last week of the semester. How cool is that? The class is basically about how Britain, though England in particular, is transforming as the industrial economy it was once known for is being exchanged for what they are calling a 'knowledge' economy. This will be a bit more difficult for us Americans, thank goodness my grade doesn't really count and I have friends in it, because we have little to no knowledge about current English affairs of this sort. But I figure I will know a lot more about contemporary Britain when I leave. Plus, that field trip, which will take us to areas most affected by the closing of factories and manual labour industries, is going to be awesome.
And that's all folks. Sorry if I rambled a bit. Questions? Comments? Sarcastic remarks? : )
Thanks for all the details. I will share with Grandma M. Just remember that people over 40 can still be cool :-)
ReplyDeleteSpamlet! Your classes sound great! Will you analyze my new house with respect to the concept of "home" when you get...HOME? (By the way, you will LOVE it! I do!) :) Also, must ask: Did your fellow students know what Flashdance is? Jennifer Beals? Is there hope? I miss you tons! Have an AWESOME time and let me know when we can skype.
ReplyDelete-Danielle