Fall 2006 Shopping -- Day 1 Report
Day one of shopping is complete!
Summary
First class started: 9:00 AM
Last class ended: 9:00 PM
Total classes shopped: 11
Hours spent in class: about 8.5
Details
Shopping was strange today...while I usually rush frenetically, all morning I was happily content to sit in just one class. Different? yes. Refreshing? absolutely. A sign of my age? Perhaps. Before heading out for the day I fixed my computer's inability to hibernate (probably because I really wanted to hibernate myself, but had to get out of bed). After a quick bowl of granola I headed out for...
H hour (9-10:20 AM)
MU 30: Sondheim And. Professors Josephson and Subotnick are hilarious, like an old happy-grumpy couple (think Mrs. Boettcher and Doc in Human Rights Club, Akiba folks). Joyfully cutting each other off, they introduced us to this study of Stephen Sondheim's work in the context of the earlier composers from whom he draws. We started off the day comparing the overture to Mozart's La Nozze di Figaro to the Company overture [For example: Both depend on cascading repetitive themes. However, Figaro dramatically distinguishes between reality and the fantasy on stage, whereas Company's opening starts right in, challenging that boundary.] We continued with Don Giovanni's famous Finch' han del vino aria from Don Giovanni against Bobby's opening reflections on love, also from Company. Class ended with an excert from Topsy Turvy about The Mikado to discuss the tension between art and entertainment in musical theater. Bottom line: This class will be awesome but very lightweight. It's too bad it's early in the morning - it's a perfect 4th/5th class for a tired afternoon slot. If not for the 2 hour listening lab on Weds, it would be a shoe-in, and I'll almost definitely take it anyway.
Since class was so great I didn't sneak off to check out any others, so I missed AIDS in International Perspective (which I probably couldn't have gotten into anyway), Circumpolar Ethnography, and Social Entrepeneurship (which is being taught by a notoriously disorganized prof this semester anyway, so it's not a big loss). Murray reports that Emotion, Cognition, Education will also be excellent, so I'll probably check it out Thursday before committing here.
Very likely: MU 30
Revisit: AN 100, ED 126
Out: AN 102, EN 193-10 I hour (10:30-11:50 AM)
I sat next to eo in Harlem Renaissance, and we agreed that Denniston's quiet intensity is wonderful. However, Harlem Renaissance is probably going to be an awkward class. She wants it to be more discussion than lecture, but I don't think she'll be able to pull it off with a class of 60+ students, and I suspect that discussions will be tentative and basic. If I weren't coming directly from another relatively easy/simple class the previous hour, this could be the class to balance the schedule, but I'm more excited about Sondheim than about Harlem Renaissance. To quote Vonnegut, so it goes. If I want to study with Denniston, her afternoon African American Women Novelists, limited to 20 participants, will be a better space for reading such texts in depth.
Class ended early, but I decided to welcome Colla back to this country rather than rushing over to Barcelona through Literature and Art. There's always Thursday.
Unlikely: EL 171
Revisit: SP 150-2
CONVOCATION
Highlights:
Here I picked up into traditional Benj-shopping mode after the morning's slow start. First stop was The Roots of Radical Islam, a 100-person class in a 30-person room for which 200 people showed up. Professor Luong is teaching this course for the first time, exploring her new research argument that radical Islam is not simply a reaction to state repression as most theory dictates. The course should be awesome -- part one looks at over-arching themes of political Islam, and then part two is a series of case studies of radical Islamic groups throughout the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia. I haven't decided yet whether I'm on hiatus from all MES or just Palestine-Israel. If I think I can handle this course without lapsing into frustrated/depressed mode (which I'm hoping to avoid this last semester), I'll do it.
On my way out I stopped by Faulkner, but not for long. Although Weinstein is fabulous, and I want to be taking a lit class, I'm more interested in looking at several author's works. Literature of the United States South and South America provides just this opportunity, and includes a number of texts from both the Faulkner and Harlem Renaissance syllabi. Professor Merrim will clearly be a dynamic discussion leader, and she's put a lot of thought into how to balance instructor-facilitated and peer-facilitated learning. As she swooned over each text in the syllabus, she remarked, "I know I'm overflowing with superlatives, but I'm just that excited about all of these texts and our chance to explore their textures together" -- she's into it. She thinks that it's important to have a copy of a text to read, mark-up, and review, and offered by buy the coursepacket for any students who couldn't afford it themselves. She's also going to raffle off a complete set of the courses texts. I've never had a professor offer either of these before, and her investment shines.
British and American Nature Poetry had already ended by this point, so I rushed over to Music and Mind and caught it just as it was breaking up. The syllabus shows a very straight-forward read-and-lecture model for the class, and I'm not interested in using precious course slots for repetitive lectures at this point. I'll save the syllabus for interesting reading later. Although I missed Dreamworlds, DS reported that he enjoyed it, and passed me a syllabus. Were I not so impressed by Islam and the South, I might revisit it Thursday, but it was just edged out of the running.
Revisit: PS 143, CO 142
Edged out: EL 191, AC 161
Nope: EL 171, CG 105
K hour (2:30-3:50 PM)
I'm shopping both third and fourth year Arabic because while I know more Arabic than 3rd year, it's so rusty that it's not readily usable. After an hour of 4th year, though I'm confident it will come back. My vocab is much worse than the other folks in class, but my grammer and speed are both in good shape, and vocab will return with practice. At the same time, third year meets every day while fourth year only meets two days a week (but has daily independent reading, listening and writing assignments), and I need the daily practice -- although the 3rd year class is bigger so I wouldn't actually get to talk that much. Can you tell which way I'm leaning? I do, but I'll go to 3rd year tomorrow just to be sure. I need to find a friend to have a daily arabic commitment with...any takers?
Today we decided that 4th year will meet Mon&Weds, not Tues&Thurs, so K hour is still open for more shopping. The verdict on Islam and Modernity is that Gheissari doesn't lecture well and the syllabus is good but not good enough to hold its own, so it's out (but I'm saving the syllabus for the reading list). On Thursday I'll check out Literary Translation, and maybe shop African American Women Novelists or Computer Science. But I don't really need the CS and I preferred Merrim to Denniston for a Lit. course.
Very likely: AB 70
Revisit: CO 272
Unlikely: CS 17, EL 171
Nope: RS 88-32
P hour (4-6:20 PM)
Colonialism, Culture & Conflict in Ireland was unimpressive -- I don't think Meloy has any idea how she's going to fill 2.5 hours of class, and that's a recipe for unpleasantness and sleepy afternoons. I do have the syllabus, though. And Starr is giving priority to Education and Public Policy concentrators for Public Schools and Politics, which means I'm unlikely to get in, although I'm submitting an interest form just in case.
Unlikely: ED 164
Nope: HI 197-75
7-9 PM
I stopped home for delicious miso soup and an episode of Firefly (my housemates are into it and we're likely naming our house Serenity, so I thought I should know what it's all about) before heading over to the Old-time String Band. And you know what? It's just not worth it. Once we actually start playing, we have a great groove and my banjo playing could improve dramatically, but the prof spent most of the time talking (which I recall from earlier years is his normal pattern) and we only played music for about half and hour. And that's simply not using my time well. So farewell! I shall play music in my suite. Come play with us.
Nope: MU 57
Ad Kan Yom 1
And so it goes. Todays winners seem to be Sondheim, Political Islam, The South and 4th year Arabic, which is a remarkably (and wonderfully) short list considering all my running around.
Comments?
Tomorrow's schedule to follow as soon as I prepare it.
First class started: 9:00 AM
Last class ended: 9:00 PM
Total classes shopped: 11
Hours spent in class: about 8.5
Details
Shopping was strange today...while I usually rush frenetically, all morning I was happily content to sit in just one class. Different? yes. Refreshing? absolutely. A sign of my age? Perhaps. Before heading out for the day I fixed my computer's inability to hibernate (probably because I really wanted to hibernate myself, but had to get out of bed). After a quick bowl of granola I headed out for...
H hour (9-10:20 AM)
MU 30: Sondheim And. Professors Josephson and Subotnick are hilarious, like an old happy-grumpy couple (think Mrs. Boettcher and Doc in Human Rights Club, Akiba folks). Joyfully cutting each other off, they introduced us to this study of Stephen Sondheim's work in the context of the earlier composers from whom he draws. We started off the day comparing the overture to Mozart's La Nozze di Figaro to the Company overture [For example: Both depend on cascading repetitive themes. However, Figaro dramatically distinguishes between reality and the fantasy on stage, whereas Company's opening starts right in, challenging that boundary.] We continued with Don Giovanni's famous Finch' han del vino aria from Don Giovanni against Bobby's opening reflections on love, also from Company. Class ended with an excert from Topsy Turvy about The Mikado to discuss the tension between art and entertainment in musical theater. Bottom line: This class will be awesome but very lightweight. It's too bad it's early in the morning - it's a perfect 4th/5th class for a tired afternoon slot. If not for the 2 hour listening lab on Weds, it would be a shoe-in, and I'll almost definitely take it anyway.
Since class was so great I didn't sneak off to check out any others, so I missed AIDS in International Perspective (which I probably couldn't have gotten into anyway), Circumpolar Ethnography, and Social Entrepeneurship (which is being taught by a notoriously disorganized prof this semester anyway, so it's not a big loss). Murray reports that Emotion, Cognition, Education will also be excellent, so I'll probably check it out Thursday before committing here.
Very likely: MU 30
Revisit: AN 100, ED 126
Out: AN 102, EN 193-10 I hour (10:30-11:50 AM)
I sat next to eo in Harlem Renaissance, and we agreed that Denniston's quiet intensity is wonderful. However, Harlem Renaissance is probably going to be an awkward class. She wants it to be more discussion than lecture, but I don't think she'll be able to pull it off with a class of 60+ students, and I suspect that discussions will be tentative and basic. If I weren't coming directly from another relatively easy/simple class the previous hour, this could be the class to balance the schedule, but I'm more excited about Sondheim than about Harlem Renaissance. To quote Vonnegut, so it goes. If I want to study with Denniston, her afternoon African American Women Novelists, limited to 20 participants, will be a better space for reading such texts in depth.
Class ended early, but I decided to welcome Colla back to this country rather than rushing over to Barcelona through Literature and Art. There's always Thursday.
Unlikely: EL 171
Revisit: SP 150-2
CONVOCATION
Highlights:
- As the procession moved past me, President Simmons turned and asked, "You're still not wearing any shoes, are you?" as she continued with a laugh.
- JCN dropped the G-bomb during her invocation, which I've never heard her use before in public speech.
- Once again, Father Bodah and I were the only one's in our area who knew the words to Alma Mater (which was painfully slow, even when Dean Bergeron sang it a second time, "faster." The Music faculty and majors looked visibly uncomfortable.)
Here I picked up into traditional Benj-shopping mode after the morning's slow start. First stop was The Roots of Radical Islam, a 100-person class in a 30-person room for which 200 people showed up. Professor Luong is teaching this course for the first time, exploring her new research argument that radical Islam is not simply a reaction to state repression as most theory dictates. The course should be awesome -- part one looks at over-arching themes of political Islam, and then part two is a series of case studies of radical Islamic groups throughout the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia. I haven't decided yet whether I'm on hiatus from all MES or just Palestine-Israel. If I think I can handle this course without lapsing into frustrated/depressed mode (which I'm hoping to avoid this last semester), I'll do it.
On my way out I stopped by Faulkner, but not for long. Although Weinstein is fabulous, and I want to be taking a lit class, I'm more interested in looking at several author's works. Literature of the United States South and South America provides just this opportunity, and includes a number of texts from both the Faulkner and Harlem Renaissance syllabi. Professor Merrim will clearly be a dynamic discussion leader, and she's put a lot of thought into how to balance instructor-facilitated and peer-facilitated learning. As she swooned over each text in the syllabus, she remarked, "I know I'm overflowing with superlatives, but I'm just that excited about all of these texts and our chance to explore their textures together" -- she's into it. She thinks that it's important to have a copy of a text to read, mark-up, and review, and offered by buy the coursepacket for any students who couldn't afford it themselves. She's also going to raffle off a complete set of the courses texts. I've never had a professor offer either of these before, and her investment shines.
British and American Nature Poetry had already ended by this point, so I rushed over to Music and Mind and caught it just as it was breaking up. The syllabus shows a very straight-forward read-and-lecture model for the class, and I'm not interested in using precious course slots for repetitive lectures at this point. I'll save the syllabus for interesting reading later. Although I missed Dreamworlds, DS reported that he enjoyed it, and passed me a syllabus. Were I not so impressed by Islam and the South, I might revisit it Thursday, but it was just edged out of the running.
Revisit: PS 143, CO 142
Edged out: EL 191, AC 161
Nope: EL 171, CG 105
K hour (2:30-3:50 PM)
I'm shopping both third and fourth year Arabic because while I know more Arabic than 3rd year, it's so rusty that it's not readily usable. After an hour of 4th year, though I'm confident it will come back. My vocab is much worse than the other folks in class, but my grammer and speed are both in good shape, and vocab will return with practice. At the same time, third year meets every day while fourth year only meets two days a week (but has daily independent reading, listening and writing assignments), and I need the daily practice -- although the 3rd year class is bigger so I wouldn't actually get to talk that much. Can you tell which way I'm leaning? I do, but I'll go to 3rd year tomorrow just to be sure. I need to find a friend to have a daily arabic commitment with...any takers?
Today we decided that 4th year will meet Mon&Weds, not Tues&Thurs, so K hour is still open for more shopping. The verdict on Islam and Modernity is that Gheissari doesn't lecture well and the syllabus is good but not good enough to hold its own, so it's out (but I'm saving the syllabus for the reading list). On Thursday I'll check out Literary Translation, and maybe shop African American Women Novelists or Computer Science. But I don't really need the CS and I preferred Merrim to Denniston for a Lit. course.
Very likely: AB 70
Revisit: CO 272
Unlikely: CS 17, EL 171
Nope: RS 88-32
P hour (4-6:20 PM)
Colonialism, Culture & Conflict in Ireland was unimpressive -- I don't think Meloy has any idea how she's going to fill 2.5 hours of class, and that's a recipe for unpleasantness and sleepy afternoons. I do have the syllabus, though. And Starr is giving priority to Education and Public Policy concentrators for Public Schools and Politics, which means I'm unlikely to get in, although I'm submitting an interest form just in case.
Unlikely: ED 164
Nope: HI 197-75
7-9 PM
I stopped home for delicious miso soup and an episode of Firefly (my housemates are into it and we're likely naming our house Serenity, so I thought I should know what it's all about) before heading over to the Old-time String Band. And you know what? It's just not worth it. Once we actually start playing, we have a great groove and my banjo playing could improve dramatically, but the prof spent most of the time talking (which I recall from earlier years is his normal pattern) and we only played music for about half and hour. And that's simply not using my time well. So farewell! I shall play music in my suite. Come play with us.
Nope: MU 57
Ad Kan Yom 1
And so it goes. Todays winners seem to be Sondheim, Political Islam, The South and 4th year Arabic, which is a remarkably (and wonderfully) short list considering all my running around.
Comments?
Tomorrow's schedule to follow as soon as I prepare it.