Random post of topic-hopping
My Methods teacher had a moment of pure geeky win today. :) We're talking about psychological criticism, which inevitably means Freud; specifically, we were going over the id, ego, and superego. And he mentioned how we can compare the id to the Joker (irreverent, impulsive, etc.) and perhaps the superego can be represented by Batman (because of the morality and justice aspect). So I raised my hand and asked, "Does that mean that the ego is Robin?" We eventually came to the conclusion that it was Robin, but specifically the Robin from one of the more recent comics (I wasn't quite following at this point, not being either a comic book reader or a particularly die-hard Batman fan). It was lovely. :) Any time I get to bring someone's inner geek out is a successful day for me.
Methods, by the way, has been upgraded in recent weeks (around the time we started talking about feminist criticism, not surprisingly) from its former position as my least favorite class. It was really only there by default anyway, because I had to take it as a requirement and because something had to be last. But now I've decided that Language Acquisition is my least favorite class this semester. It's not challenging me at all. The information is basic and repetitive, and the teacher (who is used to being an elementary school language instructor) isn't teaching in a way that's stimulating to the college-student mind. I think it's fairly obvious that her style isn't working well for us, but she hasn't done anything yet to change it to better suit the class's needs. It's a necessary course, though, so I bear with it.
Gina brought us a daffodil today! It's sitting in some water on our window. It looks pretty there.
I looked at the course catalog today and figured out what I have left to do for my major, and tentatively planned what I'm going to take next semester. I have two elective English classes left to take, only one of which has to be upper-level, so I can take one each of the remaining semesters and still do my SMP and education requirements without overloading. I'm most interested in the course on Dante, but we'll see what is available when I register. For education classes, I'll definitely be taking Adolescence, because it's not likely to be offered in the spring (gingerrose, take note- you should sign up for this one too if possible) and then I have a choice between Ed Psych and Exceptionality. Either way I'll have to have 3 classes in a row on Tuesday-Thursdays if I get into the Dante class, so neither one is preferable in that sense. It's only a question of if I want to go from 8-2 (with Ed Psych being the 8:00) or 10-4 (with Exceptionality at 2:00). Haven't decided yet.
Interestingly, my SMP has taken a new turn away from what I originally had planned. Before, if you remember, I had an idea for a format (writing a short play) but no topic. Now I have a topic but I'm leaving the format temporarily open. I'm considering doing my SMP on boarding schools and prep schools. I would be looking at the actual circumstances of these schools (both in the last few centuries and today) and real-life testimonies of students who attended them. I would also plan to look at portrayals of boarding schools in literature, drama, and film (the main segment of my project, since it's an English SMP). I might even go a bit into the gender dynamics of specifically single-sex prep schools, to incorporate the Gender Studies Minor that Never Was. I do not know yet if I would focus solely on American schools, or international ones as well.
I like this idea because it incorporates almost everything I've studied- English, Education Studies, Theater/Film/Media Studies (with the film component), and Women/Gender/Sexuality Studies. (It could even be construed to include religious studies, with the prevalence of Catholic and other Christian-affiliated boarding schools, although that's stretching it since I studied Hinduism and not Christianity.) It would probably be a research paper, although I wouldn't rule out exploring the subject in a creative medium. I'm mostly latching onto it because it's a concret topic idea, and it makes me feel more at ease as the time to actually start working on it draws near.
I'd welcome any feedback you can offer on this topic. :)
Sarah
Methods, by the way, has been upgraded in recent weeks (around the time we started talking about feminist criticism, not surprisingly) from its former position as my least favorite class. It was really only there by default anyway, because I had to take it as a requirement and because something had to be last. But now I've decided that Language Acquisition is my least favorite class this semester. It's not challenging me at all. The information is basic and repetitive, and the teacher (who is used to being an elementary school language instructor) isn't teaching in a way that's stimulating to the college-student mind. I think it's fairly obvious that her style isn't working well for us, but she hasn't done anything yet to change it to better suit the class's needs. It's a necessary course, though, so I bear with it.
Gina brought us a daffodil today! It's sitting in some water on our window. It looks pretty there.
I looked at the course catalog today and figured out what I have left to do for my major, and tentatively planned what I'm going to take next semester. I have two elective English classes left to take, only one of which has to be upper-level, so I can take one each of the remaining semesters and still do my SMP and education requirements without overloading. I'm most interested in the course on Dante, but we'll see what is available when I register. For education classes, I'll definitely be taking Adolescence, because it's not likely to be offered in the spring (gingerrose, take note- you should sign up for this one too if possible) and then I have a choice between Ed Psych and Exceptionality. Either way I'll have to have 3 classes in a row on Tuesday-Thursdays if I get into the Dante class, so neither one is preferable in that sense. It's only a question of if I want to go from 8-2 (with Ed Psych being the 8:00) or 10-4 (with Exceptionality at 2:00). Haven't decided yet.
Interestingly, my SMP has taken a new turn away from what I originally had planned. Before, if you remember, I had an idea for a format (writing a short play) but no topic. Now I have a topic but I'm leaving the format temporarily open. I'm considering doing my SMP on boarding schools and prep schools. I would be looking at the actual circumstances of these schools (both in the last few centuries and today) and real-life testimonies of students who attended them. I would also plan to look at portrayals of boarding schools in literature, drama, and film (the main segment of my project, since it's an English SMP). I might even go a bit into the gender dynamics of specifically single-sex prep schools, to incorporate the Gender Studies Minor that Never Was. I do not know yet if I would focus solely on American schools, or international ones as well.
I like this idea because it incorporates almost everything I've studied- English, Education Studies, Theater/Film/Media Studies (with the film component), and Women/Gender/Sexuality Studies. (It could even be construed to include religious studies, with the prevalence of Catholic and other Christian-affiliated boarding schools, although that's stretching it since I studied Hinduism and not Christianity.) It would probably be a research paper, although I wouldn't rule out exploring the subject in a creative medium. I'm mostly latching onto it because it's a concret topic idea, and it makes me feel more at ease as the time to actually start working on it draws near.
I'd welcome any feedback you can offer on this topic. :)
Sarah