Reigstration - Classes, Spring Semester 2010

[thoth_moon]

I registered about an hour and a half ago, and for the first time ever accomplished all the classes I wanted instantaneously, without error or any one of them already being filled and closed.  An auspicious start of the week, I would think XP

So I still have to do the paperwork stuff for Anne's class because that's technically an independent study, so it won't be on the official schedule at the moment but probably will be the week's end.  My other classes for next semester, though, will be:

• Modern China and Japan
• Fundamentals of Spanish I
• Early American Republic
• 20th Century Philosophy
• Teaching of Writing

Modern China and Japan is my only daytime MWF class and my only class on Fridays; Spanish is a class taught in the evenings on Monday and Wednesday for about two hours per session; Early American Republic and Philosophy are taught mid-morning and early afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays; while Teaching of Writing is an almost three hour-long class taught on Thursday nights.  Spanish will probably be the most time-demanding class, and in light of that is worth four credit hours, so I'll be doing what I did last fall when I had Biology and take Anne's class for two credit hours, which suits me fine since I'll only be able to appear in that class on Tuesday nights as opposed to the usual Tuesday and Thursday.  It ought to be a good semester.

But I can't stop thinking about this one so immediately.  Two papers loom due on the 12th and the 13th, but priority today is given (wow, this sounds like an astrology entry in the newspaper) to two assignments due tomorrow: my proposal for the third Faulkner paper, which will be about Absalom, Absalom! (sad: I was really hoping she'd have us do something with Light in August because there's so much that could be done with that book!); and my Philosophy of Technology take-home midterm, which I'm almost done with.  Out of five questions we have to write on three, and while I think I need to go back to my first essay and revise it a little I've finished two of the questions:

• Explain the basic argument for technological determinism and Feenberg's critique of his position.  Evaluate--explain which perspective you find more persuasive and why.
• Borgmann argues that much of the meaning in our lives comes from the focal things and practices that we engage in.  Yet he also argues that technology plays a significant role in our lives and that we need to live with devices in the right balance.  Why is it important to allow technology into our lives, and what does Borgmann think is the right way to integrate devices into our lives?  Illustrate your explanation with an example, preferably one from your experience that was not already discussed in class.  Evaluate--do you think we can actually balance our use of devices in the way Borgmann describes?

Which leaves the last question:

• Some philosophers of technology argue that technologies are not politically neutral but are instead "value-laden," that is, they carry a political value in their very existence.  Explain how Feenberg would support that belief.  Evaluate--does Feenberg present a convincing argument?

There's a lot that can be done with this one, but I think I need to reread the whole Feenberg article (whereas with the first question above I just reread the section entitled, "Technological Determinism") to get a better idea of what to narrow down to and then articulate into an essay.  This one's priority primero this morning, and I'll look over and make any necessary revisions to all three essays tonight before I submit it to WebCT.

In other news, while my progress with the new "Jagamino" chapter's been a little stagnant recently, I'm hoping that'll change soon; in the meantime, I have gotten some other intrinsic writing accomplished, all based around the same idea and I think that collectively that idea is going to be called "Good Afternoon, Vincent Khalili."  It's starting to really show some form and once midterm and proposal have been finished I'll post a bit of it if anyone's curious and wants to give me some feedback.

In the immediate meantime, I'm going to go see poor Emily at the Coffee Break, who had to open this morning without her usual partner in crime, Tatiana, who's probably still sleeping it in and fully drinking up this daylight savings time.  I myself was able to hop out of bed this morning, get ready, eat breakfast, and get to class early--a benefit of the time change, I do believe.  But to reiterate, I'm going to go see her, get something to drink, and get to work on this last midterm question before I have to come back to the school for Exploring Self Reading Writing in a few hours.  Hopefully the last question's been mostly if not completely answered by then!
P.S. It may be obvious to most people reading this from the Western Hemisphere that I didn't mention a pretty big thing that probably marked the weekend of most of my American friends.  I did do things, and I shall elaborate on those when I post the entry about Vincent Khalili.  Until then!