I haven't posted in AGES!!!

[wmariec]

 The semester started this week, and although I wasn't ready to be thrown back into the chaos of school again (especially after the busy summer I've had!), the first week has gone remarkably well.  I'm teaching a film class--Intro to Film Analysis--for the first time ever.  I was really nervous about this assignment because a) I've never taught film before; b) although my minor area is Film Studies, my major area is Art History.  There's a lot of overlap between the two disciplines, but I haven't had nearly as many Film classes as Art History classes, and I was afraid I'd be out of my depth; and c) this is only the third time I've been the "instructor of record" and not a teaching assistant, which is scary in its own right!  But after teaching three classes this week I've realized that I LOVE teaching Film Studies!  And that I'm totally up for the challenge.  I have a great group of students who are not shy about contributing to the discussions, which makes my job much easier.  Plus, I get to watch, read about, and discuss movies!  How much fun is that???  Furthermore, the class's general attitude is much more pleasant.  In Art History classes I've found that students often decide to take the class simply to fulfill one of their Humanities requirements.  They come into the class believing that they'll merely be asked to look at pretty pictures and talk about colors and lines and whether or not they like the works.  WRONG!  They are completely unprepared for the amount of memorization, writing, and historical content in those courses.  The difference in Film Studies (so far) is that the students in my class really like film, and are prepared to analyze and interpret them.  It's refreshing!  I just hope their excitement continues throughout the semester.

If only beginning to write my dissertation was as fun and easy as my teaching assignment...