Hello my lovelies! Sorry it has taken me so long to post something new. Things have been extra hectic around Camp Deni-doo. But I'm loving being here, and doing all of the fun things that they have to offer. Eating snagels at The Bandersnatch, and last night the Dating Doctor, David Coleman, spoke. He's really funny. You know the movie Hitch? Yeah, it's based off of him. Kind of epic! Innyhoo. We get to start scheduling classes for next semester in the next couple of weeks. So excited! To show you how excited, I am going to post the descriptions of A BUNCH of classes that I want to take. haha. Here goes. Don't be afraid to give me your opinion!
1)
Women in Literature: This course brings together a range of diverse texts that share a common interest—the exploration of women’s experiences. Our priorities here are two-fold. On the one hand, we are studying “Woman” as a monolithic identity—a gendered Body with common gendered experiences. On the other hand, we are examining the heterogeneity of women’s lives across “races,” cultures, nation states, sexualities, beliefs, and so on. As Chandra Talpade Mohanty writes, “The relationship between ‘Woman’—a cultural and ideological composite Other constructed through diverse representational discourses . . . and ‘women’—real, material subjects of their collective histories—is one of the central questions the practice of feminist scholarship seeks to address” (“Under Western Eyes”). Through literature, theory, and visual media, we will explore 1) how women have shaped the world, 2) how the world has shaped women, and 3) what kinds of connections and conclusions we can draw as a result, while necessarily bearing in mind the crucial relationship/disjuncture between “Woman” and “women.” We will also look at the interdisciplinary field known as “women’s studies” and use our knowledge and understanding(s) of this field to read these texts. Ultimately, we will counter historically androcentric discourses through women’s voices, personal narratives, and perspectives.
2)
Nature & Literary Imagination: Even though the natural world and what it means to humans was the focus of much ancient lore, it is probable that by the time Columbus landed in America with notions of “discovering” a new environment, that environment seemed simply rich for the taking, ripe for exploiting in the service of human beings. It is doubtful that he and his men thought much more about the environment or nature than how it could serve, or at least not hinder, them and probably not at all about the “right relationship” between humans and nature. Now, 500+ years later—and especially since quantum physics--college courses such as ENGL/ENVS 291 ask students to think a great deal about that relationship. More specifically, ENGL/ENV 291 asks students to expand their scientific perspectives to include views from the literary imagination (mostly American, and mostly somewhat contemporary), to explore the light that literary artists shed on the human-nature relationship. The focus of this course is that exploration, intending to lead each student closer to his or her own studied “truth” about the relationship of human beings to (the rest of) the natural world. Authors studied will include Frost, Oliver, Kooser, Hawthorne, Twain, Hemingway, Silko, Kingsolver.
This one is cross-listed as an Environmental Studies course, so if I do decide to take it and can get in, Amber and I may be in it together!
3) Children's Literature: “Children’s literature” is a tricksy little phrase. Does it suggest a story written by a child? A story with particular qualities (usually of plot or vocabulary) that could be read by a child? A story written by an adult but meant to be read by a child? A story that a child actually chooses to read? These and other permutations are where we will begin our semester, and we’ll get to know each other through some good speculation on the relationship between language, image, artist, and audience. We’ll get out in the open the common bias that the study of children’s literature cannot be intellectually rich or nuanced, and will spend some time “studying the study of children’s literature,” positioning it among the disciplines of education, psychology, art, and literary criticism. We’ll share many familiar short works from the second half of the 20th century, including Goodnight Moon, Make Way for Ducklings, Miss Nelson is Missing!, Where the Wild Things Are, Matilda, A Million Fish...More or Less, A Chair for My Mother, and Bedtime for Frances, and some longer books including Andrew Clements’ Frindle, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, and Louis Sachar’s Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Shared multimedia texts will include several Disney films, Marlo Thomas’ Free to Be...You and Me, and animated shorts from the good people at Schoolhouse Rock. We’ll visit local public libraries and bookstores, and seek the insights of authors, illustrators, librarians, and teachers in the area. Our investigations may include the relationship between text and image; the process of writing, publishing, selling, and displaying works for children; the representation of teachers and schools in children’s books; awards for writing and illustrating; the determination of reading skill levels; the presence (or perception) of strong political and moral ideologies; the depiction of races, genders, and family structures; and the Disney company as imagineer and merchandiser of texts for children. This is one I'm SUPER excited for, and really hoping that I can take. The professor who will be teaching it is supposed to be really good. Every person that I've met since coming to Denison that has had him has said that I HAVE to take a class with him.
4) Introduction to Photography: Introduction to Photography: The emphasis of this introductory photography course is to give students a strong foundational background in photography, as well as familiarize students with a new way of thinking about creating images, articulating personal artistic vision and participating as an art maker in a studio class dynamic. Students will be exposed to a wide variety of technical and aesthetic concerns involved in making photographs including; film-less photography, principles of darkroom image creation, camera handling, digital file management, Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, Adobe Photoshop CS5, basic digital photo manipulation, composition and development of a photographic vision.
5) Partnership and Politics (QS-101). A survey of the legal regulation of sexuality and gender in the 19th and 20th centuries and the emergence of modern civil rights movements of sexual minorities. This course will focus on the history, strategies, conflicts, and issues associated with these political and social movements. This is a Queer Studies class, which I think would be really interesting to take.
6) Imagining(beyond)the body: Transformation of bodies happens in a wide variety of ways--some of which are deemed natural, some are socially sanctioned, while others are disciplined, punished, and even pathologized. Thinking about transformation brings up issues of identity, sexual and gender politics, (bio)ethics, human and civil rights, technology, as well as media culture. Moreover, the transformation of individual bodies is inextricably bound up with the (trans) formation of bodies of knowledge, institutional bodies, and social bodies. Indeed, across scholarly disciplines, the very categories of the human, personhood, embodiment are in the process of being redefined (ie: transformed). Using readings, films, and discussions, this course will critically examine the ways in which various forms of bodily transformation are understood, experienced, and practiced in contemporary western culture. This class will engage students in a critical examination of transformation in multiple senses: we will look at the their implications and ramifications (cultural, social, political, and ethical) of bodies out of bounds, deviance, mutations, hybrids, transgressions and transformations and the ways feminist scholars and activists--and popular culture--are addressing these issues.
7) Film Aesthetics and Analysis (CINE-104). An introductory study of the dominant theatrical medium of the 20th century. Critical analysis of narrative, documentary, animation, and experimental cinema. An introduction to basic scholarly and evaluative approaches to film and video art. Screenings, readings, and critical papers.
Woohoo! And I'm done with the slight spazziness. Although, I do feel as though I may have missed a few. Oh well. Give me your opinion!
