montagnarde1793 | Help me, f-list! (And then a rant, so sorry. >.>)

I can only take one of the following classes next semester and I have no idea which one to take. Any recommendations? Which sound most interesting to you?

ANTH 102: Human Origins
"This course focuses on paleoanthropology and is an introduction to the evolutionary development of humans. We will examine biological relationships between humans and other primates, primate behavior and classification, and the fossil evidence for human evolution. Emphasis will be placed on the methods used in the study of prehistoric human biological and cultural development."

ARTS 305: Architecture of the Enlightenment
"History of architecture and architectural theory from emergence of academic theory in France in latter quarter of 17th century through French Revolution will be covered. Emphasis will be given to central importance of French architectural culture for European architecture as a whole. Significant architects and writers from England, Germany, Italy and Portugal will be covered in detail. Among historical themes covered will be integration of applied sciences and archaeology into architectural theory, meteoric rise of bourgeois culture, philosophies of sensation and rationalism, birth of the police, and 'revolutionary architecture.'"

ARTS 345: Roman Art and Architecture
"All roads lead to Rome. Once the ruler of the entire Mediterranean world, Rome remains a central element in our culture consciousness through its legacy of political, cultural and artistic achievements. This course provides an introduction to the art and architecture of Rome and her empire from its Italic beginnings, through the Republic and into the late Imperial period (8th century B.C.-A.D. 400)."

POLT 136: Understanding Political Community
"This is an introductory course in political theory. It involves a study of classical, and classic, texts of political thought by thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Edmund Burke, and John Stuart Mill. Through an examination of their reflections on the nature of political community, it explores the meaning of concepts such as justice, the good life, liberty, toleration, equality, and political obligation."

POLT 216: THe Political Economy of Advanced Capitalism
"This course is an introduction to comparative political economy, broadly defined as the ways in which the triangular relationship between the state, labor, and capital differs from one advanced capitalist country to another. Thie course will examine the political economies of Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, the United States and Japan, paying particular attention to international economic integration, the position of women and minorities, and challenges to the welfare state and trade unions."

I could also potentially try to get into a class that's already full like "History of Greece," "Greek and Roman Mythology," "History of Medicine," "Deductive Logic," "Intro to International Relations," or "Marxist Theory," but I'm thinking that may not be worth the effort given the choices I already have.

It might also be helpful to know the rest of my (tentative) schedule:

HPRF 111: Historical Performance in Context: Music of France
HIST 132: Jewish History from the Spanish Expulsion to the Present
LATN 102: Introduction to Latin Prose (I'm taking accelerated beginning Latin over Winter Term, which is essentially the month of January.)
A private reading in French, hopefully on something Revolution-related.
And then I'll be continuing my voice and harpsichord lessons, unless by some amazing chance I'm able to get into the chorus for The Magic Flute. (I am auditioning, but the probability of my getting in is rather slim, considering I'll be competing not only against students of the College like myself, but the entire voice department in the Conservatory. :/ )

...

In other news, I finally got a copy of Olivier Blanc's Les hommes de Londres: histoire secrète de la Terreur through the interlibrary loan system. This is a book that, despite having been published as recently as 1989, is not for sale *anywhere* on the internet. Literally. Just *try* to find it. Compare this to Simon Schama's travesty of a book, published in the same year, that one would be hard-pressed *not* to find in any given store. Coincidence? I think not. D:< (Olivier Blanc, for those of you who don't know, is a Robespierriste historian ♥.)

...But I haven't actually had any time to read the above book, because my assigned reading never ends. This weekend alone I've finished Walden Two (that is, I read the last 150 pages or so) and started The Dispossessed (ie, I've read 90 pages so far and have another 100 to go) for my Utopian Thought class, read excerpts from Petrarch and Vergerius and Rabelais for my history class, done about 15 pages of grammar exercises for French, tried to figure out what classes I'm taking next semester, e-mailed three professors and copied 20-odd pages of sheet-music from a score that has to be returned today (I'm still not done with it, either).

Now I still have, as I said, another 100 pages to read for Utopian Thought, another 15 pages or so of music to photocopy, a score to return, a French paper to write, and research to do for my paper on May '68 for a mini-course I was foolish enough to actually enroll in when I could have just gone to the lectures. It's not as if I need any more French credits and it's driving my crazy. But I digress.

I suppose I could say the upside is that there are only 4 more weeks in the semester, but that has a downside too: in those four weeks I have to write another history paper, three more French papers, that paper on May '68, and two more papers for Utopian Thought. Not to mention the vast amounts of reading and practicing I'm going to have to do. It never lets up--and this despite the fact that I'm taking only three relatively easy academic courses. Next semester I'm going to have four, and they'll be harder! *shudders*

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Okay, on the courses: "ARTS 305: Architecture of the Enlightenment" sounds the most awesome, in that I would like to take it myself and therefore as I cannot I wish for you to take it and then post lots and lots about what you find out from it so I can take it by proxy. *cough* But that's a very selfish reason. But hey, it sounds unbelievably awesome and full of interesting information - also, architecture = fun.

"POLT 136: Understanding Political Community" also sounds cool. It sounds like a basic Political Theory class, and I took a really nice one this past summer, and it rocked. Our teacher randomly quoted Saint-Just (positively, which was fun) while discussing the various things. But it really depends on the teacher, and you can end up really hating the class. But it's usually a prerequisite for everything, and it's a good intro class. Prepare for lots of reading and writing, though!

"POLT 216: The Political Economy of Advanced Capitalism" sounds cool too, though not /quite/ as cool as the other two. It's another thing that could really seriously depend on how good the teacher is and what their personality and politics are.

Oooh, will have to keep an eye out for that book...and sounds like you'll be very, very busy. ^^ One gets used to it, though admittedly they don't usually keep all that to the last 4 weeks...good luck with that!

I should also perhaps have mentioned that the professors teaching "Architecture of the Enlightment" and "The Political Economy of Advanced Capitalism" have been recommended to me in particular.

For Architecture of the Enlightment, the main thing making me reluctant to take it is I'm not sure just how interested in architecture I really am--as in, I won't know whether I like it until I know more about it and by then I fear it will be too late. :/

As far as Understanding Political Community goes, the mean reason to take it would be to read writers I wouldn't read on my own--which would be all of them except Rousseau, Plato and Aristotle. Then again, I can't imagine having to read Burke would be the most enjoyable thing I could sign up for. >.>

I hear good things about the professor for Political Economy of Advanced Capitalism, but I guess that's one of those classes where you can't really tell in advance... Like the rest of them. >__<

I don't know what happened, honestly; you can really only find it in libraries now, though there are others of his books that are still findable... Mostly the ones that aren't exactly on the Revolution.

But yes, I'm going to have a lot of work to do. It's rather annoying. I don't have time to do anything Revolution-related anymore. D:

I think both "Architecture of the Enlightenment" and "Roman Art and Architecture" sounds very exciting. You just have to consider whether you're interested in architecture or not. I'd go for it. "Understanding Political Community" also sounds interesting.

Little time, tremendously much to do... I know that feeling -__-; Good luck with everything.

That's precisely the problem; they're all interesting I don't know if I like architecture enough... Thanks though.

And thank you there, as well.

I think "POLT 136: Understanding Political Community" sounds really interesting. That, or "POLT 216: THe Political Economy of Advanced Capitalism." :D

God, you sounds terribly, terribly busy. ♥ Good luck with your workload!

Thank you for your input. I've decided to take Architecture of the Enlightment though--Political Economy of Advanced Capitalism was full and I realized I can and probably will read all the texts in Understanding Political Community on my own, whereas the same is not likely to be true for 18th century architecture.

I am, unfortunately. Thanks!

"ANTH 102: Human Origins" sounds interesting for me (I think, my opinion will not decide). I learnt a little evolution of animals and humans. I like paleoanthropology. This theme is really interesting for me. Maybe because of my geography major.

As I as concerned I don't like achitectureXD I'm studying art history too....
But the lessons depend on teachers. I didn't have this kind of lessons, just similar. I had polilogy lessons. I'm interested in politics in general, but the teacher was very boring....

Thanks for your input. I've decided to take Architecture of the Enlightenment. Hopefully I won't regret it.

Then, I was late XD
I'm sure not XD you are clever, not as me....
just I like to share my love of geography...

It's quite all right. Geography can be quite an interesting subject too.

yes, it depend on teaching (and students, I can speak about it a lotXD) my teachers at university teach intersting things, or they teach geo. in interesting way.....I prefer nature geo.

I regreted art major T_T because of art teachers

Naturally. Though a lot depends on the student as well.

Yes, because you can't teach successfully, if students don't interested in....they don't care how much time you spend with lesson plan >____>

My experiences are bad...
I taught nowadays, I wrote little summary of all.
I give a link: http://citoyennemiyuki.livejournal.com/4806.html

God. That's a lot to be doing. All of those above classes sounded interesting. I think i liked POLT 136: Understanding Political Community above anything else. XD

Hope it gets better. Don't drown now. -_-

Thanks, it is indeed. I've decided to take Architecture of the Enlightenment though--hopefully a choice I won't regret.

Thank you. I'll try not to. >.>

But yeah; Hopefully it will go well for you. I know how it is to be caught in classes i thought were interesting but were horrible.

hahha

that's can't be helped somehow. XD

well good luck and have fun.

Thanks. I don't think it will be a problem, but if it is, I can always switch classes within the first two weeks of the semester.

Help me, f-list! (And then a rant, so sorry. >.>)

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