In the Coming Quarter

I just realized that registration for Spring quarter is March 1st (at least for me--being a senior I register on the first day, natch). I spent about an hour going through course descriptions and timetables to see what I might want to take in the next to last quarter in my undergraduate schooling (gulp). I've decided that for next quarter I'll be taking:

1. Young Adult Literature

The text list doesn't seem to be set in stone yet, but it's certain that we'll be reading Twilight (ugh), The Book Thief, Speak, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie!), and a few undetermined others. I'm stoked because my senior-seminar and anime class friend Rachel is taking it with me, so it should be a great class.

2. Introduction to Language

This is the dreaded course of the English major. Most English majors hate that we have to take a sentence diagramming, husher and velar memorizing, fact-based course. I'm trying to be optimistic about it, and I think I know a few people in the class so...hopefully it won't be so bad. Maybe I'll learn something really interesting about the ways language has developed, and the cross-cultural differences in communication. That could be cool.

3. "Walking" (the amazing Fairhaven College class)

I found out about this course this morning as I browsed through the Fairhaven offerings for the Spring. Here is the wonderful description written by the professor:

"We rise from war to walk across the earth around our house both stunned that sun can shine so brightly after all our pain" —Audre Lorde

 

To walk may be an act of survival. Or it may be a pilgrimage, a saunter, a stroll. Or merely the cheapest and most available way to get from here to there. It may be forced or chosen, an act of protest or unity. One step at a time, we will explore the literature of walking (poems, stories, songs, essays, journals), write our own walking narratives and songlines, and take weekly excursions afoot. We will also examine the motion of walking, and how the cadence and rhythm of walking shape what we see, how we think, and the pace at which we experience the world around (and underneath) us. There are historic walks and marches to consider, sometimes for freedom or peace, sometimes at gunpoint, and sometimes as a means to exploration, discovery, or cross-cultural encounters. We will spread out and explore the many diverse perspectives on walking, historical and contemporary, using the class as a place to come together, to share our discoveries, and to see what other paths are out there. Our group walking excursions will take us through alleys, forest paths, city streets, streams, and along beaches. We will also take a 3-day walk in mid-to-late May, learning by experience what it means to walk for a long time. There will be weekly writings, a fair amount of reading, and lots of discussion and walking.

 

Texts: WANDERLUST: A HISTORY OF WALKING, by Solnit; THE LONG WALK, by Rawicz; ANNAPURNA: A WOMAN’S PLACE, by Blum; PLANETWALKER, by Francis.

 

Credit/Evaluation: Presence in class; completion of weekly writing assignments (poems, songs, personal essays, reflections, event maps); active participation in discussions on readings and in group work; completion of a Walking Essay, a Three-Day Walk Project (including a map, journal, reflection, creative response, and presentation), and a Group Walk Reflection; taking all six class walks and a three-day walk; and marching in at least one group walk or march.

So yeah, I emailed the professor right away to see if I could get into the class (not being a Fairhaven college student I needed an override to get in, and they're highly competitive). I tried to write the most compelling and articulate email I could, being careful to explicitly explain why I wanted to take the class. Suffice it to say, he let me in right away! So "Walking" is my third course!


And the best part? I don't have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays!


And I've also decided to take the 100 series of French over the summer. So...that's an entire year of college-level French in 9 weeks. I'm so excited!!