i registered today for 'open studies' at the university of alberta...
that's right kids. it's official.
mostly i am proud of how decisive i was because that's rare...thank god all the classes i wanted to take weren't offered...it made the choice a LOT easier.
so, what did i choose?
in the fall:
women's studies 201: introduction to women's studies
theoretical foundations of feminist analysis and diversity of debates within feminism.
english 302: critical theories in literature
studies in critical and theorectical currents within literary studies. Context and period focus may vary.
in the winter:
comparative literature 256: introduction to colonial and post-colonial literature
introduction to the comparative study of the modern literatures of asia, africa and latin america (includes the carribbean)
english 221: reading politics: class and ideology
an introduction to the dynamics of class and ideology in literary and other cultural texts; and to the critical texts and the critical concepts and methods key to their study.
go me! i picked rad shit. lots of work and lots of paper writin'
i can hardly wait!!
alice the nerd.
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1 comment:
Wow. Sounds challenging. Lots of writing indeed! Should be really interesting too. I hope you keep us all updated as to what you're reading, etc.
What exactly is "open studies"?
So I've been thinking about your comments about feminism and how the success of some women in a sexist system just makes things worse. Have you read anything by Julia Kristeva?
The point you bring up is a really important one - in my opinion, one of the fundamental questions of our generation. Which is the right route to a more just society: internal change or external revolution? Punk and Marxism say external; but there are strong arguments the other way too. For example, if one woman out of a thousand can succeed in our society, are we justified in asking her to give up her success for the benefit of the others? American culture says no; everyone must fend for themselves. I don't believe these arguments or buy into the "culture of personal responsibility" that Bush wants me to eat, but I call these arguments strong because they work on millions of people.
I'm going off on a tangent here, but I suppose if you mind you can just delete this. I think that this "culture of personal responsibility" and the reduction of state provided services it entails is really just code for a return to feudalism and the breakdown of modern social ethics (what precious little we do have). The truth is that the "other" simply doesn't have the political or economic power to be "responsible" for themselves; this is due in large part the forces of sexism, racism, and ethnocentrism in our society. By allowing one in a thousand women succeed, we delude ourselves into thinking that those women who do not are simply not working hard enough, or are not "morally fit" to succeed.
Sick shit. Sick.
Wow, that was depressing. And probably poorly written, but what the hell. I wish I could take some of those classes you're signed up for; maybe then I would actually be able to figure out if I'm full of shit or not.
It always seems strange not sign my name at the end of a comment, but it's already at the top.
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