aaaah! i need a drink...
so i just finished my first seminar and i am officially ready to have a breakdown/freak out. i'm taking "seminar 19: christian scholasticism and thomas aquinas." wasn't my first choice; only taking it 'cause i've got to finish up the silly medieval philosophy requirement and, well, this was the only course around that could do it. well, the only seminar, that is, and i really had no wish to take a tutorial where it would be just me and my tutor, blabbing about philosophy for an hour. hah, right. but i digress. walked into my class with my classmate, bo.... who turns out to be my only classmate. our prof is quite entertaining and the like, but this is philosophy, and this is scary stuff. the first question: 'so what do you know about aquinas?' ... blank stare from me. 'um... nothing.' the second question: 'so what do you know about aquinas' life? pool your thoughts between the two of you.' hah. yeah. right. 'and what do you know about the summa theologicae?' uh.... 'right, then. well, let's take a look at the first question, shall we? his first question should call to mind some aristotle... jamila, you've read the metaphysics. can you tell me about them?' 'uh... uh.... actually, it's been about a year and a half since i've read those....' um, right. so it was more or less bo and our prof discussing all of this lovely business and me furiously scribbling notes. though towards the end i suppose it got a wee bit better when we did our line-by-line analysis of the work... but still. sigh. not an auspicious start.
i suppose, though, that i am being overly difficult upon myself. in my defence, it has been over 2 semesters since i last took philosophy; make that ancient philosophy, spring 2005 with walsh. take that back; it's been practically 2 years, and i'm not a philosophy major. philosophy courses require a very deliberate sort of mindset and the like, and while i can sit and analyzes positions of power and, i dunno, systems of oppression, discussing whether or not the existence of god is self-evident really hasn't been a priority. so, to rectify my ignorance (which i'm vaguely ashamed of; 12-odd years of catholic education and i can't offer a word of knowledge on the great figure of st. thomas aquinas), i have requested 3 secondary sources on aquinas, and that shall be my weekend ready. jolly-o. but i do think i need a drink. perhaps a glass of wine. we shall see.
on the upside, i've finished northanger abbey and now i have the task of composing a 2000 word essay devoted to arguing whether or not the novel is "purely a satire on the Gothic novel." again, quite lovely, although a bit of an unimaginative topic. it's okay... i've flagged and taken notes and the like, so i'm sure that i can compose something. it does feel a bit rote, so i shall do my best to insert what i can, where i can. once that is complete, i can launch into boccaccio's the decameron and start thinking about my own tale. none of this is due until friday, however, so maybe i might put it aside for a wee bit and focus on dear ol' aquinas. once again, we shall see.
dinner starts soon and i suppose i'm hungry -- all that brain power and the like. maybe i'll change before i go out. it was sunny today, with blue skies, but i didn't go out like a silly little girl. i thought i would finish reading instead. duty over pleasure, of course. hopefully tomorrow will be just as fine. i have nothing to do tomorrow; no classes, no tutorials, no seminars. however, i have learned that the sociology department is running a lecture series this term, the first entitled, "asynchonicity within dual earner couples: an unequal and negative externality for family time," and to be given this coming sunday, so i'm quite excited about that. the one that i really want to hear, however, is given during third week: division of domestic labor and women's human capital." so, therefore, it seems as though i shall be able to get my fix of sociology while still remaining faithful to my philosophy and literature and the like. loveliness, completely. and then, hopefully, by the weekend i can get out of this room and venture forth into town, perhaps get into a wee bit of a trouble (a wee bit of trouble, so don't fear. knowing me, this would mean finding the museum of modern art or some other such nonsense, or perhaps throwing a frisbee about university parks). anyway. i think i hear people going to dinner, so i think that i shall go forth myself to see what sort of masterpiece (*cough cough*) the lovely dining hall establishment has thrown together. until anon....
i suppose, though, that i am being overly difficult upon myself. in my defence, it has been over 2 semesters since i last took philosophy; make that ancient philosophy, spring 2005 with walsh. take that back; it's been practically 2 years, and i'm not a philosophy major. philosophy courses require a very deliberate sort of mindset and the like, and while i can sit and analyzes positions of power and, i dunno, systems of oppression, discussing whether or not the existence of god is self-evident really hasn't been a priority. so, to rectify my ignorance (which i'm vaguely ashamed of; 12-odd years of catholic education and i can't offer a word of knowledge on the great figure of st. thomas aquinas), i have requested 3 secondary sources on aquinas, and that shall be my weekend ready. jolly-o. but i do think i need a drink. perhaps a glass of wine. we shall see.
on the upside, i've finished northanger abbey and now i have the task of composing a 2000 word essay devoted to arguing whether or not the novel is "purely a satire on the Gothic novel." again, quite lovely, although a bit of an unimaginative topic. it's okay... i've flagged and taken notes and the like, so i'm sure that i can compose something. it does feel a bit rote, so i shall do my best to insert what i can, where i can. once that is complete, i can launch into boccaccio's the decameron and start thinking about my own tale. none of this is due until friday, however, so maybe i might put it aside for a wee bit and focus on dear ol' aquinas. once again, we shall see.
dinner starts soon and i suppose i'm hungry -- all that brain power and the like. maybe i'll change before i go out. it was sunny today, with blue skies, but i didn't go out like a silly little girl. i thought i would finish reading instead. duty over pleasure, of course. hopefully tomorrow will be just as fine. i have nothing to do tomorrow; no classes, no tutorials, no seminars. however, i have learned that the sociology department is running a lecture series this term, the first entitled, "asynchonicity within dual earner couples: an unequal and negative externality for family time," and to be given this coming sunday, so i'm quite excited about that. the one that i really want to hear, however, is given during third week: division of domestic labor and women's human capital." so, therefore, it seems as though i shall be able to get my fix of sociology while still remaining faithful to my philosophy and literature and the like. loveliness, completely. and then, hopefully, by the weekend i can get out of this room and venture forth into town, perhaps get into a wee bit of a trouble (a wee bit of trouble, so don't fear. knowing me, this would mean finding the museum of modern art or some other such nonsense, or perhaps throwing a frisbee about university parks). anyway. i think i hear people going to dinner, so i think that i shall go forth myself to see what sort of masterpiece (*cough cough*) the lovely dining hall establishment has thrown together. until anon....
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posted by jamila at
5:20 PM
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