American Studies: Intro to American Pop Culture. The next two books we’re reading should be interesting, too: this one and this. Whaddya think?
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I think I wish I could teach an American studies class, but it’s never going to happen… Also, that it sounds like a kick ass class! Let me know how it goes. Maybe you’ll get some good conversations out of these readings?
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Well, the “conversations” will be typed, since it’s an online course, but we’ll see how it goes!
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For some reason, “online course” makes me sad! But let me know how it goes, none the less!
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You could also do a MOOC?
[UPDATE: posted before reading “‘online course’ makes me sad”]
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I’m not against online courses for their own sake… I’m more worried about the shift from smaller colleges and universities putting their humanities online at the expense of jobs (for obvious and selfish reasons). As far as just having a class, online, for anyone to take, I don’t think that’s a totally bad idea, as it’s extending the concept of a free university. I’m just opposed to it becoming the primary means of obtaining an education.
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I once blue sky dreamed with my wife of starting a teaching entity to teach humanities (especially classics) to home schooled people and others not getting it in normal schools. Then I thought about all of the regulations involved and parents…
I’d love to use my MA in Humanities to teach people the things that I love but folks don’t want to pay for these things as much anymore and the system doesn’t want to allow third party classroom services.
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Some parents pay a surprisingly competitive rate for after school teachers. It may be more common outside of metro areas that sometimes have a deeper bench of academic resources.
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What regulations did you encounter?
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Nothing super specific, just rules for educating minors in California seem to be a nightmare of regulation.
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Every thought about adjuncting? I known I rail about it constantly, but not in the sense of having someone take time out of their regular lives to share their knowledge with others, just in the sense that people who want full time jobs are having to take them… I think that people who want to teach, but don’t want to go through the BS of academia should be doing the adjuncting, frankly.
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I only have an MA in “Interdisciplinary Humanities,” not a doctorate. That said, here in the Bay Area, there are a plethora of people adjuncting.
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The plethora of phds adjuncting is probably more of a problem than you only having a MA… I’ve known folks with MAs adjuncting, but it’s the competition that would make it harder. Couldn’t hurt to ask around, though, I’d guess.
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Agreeing with @anon61221983 that adjuncting is fun. Your other experience and professional qualifications might make you more competitive than you expected … especially if you like helping undergraduates discover that they enjoy learning.
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Speaking of formal edjumacation, http://explorer.opensyllabusproject.org somewhat interesting compilation of assigned books across all subjects. I’ve read around 30 of the top 200, gave myself credit for the #1 Strunk and White, but probably haven’t looked at that many of its pages lol. Stuff on there that has been long on my someday list are Joyce and Descartes. #5 on the list was a surprise to me, probably should push that higher on my someday list as well.
Gearing up the family for a trip to Italy so rereading my childhood favorite D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths with my tween and also giving George O’Connors series of Greek god graphic novels a spin with my younger.
I have a stack of “Pikketys” staring at me, but most likely to read The Martian next and then GoT if GRRM ever releases the gorram thing.
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About to delve into Hobsbawm’s Uncommon People, I think. I did manage to get through Habermas’ Structural transformation of the public sphere and re-read the Benjamin essay The work of art in the age of its technological reproducibility last week.
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Wow. What do you think of the Benjamin essay?
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It’s excellent of course. I’m still mulling it over, as reflecting on it is part of the chapter I’m writing. I think he saw some possibilities in breaking with the notion that value in art rests only in its connections to tradition in authenticity. I also think he gave working class consumer far more credit than Adorno ever did. I think it took a while before anything that he mentioned (ground up cultural expressions) could really come to pass.
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Was he right that reproducible art ended up based more on political practice than dependent on ritual?
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Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard
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