first week of class

Here are the courses I'm taking this spring. I wrote my comments on it after the first week in italics:

The Birth of Christianity (3). An analysis of the origin of the Christian Church and the earliest stages of its expansion with particular emphasis on the problems evident in the shift from a Jewish to a Gentile framework. Paul's role and contribution in defining and resolving the issues will be considered in detail and evaluated in the light of subsequent events. This one is actually going to be taken from the female perspective, focusing on women of the Jewish and Christian traditions. I'm pretty excited to focus on the Old Testament, since I've done a lot of work with women in the New Testament.

80 Social Theory and Cultural Diversity (3). Introduction to basic paradigms of thinking about cultural difference (race, gender, nationality, religion, etc.). The course encourages students to examine the ways the paradigms shape how we act, think, and imagine as members of diverse cultures. I'm still unpacking what this class will actually be about. The teacher seems EXCELLENT - really funny, captivating, and insightful. I'll get back to you on the actual CONTENT of the course, it's still pretty unclear to me.

Religion in American Law (3). Prerequisite, junior, senior, or graduate standing. An exploration of the position of religion in American legal and social theory, with particular focus on jurisprudence under the First Amendment. I'm pretty excited for this one, I think this is my most exciting class at this point. It'll be looking at religion in a totally different way than I have before, a more modern look. Basically, it'll be taught as a class from law school, including the Socratic method (yikes) but the professor promises the work will be worth it. We'll be reading every Supreme Court case that has concerned religion and writing a legal brief for each. Seems like a lot of work but I'm really looking forward to it.

Italian Literature of the Renaissance I: the Quatrocento (3). Prerequisites, ITAL 15 or 21, or equivalent. A study of the major figures of Italian Humanism, Latin and vernacular, from Salutati to Poliziano. This class is with grad students and is in Italian, so needless to say, I'm a little nervous. I'm taking it with Jake, which will be fun, but is also nerve wraking. The professor is a sweet old man and I think I can learn a lot from him.

Introduction to Language (3). A survey of the many aspects of human language, including the history of language, similarities and differences among languages, language and culture, dialects, writing systems, child language acquisition, animal "languages," and the use of computers in analyzing languages. Linguistic methods used to describe and relate languages. Well, I don't have high hopes for this one. I hope it is interesting but I've only heard bad things about it. However, I have to take it (it's my last requirement) and at least I'm taking it with my roommate, Kelly, so hopefully it will be bearable.

I'm also taking an aerobics class to complete a PE requirement...blech...but they will be good workouts, I'm sure. Pretty good courseload, I think.

I'm still working on getting my pictures online; I have to find the software for my digital camera since my computer's hard drive failed. That'll be a project for tomorrow (off! Yay MLK!) before I crack down for some good old hard work. I saw the movie Garden State tonight, which was excellent. It's left me thinking a bit -- anyone should check it out, it's kinda an interesting look at life...anyway, I really enjoyed it - more than any other movie I've seen recently.

I'm reading Blue Like Jazz at the suggestion of a friend of mine. The subtitle is "Nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality." Well, first off, that's false - the guy is a Christian and writes with a pretty clear bias (but who doesn't?) but it's a beautiful read. I like the style a lot even though I don't like a lot of his points, and I don't like how he tries to hide his bias under the subtitle. He's got an agenda but it's still provoking very interesting ideas about modern Christianity. I'm only a few chapters in, I'll let you know how it goes.

I've really enjoyed webcamming with everyone this week. It's such a great form of communication, and it interestingly forces conversation in a way being in the physical presence of someone doesn't. While there's no substitution for physical nearness, it's still easy to get caught up and miss just TALKING, like these conversations I've had. It's just been great.

Well, I better get to bed. I don't want Jack accusing me of staying up too late again =)