Happy Tuesday!
[Before reading on I must give you a warning. You will probably need 5-10 minutes to read this post. It is fairly long. If you don't have much time maybe read 1/2 now, and the other 1/2 later. :) ]
I have officially completed 2 days of classes now. My schedule consists of the following:
Architecture: From Antiquity to Enlightenment (Archit.) M/T/TH plus a tutorial on W
Modern Scottish History (MoSH) T/TH plus a tutorial on M
Celtic Civilisations (Celt Civ.) M/T/TH plus a tutorial (can't sign up for a day yet..)
So it should be an interesting semester when I learn more about the culture that surrounds me. The courses are set up quite differently than the states and there are some differences between the courses themselves.
Here are the differences from Stetson :
1) Grades: a 40 is passing, 60% is good, and 70% is an A+.. so an 80% or above is virtually unheard of. Your grade is comprised of a proposal/rough draft, an essay, and an exam. My architecture class requires a presentation during tutorials.
2) You may be wondering what a tutorial is..? Well it is a small group you meet with weekly or bi-weekly (8-14 students) and have discussion over particular topics and readings. The lectures are not mandatory, just suggested, but the tutorials are mandatory . If you are absent from 3 out of 10 without an excuse you will fail the course. The tutorials are lead by various people in the department depending on what day you sign up for.
3) The courses are not taught my one person in particular. Each course has a course organiser and then there are other professors from the department that come in and speak during particular weeks who are experts on that time frame or topic.This varies among courses. In Celt Civ. there are 3 lecturers, MoSH has 5, and Archit. has 1 guest lecturer.
I like all three of these differences. I mean the grade differences don't really matter I guess. I like the idea of big assignments that require a lot of attention rather than small assignments and exams. And I'm so very glad to know a 70% is way above satisfactory before receiving an essay back. Stetson doesn't really need tutorials since it is a small school and has conversation within classes, but if I were going to a large school I would like to know if I am interpreting the information correctly. I love the idea of various lecturers. I think it is genius to have the experts on particular areas teach on those areas even if they are not the course facilitator. But Stetson's professors do a good job of bringing in guest speakers and what not. I think it would be cool for professors to change classes in order to teach that week on their specific field. Just something to think about...
So my first class was Celt Civ yesterday. We are going to be learning about what makes people Celtic and looking into a debate among modern scholars about the term Celtic. Apparently the term comes from Greeks and Romans that had a biased view of Celts as being Barbaric so the term could be derogatory. By the end of the class we will have our own idea about which side of the argument we are on. I think I already have an idea of what my conclusion will be though... I won't go into it just yet, but maybe later. The lecturer for first 7 weeks is a man. He seems very nice and is very soft spoken. He has a slight accent but is easy to understand. The course organizer is a woman who has a lovely accent and personality. I'm ready for her to teach the last 3 weeks because she seems fun. Maybe she will lead my tutorial. This class was held in a lecture room that had roller chairs with little arm desk things. Then it is held in a different room on Tuesdays, and a different room from that on Thursdays.. Odd..
My second class was Archit. I am really looking forward to this class. I was nervous at first because I walked in to a huge lecture hall with what looked like 300 students. Luckily it was only 150. I know it is totally random for a Marketing major to take an architecture class but... I just love architecture. Especially after seeing so many beautiful monuments around Europe in person the past month. The professor was wearing a suit, so he seemed like he may be a bit more uptight than the Celt Civ professors. Then he started to speak about the class.. and while I could understand what he was saying (he speaks very clearly and at a nice pace), I couldn't understand what he was saying.. He used some words that exceeded my humble vocabulary. But he was so passionate about structures and was able to put into words what I couldn't when trying to describe the awe I saw in some buildings to Julia. He had his presentation perfectly planned out with a detailed PowerPoint and notes that he was reading from. My business mind kicked in, and I started thinking of ways he could improve his speech: "Don't read from the paper", "get out from behind the podium", "ask some questions". Glad that I have paid attention in my classes! Then it just kinda hit me.. this man is teaching about architecture. Of course he is a structured and planned presenter. Everything he said really was good, just needs some pizazz. Anyways, at the end of class he shocked me a bit. He said "You are all here because you find a degree useful and beneficial toward your future. You think it is going to get you a job. Well, degrees are all political rhetoric. University is about expanding the capabilities of your mind. Out of all of you in this room some of you will go on to do great things. How do you differentiate yourself from the pack? You separate yourself by being analytical and thinking about what employers want out of an employee." I thought this was great advice to give on the first day to a room full of first years. I wish I would've started thinking like that first year instead of second. This will be a good class I think.
My last class started today and it MoSH. The professor teaching this class left the best impression on me. He was so enthusiastic about Scotland and the subject. He already presented us with so much information because he was just so excited. He has a great accent. I thought he was British, but turns out he is originally from Ontario, Canada. Interesting, huh?! He is an older man with a booming personality. He used lots of hand gestures and got me excited about the course. We are going to be studying the post-Culloden times up until the Great War (WWI). If you want to know what post-Culloden means, I'll have to let you know after Thursday's lecture! I am just ready to learn more about this area.. I realized I know nothing about Scotland's history or government.. so I'm excited to learn something completely new to me.
As of right now I am extremely excited about classes and can't wait to see what all I learn.. I don't have too many expectations because I learned earlier in this trip, it is best not to have expectations. But I am just planning on making the most of it, and gaining some knowledge that I bring back to the States.
Sorry if you are tired of reading by this point. I didn't want to leave anything out. I hope you have a fantastic day and enjoyed learning about the various courses at the University of Edinburgh. Tune in next time to hear about the food! That should be more interesting.
Til next time I eat something scrumptous,
Alyssa
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