Happy Thanksgiving! It occurred to me that as I contemplated topics for this blog that I did not ever once write about my classes for the semester. Well, considering that the semester is almost over and I'm on a mini-break for Thanksgiving, I might as well take advantage of my time off and write benevolent comments about each of my classes. Just kidding, I actually am really enjoying my semester so much so that I'm taking 6 classes. Count em'!
The Social Contract and Its Discontents:
Course Description:"This seminar will engage
selected articulations and criticisms of social contract theory in
Europe from the mid-17th century to the early Th. It will attend in
particular to differences between the three classic expressions of
consent theory--Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau--as well as to differences
between significant challenges to these earlier notions of a social
contract. The latter may include writings by Hume, Burke,
Wollstonecraft, Marx and Freud, among others. (PT)"
This counts as a philosophy course for me despite the fact that it is technically a class in the political science department As you can tell by the authors and texts we have read and will be reading for the remainder of the semester, this class is steeped in philosophy. Yet, because it is a political science class its taught in a slightly different manor from my usual philosophy seminars. There is much more focus on practicality and relating the lessons to one's life. Why are we able to trust the other drivers on the road not to drive down the wrong side of the road? The miracles of everyday life that we barely spend a second thinking about are all reflective of the contracts we have between human beings. We organize and interact with underlying rules that ultimately form social contracts. This class uses the works of famous philosophers to elucidate these moments and remind us of the progress that we have made in society.
Policy Disaster
Investigates the causes of large-scale policy
disasters, examining the role of ideology, psychology, organization
design and political incentives. Examples may be drawn from the Iraq
War, Bay of Pigs, Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Financial crisis, Shuttle
Challenger disaster. economic development policy, privatization, and
the Great Society. (CP / AP)
This class has a ton of reading and is largely depressing, but I still enjoy it. Each week we read a book on a different policy disaster. Last week we read Spying Blind about counter intelligence and more, specifically the role of the FBI and CIA leading up to September 11th. There are some common trends that emerged in the course of the semester, one of which I will share with you. For the most part, people tend to blame individuals for a failure. However, blaming individuals is usually not the right answer and typically an easy solution. WIth this belief, there is no need for reform. You can simply say that had there been the right people at the right time, this wouldn't have happened. Well, in the case of September 11th and the Challenger Launch Decision, it was simply a confluence of events that allowed for the failure. The structures normalized risk and any one person couldn't have changed things so easily. Most of the time, a large overhaul is needed for reform. Depressing, but true solutions are not so easy.
Spinoza and German Idealism:
In this seminar we would like
to study the philosophical dialogue between Spinoza and the German
Idealists. They have enough in common to invite such a dialogue, and
enough in opposition to make it fascinating. We will be particularly
interested in their agreements and conflicts about the following
issues: How should a philosophical system begin?; Rationalism and the
denial of brute facts; Self-Negation; Teleology; The Nature of
Intuitive Knowledge; Necessitarianism and Freedom; Self-Consciousness;
‘Acosmism’; Human Dignity.
This is an extremely challenging and interesting class. It's different than a majority of the classes I have taken in philosophy because it talks about the dialogue between philosophers. I've learned about lesser-knowns, but nonetheless equally important and influential philosophers. I wish I could copy and pay some quotes from this lecture because they are simply mind-blowing. The class i taught by two professors, Melamed and Forester. They are both great. Forester is an expert on Kant and Melamed is an expert on Spinoza. It's nice to have both professors to provide different perspectives and share their views and interpretations on the arguments we read.
Introduction to Psychology
This course surveys all the
major areas of scientific psychology, including the physiological bases
of behavior; sensation and perception; learning, memory and cognition;
developmental, social, and personality psychology; and psychopathology.
It's a basic intro level class, but its a nice change from my typical courses. We learn about neurons firing, developmental learning theories, and personality theories. I feel like I have a ton of knowledge and can apply so much of it to my everyday life. Actually, it must get on my friends nerves since I feel like I'm always saying "I learned in psych that..". Well, I'm very glad I took this. I feel like its required of every college student to take a huge lecture on psychology.
Business Law II
An examination of the legal
environment in which a business operates as well as basic business law
concepts involved in real and personal property. Topics include:
bankruptcy, entrepreneurship options, and government regulations of
business.
I'll be honest, this class isn't entirely what I expected. I had taken Business Law I which focused on a variety of topics including torts. I was encouraged to go to criminal court and civil court and write up a legal brief. I figured this would be a continuation of that previous class. Instead we've focused on bankruptcy, employment law, mergers and acquisitions, and agency. I was going over my notes on the train ride home and the man next to me tapped on my shoulder and asked if I was in law school. He said he immediately noticed that agency notes and felt badly for me. I suppose its a good example, its not the most thrilling type of law and its not focused so much on cases, but at the same time I am learning quite a bit of information that will help me in the future.
Monuments and Memory
Why do some places, whether
manmade or natural, capture and hold our imaginations? Why, and how do
we commemorate particular sites? This course will explore the
construction or discovery, and the enduring significance, of selected
monuments in the West beginning with the Great Pyramid and ending with
the World Trade Center. Cross-listed with Programs in Museums &
Society.
This is by far my favorite class. Each day we walk into lecture, grab a sheet of notes at the front and sit down to a 50 minute presentation on the various monuments located around the world. Now I know that the Washington Monument is 555 ft and that the St. Louis Arch is 630 ft. I could name the architect of Mt. Rushmore and the Brooklyn Bridge. Overall, I think this has been the most enlightening class and the most relatively helpful for any future dinner party conversations. Professor Leslie is also wonderful. He wears the t-shirt of the monument the day we talk about it and also shows five minutes of a movie featuring the monument. The t-shirts are great. For the liberty bell, his said "I need more liberty bell". His Stonehenge t-shirt said, "give me some of that old time religion". The stories and context is great. I highly recommend this class to anyone no matter what major.
So its kind of a lot of classes, but its manageable. I really do enjoy each one of them. I'm so sad this is my second to last semester. Being in class is a wonderful experience. It will be sad to finish and I'm sure it will spark some desire to go to graduate school and have someone lecture to me once again. Okay, well all this Thanksgiving Day eating has tired me out. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! Until next time...