Saturday, September 08, 2007
Classes.
OK... for those who keep asking me about classes- here you go. For those of you who haven't- don't bother with all this. :)
1. Arts in the Cultural Sector. (ie, Economics) The only college class I hated more than my microeconomics class at UH was my macroeconomics class at ASU. Yet this class is so engaging. Economics is just logic, but being a very unlogical person, it's fascinating to think these things through for the first time and see how the arts defy most traditional "rules" of economics. As a tenured professor, Rushton travels quite a bit to speak in international conferences. He looks at the ceiling when he talks, trails at the end of sentences, and writes on the blackboard in tidy complete sentences.
2. Legal Issues in the Arts. (ie, Law) Law can be frustrating because it's a bunch of red tape that leads to grey areas and has far more shortcuts and backdoors than laws. We have 4 textbooks, most of which aren't textbooks at all, but books written by lawyers for lawyers. While my favorite readings are usually from economics or museum management, I am pleasantly surprised to find that law is my favorite class. My professor knew most of our names by the end of the first class and all of them by the beginning of the second class. He has a syrupy voice, talks out of the side of his mouth, and points at people while talking to them, just like lawyers in the movies. Langvardt has already identified my question mark face and calls on me before I get the courage to raise my hand (just like Mr. Stubbs). Because the class is so interactive, it can move slowly if people haven't done the readings or if we get bogged down in hypothetical cases. But normally, time flies.
3. Management in the Nonprofit Sector. I knew this would be a hard one as soon as I saw its meeting time: 1pm (worst class time ever). While my other classes are almost exclusively arts admin students, there are twice as many smart, passionate and experienced second year/doctoral public affairs students in this class. Most of them had Gazley last year, so the first day of class felt like a big reunion that excluded the 24 arts admin students. Having no background in any sort of class on business, we felt extremely lost and over our heads. But after only 2 weeks, we're already feeling better about ourselves because we can use "number words" and talk about 501(c)(3)s, 990s, 1023s and 557s just like everyone else.
4. Museum Management. Crazy. It's a "seminar," which is the collegiate term for "sit in a circle and talk." The readings are long and loveable (for example, the political and social issues that surround cultural heritage, the economics of art sales and auctions, or the tradition and patterns of private collectors in America) and our professor is completely spastic and entertaining. She's your typical art historian who speaks 5 languages, has lived and worked everywhere, is completely scatterbrained and doesn't like making plans (including lesson plans). But we love her because she's pure artist, she's had amazing work experience, and she gets us meetings with Max Anderson in Indy and the director of Sotheby's in Chicago. Rock.
My 5th class doesn't start till the 2nd half of the semester.
More about life in Bloomington later.
1. Arts in the Cultural Sector. (ie, Economics) The only college class I hated more than my microeconomics class at UH was my macroeconomics class at ASU. Yet this class is so engaging. Economics is just logic, but being a very unlogical person, it's fascinating to think these things through for the first time and see how the arts defy most traditional "rules" of economics. As a tenured professor, Rushton travels quite a bit to speak in international conferences. He looks at the ceiling when he talks, trails at the end of sentences, and writes on the blackboard in tidy complete sentences.
2. Legal Issues in the Arts. (ie, Law) Law can be frustrating because it's a bunch of red tape that leads to grey areas and has far more shortcuts and backdoors than laws. We have 4 textbooks, most of which aren't textbooks at all, but books written by lawyers for lawyers. While my favorite readings are usually from economics or museum management, I am pleasantly surprised to find that law is my favorite class. My professor knew most of our names by the end of the first class and all of them by the beginning of the second class. He has a syrupy voice, talks out of the side of his mouth, and points at people while talking to them, just like lawyers in the movies. Langvardt has already identified my question mark face and calls on me before I get the courage to raise my hand (just like Mr. Stubbs). Because the class is so interactive, it can move slowly if people haven't done the readings or if we get bogged down in hypothetical cases. But normally, time flies.
3. Management in the Nonprofit Sector. I knew this would be a hard one as soon as I saw its meeting time: 1pm (worst class time ever). While my other classes are almost exclusively arts admin students, there are twice as many smart, passionate and experienced second year/doctoral public affairs students in this class. Most of them had Gazley last year, so the first day of class felt like a big reunion that excluded the 24 arts admin students. Having no background in any sort of class on business, we felt extremely lost and over our heads. But after only 2 weeks, we're already feeling better about ourselves because we can use "number words" and talk about 501(c)(3)s, 990s, 1023s and 557s just like everyone else.
4. Museum Management. Crazy. It's a "seminar," which is the collegiate term for "sit in a circle and talk." The readings are long and loveable (for example, the political and social issues that surround cultural heritage, the economics of art sales and auctions, or the tradition and patterns of private collectors in America) and our professor is completely spastic and entertaining. She's your typical art historian who speaks 5 languages, has lived and worked everywhere, is completely scatterbrained and doesn't like making plans (including lesson plans). But we love her because she's pure artist, she's had amazing work experience, and she gets us meetings with Max Anderson in Indy and the director of Sotheby's in Chicago. Rock.
My 5th class doesn't start till the 2nd half of the semester.
More about life in Bloomington later.
# posted by Michelle : 12:42 PM
