One of the largest changes to my schedule since the re-start of my educational career has been setting aside more time for reading.
Our class is focusing on the enduring legacy of Greek and Roman art and culture in modern culture. To that end, we have to read some amount of the Classics: as we are still in the realm of myth at the moment so we read a lot of Ovid as well as specific writings to the subject at hand, such as plays by Roman and Greek playwrights or additional sections of Classical literature like the Roman poet Catullus.
We are also assigned anywhere from 2-5 articles a week with the expectation we will read at least one of each sub-heading that we will be studying; so for example if we are studying two different myths, we need to read one article on each myth.
The Classical reading is the most enjoyable. The articles are a bit more challenging.
Having been "Out of the Game" for well over 30 years, one forgets the way that academic articles are written. They are quite different from your typical article that (once upon a time) you might have read in a newspaper or magazine and very different that the current on-line writing that is in vogue; for example, the shortest article I have read to date is 9 pages and longest to date is 51 pages. Yes, that may include pictures of artworks and a great many footnotes, but it can still be a lot.
What this has really meant is adding a layer of diligence and planning to my daily activities.
I have to allocate myself not less than an hour a day for class - not just for reading of course, but for participating in class activities. And given my schedule for the week and rest of the year, I am finding that I have to read at least one week or more in advance - and more in preparation for class presentations.
It is not a bad development of course; the addition of discipline to one's life is never a bad thing.
And, if nothing else, I know a lot more about Greek and Roman art than I did a month ago. After all, most any knowledge is useful knowledge, just useful in more limited situations.
I suspect you are well suited for this. And that everything you learn will help build your knowledge base. So much of our culture points back to what has been written and created before, we just don't realize all of it.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, I can certainly say that I enjoy the work so far. Art is not something I have really spent time on in upwards of 30 years.
DeleteWe are highly dependent on what came before us, whether we like to acknowledge it or not. If the study of history has taught me anything, it is that there is very little that is truly new under the sun.
Indeed discipline TB, to provide the time needed to accomplish class goals. And I agree with you, fifty one pages is stretching the definition of an article. Ah well........learning eh?
ReplyDeleteWell, in fairness Nylon12, there are pictures of the prints that are being discussed. But it still seems like a lot to me anyway.
DeleteI actually miss reading scholarly articles. Unlike a media article where I have to always try to understand why and from what perspective it is being written, with a scholarly article, they are usually just trying to convey as much information about a single subject as possible.
ReplyDeleteAll that reading would have sounded like a nightmare for my younger college self but now that I am much older, I think I would quite enjoy the structure of a college class with a lot of reading. You are starting to inspire me to perhaps check out online options in my future.
Ed, check with your local/regional library. My library has a huge section on its web site titled, Databases. There is online access to hundreds of databases that provide access to every kind of publication/journal one could wish for. Many are provided by the large publisher, Gale. Just scrolling through the list on my library’s site I see one for the Chilton automotive repair manuals, agriculture, books and authors, fine arts, gardening and horticulture, health and medicine, home improvement, military and intelligence, access to newspapers around the world, etc. It will keep one busy for quite a while.
DeleteEd, the thing I like about scholarly authors is that the authors state their thesis/opinion up front so it is clearly understood where they are writing from. That is nice because - as you point out - journalism seems incapable in the modern world of writing an opinion-free reporting of facts.
DeleteThat is interesting AnonJ. Thanks for sharing!
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