Hi, everyone!
To wrap up the class for our final blog week, I'd like to ask you about the class as a whole. What did you learn/gain from this course? What text did you like best/least? What did you like best overall? Least? Would you change anything about this class?
Have at it! :)
16 comments:
I really enjoyed this class overall, and not just because Kathryn was the instructor ;). I have always been interested in structure and bureaucracy and those were the two main things I came into the class thinking we would question. However, as the semester progressed, I discovered way more aspects of questioning authority. For instance, a child acting out against his parents is a form of questioning authority. Now, I notice authority being questioned in so many more ways. Before, I just considered small acts like this just wrong or youthful indiscretions, but now it makes sense that all of these things are forms of questioning authority.
The text I enjoyed the most was the memoir my group chose, Night. I love this book! I don't know if it's because WWII hits close to home because both of my grandfathers were soldiers, but I have always had an interest in learning more about what happened during that time. The two themes we chose of questioning humanity and religion was an interesting take on the text. I was talking to a co-worker who was reading it for a different class and when I explained to her how we used it, she was amazed. She said she never would have thought to look at the text in that light. I feel like from this class, you can take almost anything and discover some sort of authority it questions.
I really enjoyed watching Fight Club and V for Vendetta because they tied in perfectly to the overall theme of questioning authority. And I had never watched them before so I was extremely interested in both.
The only thing I would change would be the way discussions went sometimes. it was often hard to get your thoughts in because it just jumped all over the place. I don't know. Maybe I'm just still used to the way our Legacy class facilitated discussion. Other than that, the class was great!
Overall, I thought this course was great! It required work, but interesting work that you could be creative and have fun with. It was a great break from all of my other tedious classes.
The main thing that I learned is that everyone has such diverse opinions and views on the world. Of course, I know that everyone is not the same, but I was surprised by how different people's mentalities were. First semester, I took the Legacy of the Family Story and the blogs were fun because everyone shared family stories and discussed family, which in my opinion is not too controversial. However, with almost all of the blog topics this semester, there was every different view and angle represented in everyone's posts.
I have a tie for my favorite texts, Night and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I loved Night because I thought it was so beautifully written and provided necesary knowledge to its readers. And with A Thousand Splendid Suns, I think that Khalad Hosseini is an amazing story-teller. The text I liked the least was The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus, I just couldn't get into it.
I agree with Bridget in that the only thing I would change would be the way the discussion went sometimes. I always feel like I'm going to interrupt someone if I just jump in. But other than that, this course was wonderful! :)
What I really liked about this class was seeing all the different types of questioning authority especially when we did the group projects, we could see questioning authority in different cultures. I, for one, liked A Thousand Splendid Suns the best, (I may be slightly biased) but I really enjoyed that book. I also enjoyed seeing everyone's different takes on what questioning authority really is. Some of the best texts/films that I thought did a great job of questioning authority were V for Vendetta, the Breakfast Club, and Figh Club, but really I enjoyed everything we watched and everything we read. I don't think I would change anything about this class, I thought all the material was very interesting and relevant and enjoyable to read/watch and I thought all the projects really were effective in engaging the theme of the class as a whole.
I agree with Bridget that WWII also interests me, I think because it was all about a time that we are infamiliar with and that we can't touch because most of the people from that time are going away.
I also enjoyed looking at Gattaca because it questioned the human race and how much we value perfection, even thought the human race is imperfect. It gave a lot of hope at the end, especially with the doctor.
Overall I loved the course and I don't think anything needs to be changed :).
Overall, I thought this class was excellent. It was very diverse but structured at the same time. The group work was always interesting and engaging, but the individual writing let us express our unique opinions about the different aspects of Questioning Authority.
My favorite part of the class was the activities such as the debates and the trial. It helped me to meet some of my classmates and bounce ideas off of them. I also enjoyed the group presentations. They totally exceeded my expectations!
I learned a lot about questioning authority (obviously), but more specifically, I learned about how broad the subject was and how different perspectives determined how questioning authority is viewed.
My favorite text was Lysistrata just because I didn't think it possible for a text that old to be so funny. I had never heard of it, and enjoyed every second of it. My other favorite text was Night because it was so personal and tragic. It really showed me how it was possible to see hope in such a desperate situation and the strength of the human spirit.
The only thing I didn't like about the class was the lack of breaks. My mind wanders far away during long discussions. haha
This class was great. I enjoyed most of it, and I'm really going to miss you guys in class. I learned that there were several different interpretations of questioning authority, and that really surprised me. I really liked the Socratic seminar style discussions, and that is were I think I learned the most.
Most of the texts were very well written, but like Christian, I have trouble becoming enthused about Dr. Faustus. I don't know if is the writing style or what, but I had trouble focusing on it. My favorite was probably 1984. That book is just FULL of interesting things and not just from a questioning authority standpoint!
I'll loved all the movies we saw. Maybe add The Matrix???
I like the blog idea. It really helped me flesh out what I was thinking without having to do it quickly. I think it also helped me get what I wanted to say, said. However, I would keep forgetting to do it (definitely my fault of course!). It may have been a bit easier to remember to check it if we had discussed the blog topics in class as well, or if it had been a daily topic...
But overall great class! I loved it, and I think it should be offered to other students soon!
Overall, I definitely enjoyed this course. I liked that we could choose where we went with the topic with the group projects, and, though it took away ease of finding a text, the fact that it had to be about a different culture made it more interesting.
The main thing that I took from this course is probably just hearing different opinions about a variety of different issues. The class also made me think about questioning authority in a different way, and I thought about how a lot more things can be included in the definition of questioning authority than I would have previously thought of.
The text I liked best was probably Gattaca, and the one I liked the least was Lysistrata.
Overall, I liked everything in the class pretty well, and I don't think there's anything that I would change about it. As a couple people said, it can be difficult to get your point in during a discussion because a lot of people have something to say or the topic changes, but I think that is hard to avoid.
My favorite part of this class was questioning authority in movies. I feel like film is very quickly overlooked in terms of how they make a stand against social norms, the government, etc. I really enjoyed how the class was not monotonous. Far too often, classes have the exact same structure, from beginning to end, every class period. Some classes were book discussions, others were movie days, and some were student facilitated. This made for a large variety.
I learned how questioning authority can be a wide range of activities. Most people hear questioning authority and will quote an example from a history book if asked. This class allowed me to see that dissenters exist outside the realm history and actually in our world and time.
This class, regardless of the fact that it was 2.5 hours straight, was actually engaging and fun enough that I did not feel the need to doze during the middle. I could actually share my thoughts and have good discussions.
I would not change anything with this class and really enjoyed the way in which it was conducted.
I really enjoyed this class because it had such a different structure than my other classes. I think writing and discussion help me learn a lot more than simply listening to lectures and taking notes.
My favorite part of the class was looking at the difference between questioning authority in different cultures. A Thousand Splendid Suns was my favorite book because it was such an interesting story and it was very easy to get into. I would recommend putting it into the syllabus for the next class :)
I also enjoyed watching Fight Club and V for Vendetta. Both films had interesting perspectives on questioning authority.
Overall, I wouldn't change anything with the class. I liked that we did different activities for each book and we had many interesting discussions. It was a great class!
This class was fantastic! So far the pattern's been that my honors classes are always the most enjoyable probably because the atmosphere is really relaxed and we are always able to test our points of view and theories against those of our classmates.
From this course, I've definitely learned that questioning authority is virtually everywhere, we just need to have our eyes open to see it. I've also learned about the different forms of questioning authority and I've become more interested in foreign cultures and the authorities that they follow because of the group projects that we've done.
My favorite text that we read in class was definitely 1984. This was my second time reading the book for a class, and it was still really interesting to me which is not something you can usually say after re-reading a book.
My favorite part of the class was of course watching the movies! I hadn't seen most of the ones on the syllabus, and so I was really excited about getting to see them since they had been on my 'To Watch' list for quite awhile. These movies also helped to put questioning authority into perspective for the class. I also enjoyed the individual projects we did since it allowed us to experience questioning authority for ourselves and develop our opinions on it further.
I don't really think anything should be changed because everything was interesting, although I do agree with people in the sense that it was hard to jump into the conversations sometimes, but that's how it is in discussion classes usually anyway.
Thanks for your wonderful comments, all. I'm really glad that you enjoyed the class. I very much enjoyed it myself, thanks to a group of dedicated, enthusiastic students. Thank you for being so great this semester. I'm going to miss our great discussions and your creativity with the activities!
This class was definitely my favorite every week. It was so different from any class that I have ever taken and kept my interest no matter what we were doing.
Overall, this course taught me that subversion can be found everywhere and in so many different forms. There are examples of people questioning authority all around us and many of them go unnoticed due to their apparent insignificance. It was also amazing to see that even within a class of less than 20 people, there were so many diverse opinions and perspectives.
My favorite part of this class was probably the in-class activities and discussions because the multitude of ideas being explained was really interesting. Of the readings/movies, Night and V for Vendetta were my favorites. Dr. Faustus was my least favorite. It was confusing and difficult to understand. Although it had footnotes, there seemed to be a footnote for just about every word, making the reading seem much longer and more arduous than it really was.
Nothing in this class needs to be changed as everything seemed to work really well.
I really enjoyed this class and enjoyed the subject matter. I liked the structure of the course and especially the discussions and hearing everyone's opinions on the various topics we discussed. I really liked the variety of themes we covered as well. It showed me how many different types of questioning there are in the world. I think that the main thing I will take away from this course is how broad and relative the subject of questioning authority is. I have learned to notice the little things in everyday life that could be considered questioning authority along with the dramatic actions of questioning authority.
My favorites in this class would have to be the films (particularly V for Vendetta and Gattaca) but I also enjoyed 1984 and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I like dystopian novels and A Thousand Splendid Suns was just a terrific book.
Overall, really liked this course and don't really have any complaints. I liked the activities and the discussion of each class and felt that it was a very engaging course.
I too enjoyed this class very much! At first I was honestly a little intimidated by the title because I thought the class was going to be one of those where no one really feels comfortable expressing what they really feel about the subject matter. I am so glad that we were able to engage in a very open conversation and still have so many different views contributing. I think that in the end I learned that the most important thing about questioning authority is a positive purpose. If there is no purpose than I would no longer consider it questioning authority as much as calling it a tantrum.
As far as texts, it is very hard to pick a favorite because we had such a varied collection of literature throughout the semester. I do not want to say that I preferred any one of these over the other but Lysistrata and 1000 Splendid Suns I will hold dear to my heart. Least favorite for me was Faustus but I think that had mostly to do with the translation that I got which made it more difficult for me to understand.
Overall I liked the movies. I am a movie junkie and watching all of the films for class just spark things in my imagination that I could spend days discussing. The great thing about movies is that they provide a different medium for us to understand an idea or concept making it easier to spark an amazing discussion. My least favorite part was the blog because I would rather have discussions in person, it is much harder for me to engage in a conversation that I read off my computer screen.
The only thing I would have liked to see more of in class was an example of a bad situation of questioning authority. I think it is really important to know the difference, especially in the time in which we live where Facebook can spark the revolution of a whole area of the world.
Thank you all for a great semester and I hope you have a wonderful summer!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this class. To be honest, it was actually my second choice when I was registering, but I'm glad I ended up here.
The biggest thing I learned from this course was probably and improvement in my critical thinking skills. A lot of times during the discussions, people brought up points that I hadn't even thought of. This helped my to expand my thoughts in later discussions and I feel like that's how I benefited most from this course.
I really enjoyed 1984 the most. I had read it before but this class put it in so much depth that it really interested me much more than the first time I had read it.
I'm going to have to agree with Jimmy and say the only change I would make is maybe add a break during every class but that's it.
Like most of the others, my favorite part of the class was learning about all the different ways one can question authority. I came into the class expecting more discussion about current events, or rebellions, but I was pleasantly surprised by the variety we covered. A lot of the things that I considered inconsequential could actually be acts of insubordination, which was pretty cool to learn.
My favorite text to read was A Thousand Splendid Suns, but my favorite discussion was from Zorro. Reading about women in Afghanistan challenging authority allowed me to consider things from a different point of view.
I least liked Dr. Faustus- it just did not entertain or interest me the way the others did. I think part of the problem was that I was not expecting the range in literature that we would cover.
I really loved this class! It was able to get me to think from different perspectives and there were many moral debates in the class that were pretty intense! I enjoyed the idea that many of these problems we are able to argue in this country because of our freedom of speech. It just go to show how supressive the world can be as far as defending against the questioning because it is how a government or any figure of authority becomes vulnerable if it cannot show itself to be dignant of the authority. Although we disagreed on many points, it was great to know we weren't really being judged for it. I think we were all very open to other views, as well as Kathryn's overseeing as instructor made the class mood alot friendlier and enjoyable.
My favorite text personally was Zorro because it had to be one of the most intense debates we had in discussion throughout the whole class. It was a very fun experience and I would recommend this course to any person ready to take a 200 level course, as well as Kathryn as an instructor! Thanks for a great semester guys!
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