Week 1: Globalization & Culture

And so we begin digging into this broad idea of globalization and culture and what the relationship between the two is, and why, and what made the world change. We spent the first class discussing the broadness of the topic, getting to know our professor, and each other.

Now the work begins. We will be studying the effects of globalization and culture through various forms of cultural/art production including short novels, film and politically related essays/speeches with some forms of music, art etc mixed in. We are focusing our study in the time period of 1973 to the present.

This should be an interesting experience. And, a good pairing with my other (Debord) class.

Plus, I get to watch The Empire Strikes Back as a homework assignment.

Week 1: Debord

Tuesday Evenings 7-9:30 pm

Last night was my first night of class. I had those old "first day of school" jitters until we got started. Prior to the class I had purchased and read/skimmed most of the books. I was looking forward to learning more about the International Situationists. In my own reading ahead of time my conclusion was: What? I am not getting this, wait, I kind of understand that point, but, hmmm, hopefully everyone feels this way.

After my first class, thankfully, the 4 other women are in the same boat as me. We don't really get it, completely, yet. But, it is going to be a very interesting class.

We are going to dive into Debord/International Situationist cultural revolution ideals. Mainly these deal with a critique of Capitalism and what it has done to our lives as humans. They were writing this in the 1950s in France, but it is strange to see how we have developed since then.

The part that stood out the most to me in this first class what their ideal that people should be living for themselves, creating things to support/increase their own happiness rather than working hours a day at a job where the final outcome/product does not reflect you as an individual at all. Example: Barista at Starbucks works an 8 hour shift and at the end of the day what she has to show for her effort is a bunch of cups of coffee she couldn't care less about. I think this can be applied to most jobs in today's environment, and I often complain that it seems like no one is living their lives for themselves any more, rather we are all just following the crowd, creating more for everyone to consume... surviving rather than living. It makes me sad and frustrated on multiple levels.

Ironically, this thought process is exactly the reason I chose MA Lit instead of business school.

We also viewed a film by Debord expressing the IS views in Everyday Life (as above).

"The Passage of a Few Persons" Starring Debord himself (on the right)

While, yes, I couldn't help but inwardly roll my eyes at the fact that we were watching the quintessential  pretentious french independent art film, it was an interesting topic.

So tell me, Why do we waste so much of our lives working, creating nothing that holds any meaning to who we are as individuals?

Winter Quarter: January 3, 2011

My first quarter of classes begins January 3, 2011. Below is a summary of the two courses I will be taking.  I am focusing my studies on an individualized plan of study. My interests lie mostly in comparative and world literature, though I also look forward to the opportunity to explore American and British Lit (excluding *hopefully the Bronte's).


Topics in Comparative Literature: Guy Debord and the Internationale Situationniste

This course is an introduction to the work of Guy Debord and the Internationale situationiste, which is often credited having played a significant part in triggering the near-revolutionary events of Mai '68. With others in the IS, Debord developed a radical understanding of the relation between art and politics in the cultural revolution he aimed to provoke. Debord was a prolific composer of tracts, articles, reviews, books, memoirs, and films, and students will also read work by others in the IS including Bernstein, Vaneigem, and Viénet. The students and teacher may also have video screenings outside of class at a time to be determined on the first day. All work is in English. Counts toward the Comparative & World Literature specialization.

Special Topics in Literature: Globalization and Culture This course takes as its subject the proposition that "globalization" is a paradigm or episteme within which individuals interact differently with one another and with cultural production itself. We will consider 1973 a key marker in this transition into "globalization" because of a number of important changes in financial markets, technologies, and geopolitical history. If forms of cultural production such as the novel and the feature length film dominated the 19th and 20th centuries through the 1970s and had (according to social scientists) an important role in developing concepts of nation, empire, etc., what does the epistemic shift into globalization tell us about the role of literature and culture in the digital age? What happens to the novel and the feature length film after 1973, cultural forms now putatively anachronistic? The course introduces and examines theories of globalization and culture, as well as related fields (postcolonial theory, poststructuralist literary theory, postmodernism), in order to grapple with these and related questions. Along the way, we study films and read captivating works of fiction produced since 1973, both on their own terms and for instructive lessons on how to understand that elusive and ever changing present we find ourselves in. Literature and films from the U.S., Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (all readings in English or English translation). Counts toward the American Literature and the Comparative & World Literature specializations.

Financial Aid

Now that I have been accepted, it's time to begin paperwork. I am looking forward to registering for classes (beginning January 3rd!) and have been perusing the student handbook since I received it. I have a phone meeting with a new student adviser this afternoon to assist me with all the fun aspects of being a new student: ID cards, email addresses, class registration and .... oh yeah... tuition.

I like to believe I am a fairly intelligent person, (after all I just got accepted to Northwestern, bitches! haha j/k). Yet, I am a complete idiot when it comes to financial aid paperwork.  Hopefully my adviser woman is a magical genius fairy godmother who can make sense of these documents, my loan status and (unfair) remarkably short deadlines.

Decision Day

This morning, I woke up nervous. As I sat up in bed, practically shaking with overactive anxiety, I realized I knew. I would find out today.

I got up, and went straight for my phone, something told me I had an important email.

I looked, and sure enough there was one from Northwestern entitled, " Decision". I read the short paragraph instructing me to follow a link where I could view the decision. Anxiously, I waited for my phone to load the page, where I had to sign in.

Once signed in, it instructed me to follow yet another link to the decision page. (they were really dragging out this suspense weren't they?!)

Where, I discovered this letter:

November 18, 2010
Andrea Finken
1625 West Morse
Chicago, Illinois 60626

Dear Andrea:

Congratulations on your admission to Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies' Literature -
Degree program for Winter 2011. We are pleased you have chosen to earn your degree at SCS and are
delighted to welcome you to the program.

Your official decision letter with detailed admission information and next steps has already been mailed to you
at the address indicated on your application. In the meantime, click here to indicate your acceptance or
declination of our offer of admission.Please direct question about your offer of admission to an admissions coordinator at scsadmissions@northwestern.edu.

Congratulations on your achievement and welcome to Northwestern University.

Sincerely,
Joel Shapiro, PhD
Associate Dean of Academics


WOO HOO! I just got accepted to Northwestern University!

November 8th

Mom said not to start worrying until November 8th. Well here we are. Let the worry commence. Realistically, I hope to hear something this or next week. Panic.

Shall I hold on to hope? Or expect disappointment? Either way seems stressful.

I have just been informed that decision meetings are taking place this week, and applicants can expect to begin hearing back next week. *sigh.

Events

I keep receiving emails being invited to events at Northwestern. This one actually sounds kind of interesting, though not completely related to the program I hope to get into.


Every time I get an email from Northwestern my heart skips a beat...