Classes Begin...

I've now had two of each class, so I guess I'll go through them in turn.  Transhuman Epistemics is my first class, and the one I'm most excited about (you can read a course description here: http://www.leiden.edu/studyabroadinLeiden/index.php3?m=2&c=17&t=3&v=&k=18510&oc=210&garb=0.805992417037487).  Since the class breaks down into about 30 Dutch students and 5 international students, our professor suggests dividing into two parts, English and Dutch.  So my class is now a tiny seminar with 3 Americans, a Greek, an Australian, and our crazy professor.  At the second class, we discuss an article relating the art of an exceptional autistic girl, Nadia, with early European cave art.  Tomorrow, I am giving a presentation on an article written by the professor himself, on "Greek Zombies."  The general premise we are discussing is whether or not early humans had substantially different minds than we do now.  This should segue nicely into a discussion of how our minds are changing in the future, which comprises the bulk of the course.  Though it's early in the semester, I can tell that this will be an especially worthwhile class.

My next class is Philology, a history of the English language.  The lectures alternate between a male and female British professor, and although they are both a bit dry, I think I will appreciate the course (those of you familiar with my especially nerdy side will recognize my interest in language, language formation, and words in general).   It's a night class, so the students are mainly adults, and I can't help wondering what exactly motivates all of them to pursue an "alternate route" degree in linguistics, but I'm not one to question.  Adult students in general seem much more common here than they are back home, so perhaps continued education is appreciated as a luxury of comfortable middle-aged living.

I initially signed up for an Introduction to Shakespeare course, which I have since decided not to take.   Our first assignment, The Taming of the Shrew, leads to an interesting class discussion on sexism in society, mainly fueled by one male student's comment that Petruchio is a typically masculine character, demonstrated by his rational way of thinking.  Needless to say, I put him in his place with a few well-chosen, rationally thought-out words.  Although I can't deny the allure of reading a play a week for the class, I'm pretty sure I can gain just as much from reading them in my own time.  And since dropping this course opens my spring weeks for extended travel time, I think it's best to let it go.

As my first foray into archaeology, I'm studying a nine-week course on the Aegean Bronze Age.  We are graded entirely on the completion of two essays, for which the professor has set out appropriate books and articles at a work station in the library.  Other than the research required for the essays, there is no assigned reading.  The professor lectures once a week, taking us from the pre-ceramic, through the Neolithic, into the Minoan and Mycenean civilizations (incidentally, the same period I'm currently studying in Transhuman Epistemics).  There's no pressure, really, to go to lecture, but since I'm taking this course entirely out of personal interest, I 'm happy to attend.  

My last class is Dutch Architecture, a Monday evening course that is also filled with adult students.  The professor, in fact, began the first lecture with an apology that the course had to be taught in English to accommodate the (8 or so) international students - not the best welcome one could ask for.  In any case, so far we've only looked into the earliest architecture up to the year 1150, of which there isn't much.  We're mainly examining remains of the earliest grandiose churches and hypothesizing about their origins.  It's interesting enough so far, but I'm hoping it will pick up once we get into the more recent styles of the buildings I see every day.

So those are my classes, overall I think it's a great schedule for a great semester!