Non-Fictional Prose Course

 So far I am really enjoying the direction of the course, and I think the variety of material that we will be covering over the course of the upcoming quarter will bring in a lot of different angles and perspectives on nonfiction. Looking back on the past quarter, however, I feel like we have had a lot of arguments and point-proving sessions that have drifted away from our main points. I live that in the class we can stray from the main point and explore new ideas surrounding it, but this is only constructive when the class is having a discussion, not always an argument.

What is Working? And What is Not Working?

It has been six weeks now since we started our journey to exploring reality and questioning the truth around us.  We have looked at four different texts that presented us with different ways of looking at truth and reality. I think the combination of the books that we encountered was a good way to start our class discussion. Each one of us had really interesting ideas to share with the rest of the class which added to the conversation we are having. I think that the four books that we read have helped us decide where we want to move next with the rest of the semester. 

 As a notorious clock watcher I have to say that I have not glared down the clock once in Non-Fiction Prose.  For those of you unfamiliar with clock watching it is the practice of giving your undivided attention to the timepiece on your wrist or on the wall in an attempt to make time pass faster.  But to say that I have not been clock watching makes it seem that this class is only entertaining, which it is, however more importantly it is educational.  I have seriously changed the way I read, write, and interact with my peers as a result of this class.  The reading selections have prompted members of the class to engage and respond not only to the text but also to one another in our class discussions.

All in all, I have to say that I genuinely look forward to class each Tuesday and Thursday. I appreciate the challenge and responsibility that comes from being in charge of the direction of our own class. I do find it challenging, as Anne would say, with 18 brains, we do all have to recognize that no one is going to get their personal vision. Which is why, I think, that I'm so interested in where our syllabus ended up.  I feel good about it, because I think it was the closest we could come to all parties compromising, but I'm curious to see where we all end up towards the latter few classes of the semester. I think that the next few weeks, with a discrete focus on fact v. fiction, will keep us grounded.

I think for the first half of the semester, the readings, at least most, were somewhat drab for my taste. I was surprised we were able to have pretty interesting conversations, considering as how the topic of most of them were drawn from this idea that facts are subjective. I'm not exactly sure from where we can go from here, but I am hoping that the readings for the next half of the semester will be a little less abstract.