For my capstone project next year, I've decided I definitely want to write some sort of short story collection. My only question now is which kind. I'm leaning toward travel writing, but I'm not entirely sure. While the science fiction will be a lot of fun, I really look forward to finally writing and compiling stories from Europe. Also, as a few people mentioned, the sooner the better.
This week, I need to make connections between the Core classes at Champlain (a bunch of required courses in a variety of disciplines) and my capstone project. I'm in a unique situation, because unlike the majority of students in this class, I've only taken two and a half semesters of Core. Due to spending some time running around Eastern Europe and New York City, I'm technically in the first half of my Sophomore year, according to Core.
That being said, I've still taken classes which might be useful for next semester. The first which comes to mind is a course called Capitalism and Democracy which I am taking at the moment. While it seems like a strange course to improve my writing, it helped me understand the basis of Communism. Because so much of Eastern Europe is still recovering from and heavily influenced by Communism, it's important to understand this before writing about the region. The Secular & The Sacred may be useful in a similar way to understand how religion (or in some cases the lack there of) dictates many aspects of a culture. Aside from improving my writing skills in Rhetoric I & II, I'm not entirely sure in the Core I took Freshman year relates to this project.
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Julia,
ReplyDeleteDid you take Concepts of Self and concepts of Community first year? Because one way to frame your connections to these classes (which seems mighty relevant to me if you are thinking about short stories/travel writing) is in terms of IDENTITY. How and why do people identify themselves as individuals? As communities? How is identity constructed? And how is it perceived?
See if these questions help you to see more possible connections . . .
Cyndi
Ohhh good idea! I took an entire class in Prague about collective identity, especially under communism. I can't believe I didn't think of that... Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI think you may know more than you think you may know. In its most literal sense, the Core is about science and revolution and capitalism and democracy and all those other course titles, but in a deeper and perhaps more applicable sense, it's about how to think, and what makes interesting and worthwhile thinking. The question I'd ask you is maybe a bit more abstract, and it'd go something like "How has the work you've done *outside* your writing classes helped to make you a more interesting and worthwhile writer?"
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