Be cool, stay in school

The title of this post is inspired by our photography professor's final words of every class: "Be cool, stay in school, don't take drugs." A little corny, perhaps, but endearing. And since we technically are in London to "study", I figured I should make a post about our classes.



*Current update: after consulting, Sarah doesn't want to write anymore about her classes than she did in her earlier post, so this is only going to be about my classes. You can take that up with her after you read. :)



I am taking three classes in London, the last nine hours I'll ever take as an undergraduate! My first class is Photography for non-art majors. Our professor's name is Dr. Anderson, an art education professor at Florida State. He is very kind and has made learning about photography a lot of fun. I came into this class knowing pretty much nothing about taking pictures, besides 1. Find a subject, 2. Point the camera at said subject, 3. Shoot and hope it's in focus. But since watching tutorial videos from Photography For Dummies (oh yes, we did), and listening to Dr. Anderson's critiques, and looking at a LOT of pictures that are better than mine will ever be, I think I'm starting to develop a little bit of what is called a "good eye." And not surprisingly, it's made documenting my summer in London much more enjoyable. I'm so excited to have a collection of quality images (very amateur quality images) at the end of my trip. We are even putting on an exhibition to show our best pictures! I always kind of looked at photography in a black-and-white perspective (pardon the pun!): Either you're really legit and have your own business and photo blog, or you just take random tourist-y pictures like the rest of us. But now I really enjoy knowing more about the technical aspect of picture-taking, and I really think this could become a fun hobby! Donations for a camera, anyone? :) To let you see a little of what we're doing, I'll make a post after this one of some of the pictures we've taken.



My second class is Art and Architecture. My professor is Dr. Hilary Hope Guise, and she's an art historian in London. She knows the city by heart (and lives right around the corner from Paul McCartney!), which means we basically spend every Monday and Wednesday afternoon chasing her around from museum to museum. This class is fun because we spend a lot of time literally using London as our textbook and seeing so many beautiful places. I've always liked art history and I've learned a lot about London's history and the different periods of art and architecture in the city. We've visited the National Portrait Gallery, Westminster Abbey, The British Museum, and the Museum of London so far. This class really has given me a better eye for visiting these amazing places and seeing the works inside of them. It's been very interesting to learn about the structure, design and building process of one of the greatest cities in the world.

Last, but absolutely not least, is my Modern Poetry class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Anyone reading this blog probably knows I am an English major, and therefore the biggest nerd for literature. And I have to say, this class has been amazing. My professor is Dr. Andrew Epstein, from FSU's English Department. I have never had him before in Tallahassee, but he is very nice and approachable, something I really appreciate in profs, and he's made talking about poetry in London a great experience. To be able to read some of the most influential writers in literary history, and then walk out the door and see the places where they wrote, or wrote about, is unreal. On a day trip to Kensington, we even got to go into Ezra Pound's former home! It's still a private home, not open to the public, but the owner was an elderly lady who let us come in and look around, and then recited some poetry for us :) So cute! And such a lucky experience. I can't tell you how fortunate I feel to be able to walk around in London, by the Thames where Eliot walked, or the park where Virginia Woolf wrote her novels, and learn more about poetry. I'm surprised by how much I enjoy British Literature, especially modern poetry, and I'm even thinking of changing my concentration for grad school from Southern Lit to modern and postmodern American Lit and British poetry! I could go on forever, but I'll just say this: I've always loved literature, but being in London, in classes of 4 or 5 people, talking about one of my favorite things in the world, has been a life-changing experience. For real.

Well that's the summary of my academic experience abroad! I can't imagine not studying abroad now that I have. If you're at all thinking of doing it, go for it! Don't let the money or time or anything else hold you back, because you might only get this opportunity once. I've known for a long time that I want to teach and study literature, but being here has re-affirmed for me the reasons why, and also why it's so important to continue to challenge and expand your mind. In a culture and generation that is dominated by cheap stimulation and interests, to get away and immerse myself in slightly loftier pursuits has been refreshing and a good reminder that there is more to life than Facebook and reality tv. =)

Getting down off my soap box...go read "The Waste Land" or "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" for me!

And show some education appreciation!