May 15, 2015 - 02:15
I never really understood the term “Ecology” outside of a science context. I think the biggest lesson I’ve gathered from a semester of this class, is the usefulness of the ecological thought and how we approach the world. I’ve learned how the critical thought and analysis in the humanities are just as important as the critical thought and analysis done in the sciences. Combining the two is necessary in order for solutions to world problems to reach all avenues of understanding, not just simply emotional or scientific understandings. I really appreciated the section “Invitation into the world beyond Ourselves,” in Elizabeth Callaway’s presentation, A Space for Justice.
This section was where I first started to see the connections between the humanities and sciences and realizing that there wasn’t as clear a line as I had thought prior. Especially, when scientific findings have to be translated to the public on a large platform, the understanding of the public is entirely contingent upon the cooperation of both (humanities and science) fields in making sure the message, content, purpose is understood as clearly as possible. I really liked how Abby brought up the question of what purpose “analysis” and talking about solutions had on the end result. I
This class basically found a way to infiltrate other aspects of my life. I found myself in other classes thinking how much more effective they would be if they incorporated some of the same techniques that Anne did. I found myself wondering why I wasn’t as interested in the topics in another class, even though it was something I thought I was so much more interested in. In these same classes, I saw glimpses of ecological thought, but it was more of like we would point them out (the same thought, multiple times), instead of spending more time discussing them and how they affect us. I think the thoughts of wanting more of these ecological understandings and interactions made me appreciate coming into this classroom every Tuesday and Thursday. Even days when I was feeling under the weather or days when I was just not feeling it, this was one of the classes that I felt I couldn’t miss. Every class, something would happen or stick, and I would walk out feeling not necessarily like I was “changed,” but like there was another piece of knowledge in my toolbox.
In terms of participation, I tend to listen first and respond. I thought that worked pretty well for me. I am not that great at thinking quick on my feet and often times in class people would be going back and forth passionately. During those situations, I thought it better to simply sit back and listen, sometimes because during those back and forths I didn’t feel like I had anything productive to add that wouldn’t seem “forced.” Also, I really liked listening and letting things settle before expressing my thoughts on the matter.
I think everyone in the classroom has been integral in my thinking and writing processes. The great thing about Serendip is being able to go and look at other people’s postings and see what angles other people are coming from. Also, extra posting that people did really helped us in discussion since Anne was able to bring them up in discussion. I wish I would have done more of those, but the ones that were done got us discussing really great topics (right now I’m thinking of Caleb and Joni in the last couple of weeks, but I know a lot of other people in the classroom did extra postings as well.
Initially, I thought writing in this class was going to be very structure and grammar rule based. Fortunately, it wasn’t. I think focusing more on content and its ability to be able to be translated into group contents was very helpful in allowing me to develop my thoughts further without being as tied into how it was presented. I still tried to pay attention to the particular details of grammar and syntax, but I felt that the decreased pressure allowed for me to express my thoughts freer and therefore, a little more genuinely. I think that was the fear I had with English and writing, in general. Since, high school there has been a structure and an answer that had to be found in a certain, pre-conceived way. I never liked it and it was just so consuming to try to fit into what my teacher wanted me to write about. I didn’t feel that in this class. I’m still not the biggest fan of writing, but it’s definitely a lot easier to do as a result of this class. 4 pages doesn’t seem that bad anymore.
I most enjoyed my first web-event. I think in some ways I still need some sort of structure in order to write. After the first web event, there was more free reign to make our web-event into what we wanted to do. It was intimidating to see people do really cool things, while I just couldn’t think of anything to do other than a paper. I also think some of the difficulty I encountered with the second web-event was due to the fact that the Part II of the class was grounded in knowledge gathered from books. The books were fine, it was just so much. Compared to articles or excerpts, there is so much more to read into with books. The third web event, I felt, was kind of like writing a solution for myself. I really enjoyed writing and creating the first and second web events. Mostly because, I felt as though I was involving a lot of myself and my thoughts into them. I do agree that the third web event could have used more solid examples. I don’t know why I tend to stray away from giving concrete solutions, unless requested. I really like exploring the abstract, but I realize there is a strong need to connect the abstract and the concrete in order to get any real use out of it. I think this applies to my teach-in as well; I didn’t solidify all the abstract ideas I had around geocaching.
Overall, I can say that I’m so glad I chose to take this class. All of the people in this section made the learning experience so great and so worthwhile.