Dak
mentat
I should probably mention my focus for Psychology is on Stress and Health, and am participating in relevant research at my university in that area. I am also about to embark on the back end of my Junior year.
The "Education" Thread
- Thread starter viewerfromnihil
- Start date
Funerary_Doom
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Yes, exactly! Always found people who don't quite fit societal standards and norms to be the most interesting in the way they think and see the world and to just generally have a lot to offer in terms of wisdom, creativity and perspective. I've really enjoyed Antonin Artaud's perspective on theatre and drew a lot of inspiration from him and other surrealists, though many times they would often trail away from the theatre aspect of it have you heard of Marina Abramovic?
Kind of off topic and really has little to do with anything, lol, but I was just thinking of Artaud and she popped in my head. She's a performance artist, which is really different from an actor, but she had this exhibit where she had a bunch of objects on a table. And for 6 hours she remained still while the audience members used the items on the table in whatever way they wanted. After awhile people started becoming more and more violent. They used the knife on her, ripped off her clothes and just other weird shit. I believe there were a few members who were trying to protect her and others who were just being volatile. There was even a gun on the table, and one person actually took it up and pointed it to her head. Someone had to intervene, but after 6 hours she moved and walked towards the audience and they all ran away because confrontation bothers people. Though, I'm not into a lot of things like this, thought this was very interesting and different and you really learn what sadists audience members (aka people) can be if you leave the story up to them.
That has some aspects of Applied Theatre in it, but for me it's too dangerous. It could end really good or really bad, and yes that is exciting but at the same time you want to protect your actors and audience. Also, the entire point of that could be totally missed by the participants...
I obviously wouldn't be doing anything harmful like that at all (lol difference between actors and performance artists), but yes perspective is definitely key to successful art , and we definitely need to put the experiences of people who are legitimately different out there. i honestly think that's why in terms of media there's so much stuff out there these days competing with Hollywood and Broadway because they are too exclusive and do not represent everyone and oftentimes tell the same story. okay i'll end this rant.
Master_Yoda77
Juggalo
Since everyone else is doing it:
Currently, I'm a MA student of English and a TA at Northern Illinois University. My interests are extremely broad, but I find myself drawn to Classical Mythology, Renaissance Literature, and Romanticism. In essence, I like all eras of literature. I teach Rhetoric and Composition which is a required class for nearly every major at NIU. Most of my work there is pre-fab, but I, too, have free range of how I teach the material.
I plan on pursuing a doctorate program in English anywhere that will accept me. I hope to write either a thesis/dissertation on the evolution of epic literature, charting the specific similarities and differences throughout time from Gilgamesh to Tolkien and beyond.
Currently, I'm a MA student of English and a TA at Northern Illinois University. My interests are extremely broad, but I find myself drawn to Classical Mythology, Renaissance Literature, and Romanticism. In essence, I like all eras of literature. I teach Rhetoric and Composition which is a required class for nearly every major at NIU. Most of my work there is pre-fab, but I, too, have free range of how I teach the material.
I plan on pursuing a doctorate program in English anywhere that will accept me. I hope to write either a thesis/dissertation on the evolution of epic literature, charting the specific similarities and differences throughout time from Gilgamesh to Tolkien and beyond.
Baroque
Active Member
I have an MA and BA in Math, AA in Music. My master's thesis was on applications of group theory to music theory. I teach math at the community college level. I may have bitten off more than I can chew this semester. I'm teaching:
Prealgebra (campus A)
Int. Algebra (campus B)
Statistics (campus B)
Elem. Algebra x2 (campus C)
Int. Algebra (campus C)
I'm teaching more classes than most students take. But the pay is very good when I do this, and I have a 3 day weekend every week.
Prealgebra (campus A)
Int. Algebra (campus B)
Statistics (campus B)
Elem. Algebra x2 (campus C)
Int. Algebra (campus C)
I'm teaching more classes than most students take. But the pay is very good when I do this, and I have a 3 day weekend every week.
Baroque
Active Member
If you have eyes toward the future, out of your two majors I'd go with math instead of philosophy. High demand field vs. no demand field.
Baroque
Active Member
Yes, there is even a class before it known as Arithmetic or Basic Math Skills depending on the college. These are non-transferable to a university of course. But many people dropped out of school or passed math through no child left behind, and thus need these courses in order to understand college level math as an adult.
These classes fill up quickly as well. It can be a bit unnerving that a majority of adults are so bad at math. At least I have job security.
Hmm, I would've thought most people who needed those types of classes would have to go to one of those adult high schools.
Zephyrus
Tyrants and Slaves
You really need to read my Honors thesis on Vergil and Dante. I believe I've told you about it.
I think you'll run into some problems in conducting such a comprehensive analysis of epic literature, not the least in finding an acceptable definition of "epic literature." Many would say that the genre ended with Milton, and that monumental works such as "Huck Finn" and LOTR don't qualify. I would support including them, however, so long as we accept prose as an adequate medium for the epic genre.
Another thing to consider is that the poet is to varying degrees a character in the work of epic, at least insofar as he makes a statement of divine inspiration.
Master_Yoda77
Juggalo
I have yet to conduct any real research on the subject, but my whole argument rests on the idea that epic literature has evolved and changed over the years and, in order to survive in a more modern world, had to be adapted and changed to fit with the growing popularity of prose, specifically the novel. I was going to conclude by mentioning how fantasy literature is the modern epic literature by analyzing the generic conventions found in typical epics. Obviously things have changed (no summoning of the muse for instance) but as a whole they are very similar.
My interests in mathematics lie purely in the theoretical field, to be honest. While not quite as destitute as the philosophy job market, pure mathematicians don't exactly have the greatest success rate either. My true passion lies in philosophy, and ideally I'll use my background in mathematics to supplement my philosophical work and make a unique name for myself. The prospect of jobs in academic philosophy is indeed dismal, but at this point I really only care about procuring a decent wage to support myself and a family, and I have enough encouragement from my professors that love my work to move forward with it.
Einherjar86
Active Member
For sure! My days are pretty booked this time around, and the airport has been giving me hell. But next time I'm in town for leisure, we definitely have to do that!
Einherjar86
Active Member
This would have to include a fascinating study of what the term "epic" means. Most will say it ends with Milton because scholars of classical epic don't consider anything that isn't poetry. The colloquial use of "epic" however is very different (i.e. "that song is epic"). We might say that a song deals with epic themes (history, heroism, battles, etc.); but does that make the song "epic"? Also, technically, James Merrill composed an epic poem in the 1970s that covers none of those themes (maybe history, but not in the conventional sense).
I feel like a portion of this dissertation would have to provide some argument on what "epic" means, and how we might formalize/conceptualize a change in meaning.
Baroque
Active Member
Either way you're going to end up teaching, it's the only real way to support yourself and a family with a degree in philosophy or pure math.
The thing is, there's no market for philosophy teachers. Math teachers are in high demand. I had schools begging me to take classes. My first semester out of grad school I taught at 4 campuses without even applying, I just emailed the dept chairs and they got me in right away.
Besides with math you have the possibility of getting a government research job or become an actuary.
Go for it, it's you dream. I'm just being the realist here. This is what's true for most people.
Yeah, I want to go into academia. It seems like the job that will make me want to kill myself the least. The market for tenured philosophy professors is basically dead, and the grad/post-grad environment is cutthroat competitive. However, I've got a really good relationship with my philosophy professors, and they've continually reassured me that I'm more than capable of landing a tenure-track position in due time given the quality of my work and ambition. Either way, I'm a frugal person. If I have to be the guy with a philosophy PhD delivering your pizzas for a few years, so be it.
Out of curiosity, what sort of math did you focus on with your degree? I'm still technically a third-year student, so I've only formally completed up to real analysis and abstract algebra, but my interests are slowly moving toward algebraic topology. I used to really be into formal logic about 4 years ago, but I've since forgotten a lot of it.
Edit: Wow, I managed to completely miss your earlier post. Group theoretic ideas applied to music theory sounds very interesting. Is there any way to view your thesis online?
Out of curiosity, what sort of math did you focus on with your degree? I'm still technically a third-year student, so I've only formally completed up to real analysis and abstract algebra, but my interests are slowly moving toward algebraic topology. I used to really be into formal logic about 4 years ago, but I've since forgotten a lot of it.
Edit: Wow, I managed to completely miss your earlier post. Group theoretic ideas applied to music theory sounds very interesting. Is there any way to view your thesis online?
unknown
fuck ftagn
the market for full-time professors is dead. Tenure is pie in the sky right now. All three of the colleges I teach at are comprised of at least 60% adjunct faculty. PhD holders are getting adjunct gigs (which is one of the main reasons why I'm in no rush to get one...that and I'm still burned out from writing/publishing my master's thesis). Every week on Slate there's at least one article about the business like atmosphere in colleges. They can hire part-time instructors to teach more and pay less.
That being said, I absolutely love what I do. This is my fifth year in the classroom, and it's what I'm meant to do. I can do this until I'm 8000 years old
That being said, I absolutely love what I do. This is my fifth year in the classroom, and it's what I'm meant to do. I can do this until I'm 8000 years old
Yeah. I'm admittedly a little ignorant of the fine details of the predominance of adjunct faculty, but it comes off as something just a little short of exploitation given the experience required, the low pay, the amount of time an instructor must invest in the job, and the contingent nature of their employment. It's sad, but I really can't see myself doing anything with my life other than teaching. I'm fucking ready. I often give quasi-lectures to myself during cigarette breaks and such.
SentinelSlain
Suck my joined date.
- Nov 21, 2007
- 10,015
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Education is so fucking overpriced. Anyone who does a computer science degree gets library access to a load of books they can download instantly for nothing (illegally). You need to demonstrate your skills and experience to actually get a job in the industry anyway, so whatever projects you decide to do in your own time are more important and they have to be good. If you don't have motivation to study it all on your own direction then you wont ever be that good anyway, you wont be the next Gabe Newell.
Education needs a kick in the arse. The world could, quite easily, set things up so that any meagre peasant in the kingdom of a thousand screams, who can carry themselves to an internet cafe, could get a medical or law degree, but it hasn't. I am aware of online free degrees, coursera and so on, but it could be a lot more than what it is.
I just don't see the point in the uni system being the way that it is. As it is, it's an extension of the school system, a system of rewarding conformity and weeding out rebellious minds and so on, but only a cunt would load all of that shit onto the highest levels of learning and research.
* obviously medical degree was an exaggeration, as is anything that requires lab experience, especially stuff with cadavers, but for humanities and computer science, uni is not really required.
Education needs a kick in the arse. The world could, quite easily, set things up so that any meagre peasant in the kingdom of a thousand screams, who can carry themselves to an internet cafe, could get a medical or law degree, but it hasn't. I am aware of online free degrees, coursera and so on, but it could be a lot more than what it is.
I just don't see the point in the uni system being the way that it is. As it is, it's an extension of the school system, a system of rewarding conformity and weeding out rebellious minds and so on, but only a cunt would load all of that shit onto the highest levels of learning and research.
* obviously medical degree was an exaggeration, as is anything that requires lab experience, especially stuff with cadavers, but for humanities and computer science, uni is not really required.
Master_Yoda77
Juggalo
I've pretty much accepted that I'm going to be living off of >20,000 a year for quite some time while my engineering friends are already making 60+k and buying BMWs and super computers. Those fuckers need to start picking up the checks when we get food/beers goddamnit.
Baroque
Active Member
Well at least you know. Yeah even though math teachers are in demand getting a full-time gig is still almost out of the question without 10 years experience. I don't mind adjuncting though. There's always plenty of classes and no pressure to have office hours, do research, and so on. If I got a full-time job I would probably still adjunct at a 2nd school for the money.
Algebraic topology was the most difficult course in grad school for me, so that's cool that you're into it. Whatever you do research in, I'm sure it will be very interesting. It's difficult to keep up with it once you're no longer a student, but maybe you will.
Yeah I'd be glad to send you a copy of my thesis. Many new discoveries were made and a lot of computer programming was involved so that part may be difficult to understand. But if you have a solid foundation in group theory you should be able to figure it out. If you PM me your email I'll send the full thing to you.
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