Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield and Robert Downey Jr.

Thursday, January 20, 2005

After my much needed semester off with Ruby, I have returned to the University. I’m going to have to check with my advisor, but I think that after this semester (and maybe one summer class) I will have my degree. It has taken me seven years, not including the two semesters that I wasted back in 1989. It’s been tough going to school and still working enough to get out of debt, pay a mortgage, cover my bills and prepare for a baby. I’ve been attending in an extremely part time fashion since we moved back from New Orleans. The upside to my lengthy college career is that I have had enough time to maintain a 4.0 with relatively little stress. The downside is that I have become that guy in the front row that is obviously much older than his fellow students. When I first returned, I was young enough that, even though I had started making jokes to my friends about being the old guy in the class, I still felt like I could relate to the 21 and 22 year old seniors in a pinch, and It was kind of invigorating to be in such a youthful environment. However, these seven years have worn away at more than just my youthful appearance. For the first time in my life, I am beginning to feel like an adult. I am a father, and I am yearning to do work that is important to the community that my daughter will grow up in. I am less concerned with being hip, on the cutting edge, and partying and hedonistic pursuits, and yet I am still waiting tables, and I’m a 34 year old college senior. Oh well… If I hadn’t returned to school I’d still be stuck as a 34-year-old restaurant manager, worrying about the possibility of being a 40 year old college senior.

Even though I’m starting to burn out on my situation, I’m really excited about my classes. I love the feeling of starting a new semester. The vista of readings about to be encountered, before the reality of having to do all the work, is one of my favorite things in the world. I love school, and I covet my upcoming subjects, imagining that they will all be the most brilliant presentations of their subjects ever!

My friend Charis, whose opinion and intellectual enthusiasm I deeply respect, told me a couple of years ago that I needed to take Dr. Stevens’ History of the Book class. I could never fit it into my schedule until now, and I can’t wait to talk with her about it. I miss you Charis!
From the Syllabus:

This advanced level course introduces you to the history of the book as a major social, political, economic and intellectual force in Europe from the incunabulum period down to the eighteenth century… we shall examine several major topics, including the economics of print technology, the history of paper, the rise of literacy and mass reading markets, the impact of censorship, and the relationship between printing technology and revolution, particularly the protestant Reformation and the French Revolution. You will have the opportunity to examine rare books in the Special Collections Department of Getchell Library, as one way of enriching our understanding of the history of the book.

(I’m really excited about that. They have several 14th and 15th century books down there, and I have heard that they even have a pre-Malory Vulgate Cycle there! Woo Hoo!)

I’m also very excited about a Medieval Culture Capstone class which concentrates on the roots of Holy War: basically a history of the Crusades class. I’m stoked about the reading list, which is mostly primary sources, and appears to be balanced well between Christian and Islamic writings. I’ll be rereading The Koran and approaching Ibn Khaldun’s 14th century history, The Muquaddimah, for the first time. I’m one of those strange agnostic people who never gets sick of reading The Old Testament, and who could complain about The Song of Roland and El Cid? I’ve also been meaning to read Maalouf’s, The Crusades through Arab Eyes for a while, and now I have the impetus to do so!

The other two classes are less close to my heart, but since I want to be a high school English teacher, I feel like I should read something pertaining to a period after the 16th century. Until now, I've concentrated on the medieval period, and my idea of modern English Literature is Shakespeare. I’m taking a Modern British Lit class and Literature of the American West. They both seem like they’ll be pretty interesting despite their modernity. I’ll keep you posted.

Ruby has been under the weather and teething, which makes her transition into daycare challenging, but she seems to be doing well, considering. Her teachers got her to take a two-hour nap in a crib without rocking her to sleep, which has proved impossible for her parents. She’s had her needy crying times while away from her family, but who hasn’t? I love my kin so very much. Even though I'm excited to finish school, I wish that I could hang out with them all the time.

Please, someone help us all sleep! Amen.