"Those of you from the United States will likely receive marks lower than you would at your home institutions. Grading tends to be a bit more lax in the states."
You must be joking. Those were my first thoughts when our introductory speaker stood up to talk about the educational objectives and requirements of Stirling. You must be joking. I wasn't quite sure whether to take our speaker's comments offensively or to use it as a challenge. And so, as I have continuously done so with my educational studies, I took his insult to my head (If you heard the way he said the words and smiled ever so slightly afterwards, you would agree it was intended as such) and disregarded the rest of his presentation. As informative as it may have been, I turned to my Hungarian neighbor, Pálmi, and asked her to teach me several Hungarian phrases. Well, this too may have turned out to be a mistake just as thoughtless as not paying attention to the speaker. You see, the Hungarian language isn't one that can be learned quickly. Their alphabet, with 35 cases (consonants as far as I have understood) and 14 vowels makes it the 4th most difficult language to learn. The only languages more difficult include Chinese (1), Arabic (2), and Tuyuca (3 - this is the language of a portion of the Amazon) As you can see, I was in over my head but, in fact, came out a champion. After only a short 30 minute lesson I can now comfortably walk the streets of Hungary saying 'Hi' 'Good Morning' 'Have a nice meal' 'Good Night' 'Cheers' and 'Bunny.' You may not think that's enough to let me survive, but as my previous posts have stated, waking up, drinking (cheers!), and going to bed are about the only things that count in Europe. As for learning the term for bunny, it's mainly because this campus has millions of them. No joke. Each night on a walk across campus you'll likely run into a dozen or so bunnies hopping along footpaths or along the hillsides.
My Hungarian lessons were a short and sweet start to my academic endeavors in Scotland, but they would not soon be my last. Classes were about to begin, and they run very differently than the classes in the United States. For starters, I am currently enrolled in 3 courses. Back at BW I was subjected to six courses. And while I often took a large schedule load, the minimum coursework of 12 credit hours would still require 4 courses of 3 credit hours each. What makes the fewer classes even more unusual is the amount of time given for lectures and seminars. I have two classes that have 1-hour lectures and one class with a 2-hour lecture. That's it. The course doesn't meet three times a week or even four (like most classes at BW). We meet ONCE a week. I sit and listen to professors for 4 hours a week. That's not much time at all. And while there are seminars for each class, these portions of the course are more discussion and productivity time. I have 5 hours of seminar a week (2 of these hours are specifically set aside for additional film viewing). All together my grand total of in-class exposure is 9 hours per week. It's a ridiculously small amount of time to get anything done. However, all the quick judgements are made about all the free time I have with my life, I must articulate a resounding difference between the educational systems of different countries. Scotland does not cater to students. One is still expected to be doing an extreme amount of work and research in all the 'free time.' The University expects students to take complete responsibility for their academic success... or failure. This is a concept that worries me. After all I am in a brand new country with plenty of things to do. I could climb a mountain during the day, travel to town, visit another country (Did I mention I don't have classes on Wednesdays or Fridays!). I do know, however, that this probably isn't the best ideas, knowing that the lurking of essays and exams will soon approach.
For each of the classes at Stirling, there are two portions to a final mark (grade). The exam is worth 50% of your final mark, and it's often due right after spring break (The University calls it 'reading week' so you catch up on reading. I call that bull shit and will be traveling to London! YOLO!). It's a relatively similar situation to the sick thrill my high school English teacher got out of making research papers due the Monday after prom weekend. Everyone leaves campus before essays are due and then all of a sudden, a large essay is to be turned in. If not on time, that's perfectly acceptable. You're grade simply drops a letter for each day it is late. This leaves the other 50% of the final mark to the mercy of a final exam. For each course there is a three-hour exam period where we are required to write another essay. This time, though, there are both time constraints and resource shortages. There's very little I can write in an exam essay that sounds intelligent if I am unable cite other resources and then expand on their already established and accredited ideas. Overall, if you've been following anything I've been writing (it's quite likely I'm not making much sense, however I'm far too tired to proof-read at this hour), then you can put the pieces together and figure if I get a poor mark on one of these, I will do very poorly in the class. While the thought of doing poorly makes me sick to an extent, I am slowly convincing myself that the grade is irrelevant. I'm studying abroad. That's already more than 95% of college graduates can claim.
For those of you who are interested, the grade breakdown is as follows:
1A, 1B, 1C (A)
2A (A-)
2B (B+)
2C, 2D (B)
2E, 2F (B-)
3A (C+)
3B (C)
3C (C-)
4 (D)
5 (F)
Make whatever conclusions you will. I just hope I never see a 3.
I avoid boring you to death in one epic breakdown of my courses, but here's an idea of one of my courses. It's entitled Experimental Cinema. Now, what about that class doesn't sound fun? That's what I originally thought, anyway. What I would soon come to learn is that the lectures are mind-baffling concepts that dive into the deepest and most inventive portions of the brain. The problems begin when that area of the brain has never or rarely been exposed to such artistic depth. Fortunately, Baldwin Wallace has trained me well with a cluster of its courses. Theatre Literature, and Film & Culture are the two main ones that have artistically stretched me. Experimental Cinema (EC), for those of you who have never had the opportunity to observe it at its finest is basically an artistic movement in film thats sole purpose was to disrupt the Hollywood model of cinema and all it stood for (order, precision, and conscious understanding). Therefore, these cinematic artists sought out a form of expression that gave little attention to form. If you care to explore more about it, search Un Chien Andalou in Youtube and watch the film. It's a great example, not too terribly long, and a good understanding as to what I watch and discuss in courses. Yes, I said watch. One can't expect to learn about film without watching it. The one-hour lecture becomes quite bearable when 40 of those minutes are for screening films.
While I'd love to keep typing and typing and typing until I can type no more, I must end the post with a picture I took several days ago on a walk. For I am off to read The Flower Thief: The 'film poem,' Warhol's early films, and the beat writers. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Until next time, my friends!
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| A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. - Greek proverb |
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