daniel brought me a provocative essay by paul graham, called 'taste for makers.' you may find this piece stimulating, whether or not you agree with it. so have a look at it online at
http://www.paulgraham.com/taste.html/
and, of course, post your comments *here*.
graham works as a programming-language designer, among other things, so some of his ideas are doubtless stimulated by what he thinks a good *design* is [sc. in a programming language]. but his interests, and his comments in this essay, range very widely -- over sports, architecture, and the arts generally.
you'll see that a number of his points are enumerated in a series of paragraphs beginning 'good design is --- .' you might ask yourself critically whether you agree with each of these; if so, why; and if not, why not.
and then, of course, tell us.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
back yet again: a new beginning
to a certain extent, this blog has been rather desultory precisely because there was no pressing need for it. i read recently [in the NY times?] that something like 80 THOUSAND new blogs are created each day. so it stands to reason that some of them must be, to some extent at least, supererogatory [not to say gratuitous].
that said, i have been feeling a pressing need for a web-based forum in which my students can discuss topics of interest [including but not limited to topics that come up in class, for which there's not sufficient time to devote the detail they deserve]. the blog format is not the ideal medium for this -- actual bulletin-board software would be better -- but for now, this will serve.
so, as of today, i intend to devote 'coraxioms' primarily to the discussion of topics that i would like to see pursued further. only i can *post* a topic, but anyone can post a *comment* on a posted topic.
so students, read the topics as they are posted, and use the comment function to pursue [or continue, if we've begun in class] the conversation. have fun!
that said, i have been feeling a pressing need for a web-based forum in which my students can discuss topics of interest [including but not limited to topics that come up in class, for which there's not sufficient time to devote the detail they deserve]. the blog format is not the ideal medium for this -- actual bulletin-board software would be better -- but for now, this will serve.
so, as of today, i intend to devote 'coraxioms' primarily to the discussion of topics that i would like to see pursued further. only i can *post* a topic, but anyone can post a *comment* on a posted topic.
so students, read the topics as they are posted, and use the comment function to pursue [or continue, if we've begun in class] the conversation. have fun!
Thursday, September 01, 2005
study abroad fair
today was purdue's annual study abroad fair. there were a couple dozen tables out on memorial mall, each one staffed by folks eager to induce passing students to at least think about studying abroad -- for a summer, a semester, a year. there were professors who [like myself] have taught abroad on such programs. and there were the students -- milling, collecting swag, munching popcorn, and checking it all out.
i feel very strongly that the study-abroad experience is vital to the american university education. it's extraordinarily important for a purdue student, because so many of them have never left indiana, let alone the USA. the notion of doing so may never have occurred to them. their parents may initially be actively hostile to the idea. this was all already true before 9/11; the sentiments have only grown stronger since then. and of course it's a recipe for xenophobia, prejudice, and blinkered living.
all of this is *in addition to* the intrinsic value, to classical studies, of travel to greece, to italy, and to other places in the mediterranean (and britain) where there are material remains of the greco-roman world. this summer i taught a course in greece, 'land of gods and heroes: greek mythology in greece,' which was based on the concept of linking texts to places. we would read myths and legends, and then go and see where they 'happened.' i do firmly believe that there's no more powerful way to experience the classics; and that no student who spends even a few weeks abroad will ever be the same person again. it's as simple as that.
i feel very strongly that the study-abroad experience is vital to the american university education. it's extraordinarily important for a purdue student, because so many of them have never left indiana, let alone the USA. the notion of doing so may never have occurred to them. their parents may initially be actively hostile to the idea. this was all already true before 9/11; the sentiments have only grown stronger since then. and of course it's a recipe for xenophobia, prejudice, and blinkered living.
all of this is *in addition to* the intrinsic value, to classical studies, of travel to greece, to italy, and to other places in the mediterranean (and britain) where there are material remains of the greco-roman world. this summer i taught a course in greece, 'land of gods and heroes: greek mythology in greece,' which was based on the concept of linking texts to places. we would read myths and legends, and then go and see where they 'happened.' i do firmly believe that there's no more powerful way to experience the classics; and that no student who spends even a few weeks abroad will ever be the same person again. it's as simple as that.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
back again
i think it's really funny that i haven't touched this blog for a whole year now. just over, actually. that should tell you what the past year has been like.
so i'm a year older, and the world has gone around the sun another time. how has the world of classics changed in the interim?
well, hmm. not sure we can measure it in cataclysmic events. but two things that i have noticed in particular:
[a] in the humanities outside of classics, people feel more than ever that theory is 'over.' [in practical terms, i think this means primarily 'poststructuralism' and in particular 'deconstruction.'] but just as it took quite awhile for literary theory to percolate into classics, i imagine it will take it awhile to leach out of it as well. [strictly speaking, i suppose, this is a way in which classics has not changed over the past year.]
[b] a trend that i think has continued [and in fact burgeoned] in classics is the visual turn. we continue to see an emphasis on the exploitation of classical civilizations in the visual media. this past year has seen the premieres of TROY, ALEXANDER, and now -- on television -- ROME. from a pedagogical angle, i would say that students are more visual than ever in the way they process information. this is something i try hard to keep in mind as i teach.
so i'm a year older, and the world has gone around the sun another time. how has the world of classics changed in the interim?
well, hmm. not sure we can measure it in cataclysmic events. but two things that i have noticed in particular:
[a] in the humanities outside of classics, people feel more than ever that theory is 'over.' [in practical terms, i think this means primarily 'poststructuralism' and in particular 'deconstruction.'] but just as it took quite awhile for literary theory to percolate into classics, i imagine it will take it awhile to leach out of it as well. [strictly speaking, i suppose, this is a way in which classics has not changed over the past year.]
[b] a trend that i think has continued [and in fact burgeoned] in classics is the visual turn. we continue to see an emphasis on the exploitation of classical civilizations in the visual media. this past year has seen the premieres of TROY, ALEXANDER, and now -- on television -- ROME. from a pedagogical angle, i would say that students are more visual than ever in the way they process information. this is something i try hard to keep in mind as i teach.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
first post
this is my first blog of any sort, and i'm regarding it as something of an experiment -- not quite a 'lark,' but i like the ludic quality of that approach, so i will hope to hold on to it.
'corax' has been my screen name since the mid-90s, back when purdue's email system still used bitnet. when we switched to various versions of 'purdue.edu,' i kept the handle 'corax,' and in april 1997, i put up an instructional website, which i used to call 'the corax zone.' it has been running nonstop since then, and now has its own dedicated URL -- www.corax.us -- an a newer, more streamlined portal page. at this point 'corax' [as i also now call the site] is fairly dense -- it's what i term a 'hypersite' because it depends heavily on *metasites* to take you to the material you need. but the point of it all is to provide, as i say, 'a comprehensive online curriculum for classical studies.' it's no exaggeration to say you could teach an entire MA program in classics from this site alone.
corax.us morphs all the time, of course, because the web itself does so. the average life-span of a website is 90 days, did you know that? this means that many links expire quickly. by the same token, new resources are being put online all the time, so one has to be vigilant about updating such a site.
what i have not yet added, as i've indicated above, is a blog. CORAXIOMS is meant to fill that gap. we'll see how it fares; i'm envisioning it as a place for me to express my ideas about the field of classics in specific, and the academic world in general. i expect there will be posts on texts and authors, but also about learning and teaching, about scholarly publishing, and about the profession [and the professoriate]. who knows what else. maybe some random extras [my favorite recipes?]
meanwhile, for an auspicious beginning, oblations to hermes, god of communication and eloquence; to apollo, god of the arts; to athena, goddess of wisdom; and to dionysus, god of bliss and ecstasy [there's altogether too little of those in the world generally or the academy specifically]. and off we go!
'corax' has been my screen name since the mid-90s, back when purdue's email system still used bitnet. when we switched to various versions of 'purdue.edu,' i kept the handle 'corax,' and in april 1997, i put up an instructional website, which i used to call 'the corax zone.' it has been running nonstop since then, and now has its own dedicated URL -- www.corax.us -- an a newer, more streamlined portal page. at this point 'corax' [as i also now call the site] is fairly dense -- it's what i term a 'hypersite' because it depends heavily on *metasites* to take you to the material you need. but the point of it all is to provide, as i say, 'a comprehensive online curriculum for classical studies.' it's no exaggeration to say you could teach an entire MA program in classics from this site alone.
corax.us morphs all the time, of course, because the web itself does so. the average life-span of a website is 90 days, did you know that? this means that many links expire quickly. by the same token, new resources are being put online all the time, so one has to be vigilant about updating such a site.
what i have not yet added, as i've indicated above, is a blog. CORAXIOMS is meant to fill that gap. we'll see how it fares; i'm envisioning it as a place for me to express my ideas about the field of classics in specific, and the academic world in general. i expect there will be posts on texts and authors, but also about learning and teaching, about scholarly publishing, and about the profession [and the professoriate]. who knows what else. maybe some random extras [my favorite recipes?]
meanwhile, for an auspicious beginning, oblations to hermes, god of communication and eloquence; to apollo, god of the arts; to athena, goddess of wisdom; and to dionysus, god of bliss and ecstasy [there's altogether too little of those in the world generally or the academy specifically]. and off we go!
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