I found a draft of the spring timetable and good news abounds. One: there’s a graduate class taught by one of my current professors entitled “Magic and Wonder.” We’ve talked a little bit about the reading list for an upcoming class of his because he knows this is my interest area, but I assumed it was an undergrad class. Two: there’s a graduate class on sci-fi utopias and dystopias taught by the other professor I’ve met with. These classes meet back-to-back on Wednesdays. I don’t think I should have a problem getting in (I’ll register ASAP) but if I do, I can always beg entry considering this is, you know, my main area of interest.
As a nice upshot, this means my commute schedule won’t be any worse than it was this semester and, in fact, it will likely mean I’ll only be gone one night a week. Less driving is good, but on the down side that means less time in the UW-M community, which is something I really ought to address.
On the down side, in thinking about a few things I fear I might have rubbed a few other students the wrong way. I’m genuinely enthused and interested in my classes and I get involved—I think I might come off as a braggart know-it-all. I acknowledge my personality is *ahem* strong at times (and overbearing the rest of the time) but it’s all part of my charm, really.
Frankly, I could give a rat’s ass if this is indeed the case. I’m certainly not trying to teach anyone anything. I share what I know (or what I think I know) and let the others decide what to do with it. To be perfectly blunt, my much larger fear is that grad school will somehow impede my progress as a writer, and that includes pussyfooting around and keeping my mouth shut when I have something valid to say. It could be that I’m misreading the whole situation but again, I don’t really care. My grad school goals are to keep getting published, to lay a solid foundation for my academic career, and to find writers/thinkers of like interests. In that order.
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While the content is certainly different, than mine, I’d be curious if your experience is similar to mine, which ended in May.
If your curriculum is shared with a number of the same students each term, the dominant ones will stay that way, and you will become so sick of their comments because you can predict what they will say, often before they raise their hand. If you’re one of the engaged and vocal participants, try to pick your places, as I had to zip my lip often in order to appease the students wanting to get out of class at a reasonable hour, and not jeopardize my ability to get the best and brightest on my project teams (though I doubt writers work in teams very much).
The ones that look at you while making a comment about something you’ve said or written, they’re the ones who are trying to help by offer constructive criticism. The ones who don’t make eye contact are useless.
Today I really stretched my $0.02!
Two: there’s a graduate class on sci-fi utopias and dystopias taught by the other professor I’ve met with
Dude, I am so jealous right now!
That’s so much better than my choices!
One of my classes indeed has a lot vocal participants who bore me to tears. The scenario of which I speak I think stems from the authority by which I say things, as though I think I’m running the class.
For instance, I’ll disagree with anyone who endorses a slow build up in a short story as a way to build tension. Editors have tons of manuscripts they’re dying to reject so no, they won’t wait until page eight for it to get good. Is this a definitive statement? Yes. But so is the statement “the earth always goes around the sun.” They both happen to be true. If this makes me unpopular, so be it.
I should stress that most of my classmates appear to have no problem with me. The individual in question and I happen to be on opposite ends of the spectrum regarding criticism of our classmates’ work. And it’s possible that I’m misreading the situation entirely and imagining a bad vibe.
Eric, I’m pretty excited about it. I think it’s unusual for these courses to be offered but I haven’t encountered any negativity for being interested in fantasy/sci-fi at all. In fact, the only hostility I’ve sensed is directed at the writers in general from the theory/criticism side of the department.
Yeah, I’ve heard of undergrad Sci-fi classes in the form of Utopian studies, straight Sci-fi, Fantasy, Horror, film classes with any of these monikers, Graphic Novels and Comics (which is related), but never an actual Grad class.
That’s what I think is especially cool about it.