Hey all! Thought I would write a post tonight about my Vandytastic weekend.
On Friday night I went to see Vanderbilt Off Broadway's production of The Fiddler on the Roof. I love this musical (who doesn't?) so I was really excited to see VOB's version of it. The cast was so talented and they really put on a fabulous show. The guy who played Tevye was phenomenal and all of the supporting cast (including two of my friends!) was amazing as well. It's always really cool to go to something like this and see how talented your fellow students are. That's one of the things I love most about college and, specifically, Vanderbilt.
On Saturday night I went to the Asian New Year Festival, which is an annual cultural celebration put on by the Asian American Student Association (for more about this club, click here) to celebrate the new year. This year is the Year of the Rat so there were lots of gummy rats scattered around on the tables--haha. Anyway, the evening started with an optional dinner of Asian food and was then followed by a ton of performances including a Korean fan dance, a Chinese yo-yo act, and a hip-hop routine that combined Asian and American pop songs. And that's only a small sampling of the night. If you'd like to see a slide show of ANYF, click here to go to InsideVandy.com and check out a presentation that my friend Ben put together. Overall ANYF was REALLY well done and it was awesome to watch my friends who participated in the dances and performances. And it was just a cool celebration of Asian culture!
By the way, are any prospectives out there interested in studio arts? I'm asking because I spent a couple of hours last night at Vandy's Studio Arts Center throwing pots with my friends Eric and Tom. I'd never been to our Studio Arts Center before but it was really cool! There was a lot of showcased student art and the building itself is just fantastic. I didn't know we had such great resources for Art majors.
Well that's all I've got for now. I'll try to write another post later this week! Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Primaries/More on Classes
Hello friends. I thought I'd build off of my post from last week and write a quick blog about the best classes/professors I've ever taken at Vandy. But first, let me just say that Super Tuesday was so exciting! Lots of Vandy students went and voted and it's been awesome hearing everyone talk about the presidential candidates. Our student newspaper, The Hustler, has been providing constant coverage on the '08 Election, and the Vandy Democrats and Vandy Republicans have both been really active lately. People are certainly getting passionate about the upcoming presidential election and it's creating a really exciting atmosphere around campus. Just thought I'd share that for all of you high schoolers who are interested in politics!
And now, without further ado, here are my favorite classes ever:
1) History of Rock Music (Fall '06)
-Harder than it sounds, but definitely as interesting and awesome as it sounds. The prof who teaches it (Jen Gunderman) has played with tons of famous bands, and she even invited some well-known musicians to come to our class (like one of the guys from Widespread Panic...yeah). One of the assignments is to go to a concert and then write a paper about it using the info you learn in class; the other big assignment is to argue for a musician that you think should be included in the class. We learned about Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, James Brown, Dylan, Hendrix, The Doors, Janis Joplin, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Journey, U2, Nirvana, plus tons of more bands and artists. Way too many to list. But the thing I really liked about this class was that we learned about these musicians in the context of American history and how they affected or were affected by their own era.
2) French 115F: The French Experience in the Americas (Fall '06)
-Not as dull as it sounds, folks. This class was my freshman writing seminar, a.k.a. a class that all freshmen in the college of Arts & Science have to take (you get to choose from dozens of options). There were 12 students in the class, myself included. Five of them are now among my best friends (and one is my roommate). Our professor was fantastic and taught us a lot, but most importantly she made the transition to college work a lot easier. At the end of the semester she invited us all over to her house for dinner! (Yes, that kind of thing actually does happen.)
3) American Studies 100: Citizenship and Culture in the Early Cold War, 1945-1963 (Spring '07)
-Probably my favorite class ever. I loved my professor and I loved the subject material. We talked about everything having to do with the 1950s and how America developed or was hindered during that time. We also watched several movies that featured material we learned about in class. Taking this course made me want to be an American Studies major, which I now am.
4) History of World War II (Spring '07)
-Taught by one of the best professors at Vanderbilt: Michael Bess. This guy is the man (or, as my friend Ed would say, "epic"). He really knows his stuff. We talked about everything have to do with WWII, even the fringe elements (like popular music and art at the time). Prof Bess is even creating an archive based on interviews that we, the students, have done with people who lived during the War--mostly grandparents, but other people too. On the last day of class everyone gave Bess a standing ovation. Pretty epic.
5) Oceanography (Fall '07)
-Okay, let me just say that I seriously cannot stand taking science courses, and quite honestly I didn't exactly enjoy studying for these exams. However, that being said, Ocean was an awesome class because it really opened my eyes to what's going on with the earth, global warming, processes affecting the ocean, etc. It was just one of those classes that exposed me to something I had no interest in prior to taking it. Professor Goodbred is wonderful, too. Actually, my friend Kathleen and I refer to him as "Wonderbred," but that's beside the point. The guy is just really passionate about the ocean and he was a great lecturer.
6) To be determined, based on how my Spring '08 courses turn out.
Alright, so that's all finished now. Sweet. But before I go, let me mention that I enjoyed receiving comments on my previous post. Whoever asked me to talk about cool places around campus: fear not, you will get your wish. As for the person who asked me something about a math course: could you further elaborate on that? I wasn't quite sure what you were asking.
Happy Super Tuesday/Mardi Gras, everyone!
And now, without further ado, here are my favorite classes ever:
1) History of Rock Music (Fall '06)
-Harder than it sounds, but definitely as interesting and awesome as it sounds. The prof who teaches it (Jen Gunderman) has played with tons of famous bands, and she even invited some well-known musicians to come to our class (like one of the guys from Widespread Panic...yeah). One of the assignments is to go to a concert and then write a paper about it using the info you learn in class; the other big assignment is to argue for a musician that you think should be included in the class. We learned about Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, James Brown, Dylan, Hendrix, The Doors, Janis Joplin, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Journey, U2, Nirvana, plus tons of more bands and artists. Way too many to list. But the thing I really liked about this class was that we learned about these musicians in the context of American history and how they affected or were affected by their own era.
2) French 115F: The French Experience in the Americas (Fall '06)
-Not as dull as it sounds, folks. This class was my freshman writing seminar, a.k.a. a class that all freshmen in the college of Arts & Science have to take (you get to choose from dozens of options). There were 12 students in the class, myself included. Five of them are now among my best friends (and one is my roommate). Our professor was fantastic and taught us a lot, but most importantly she made the transition to college work a lot easier. At the end of the semester she invited us all over to her house for dinner! (Yes, that kind of thing actually does happen.)
3) American Studies 100: Citizenship and Culture in the Early Cold War, 1945-1963 (Spring '07)
-Probably my favorite class ever. I loved my professor and I loved the subject material. We talked about everything having to do with the 1950s and how America developed or was hindered during that time. We also watched several movies that featured material we learned about in class. Taking this course made me want to be an American Studies major, which I now am.
4) History of World War II (Spring '07)
-Taught by one of the best professors at Vanderbilt: Michael Bess. This guy is the man (or, as my friend Ed would say, "epic"). He really knows his stuff. We talked about everything have to do with WWII, even the fringe elements (like popular music and art at the time). Prof Bess is even creating an archive based on interviews that we, the students, have done with people who lived during the War--mostly grandparents, but other people too. On the last day of class everyone gave Bess a standing ovation. Pretty epic.
5) Oceanography (Fall '07)
-Okay, let me just say that I seriously cannot stand taking science courses, and quite honestly I didn't exactly enjoy studying for these exams. However, that being said, Ocean was an awesome class because it really opened my eyes to what's going on with the earth, global warming, processes affecting the ocean, etc. It was just one of those classes that exposed me to something I had no interest in prior to taking it. Professor Goodbred is wonderful, too. Actually, my friend Kathleen and I refer to him as "Wonderbred," but that's beside the point. The guy is just really passionate about the ocean and he was a great lecturer.
6) To be determined, based on how my Spring '08 courses turn out.
Alright, so that's all finished now. Sweet. But before I go, let me mention that I enjoyed receiving comments on my previous post. Whoever asked me to talk about cool places around campus: fear not, you will get your wish. As for the person who asked me something about a math course: could you further elaborate on that? I wasn't quite sure what you were asking.
Happy Super Tuesday/Mardi Gras, everyone!
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