Summary *tear* :'(

Before I go into describing my experience with this course, I would just like to say that it is probably one of my favorite classes I have taken so far.  It was perfect for the student who wants to learn outside of their major but doesn’t have enough will or courage to go to events or lectures on their own, or for the student who isn’t actively looking for these types of things to go to.  AKA- it was perfect for me.

I found that through the events I attended there were several common threads but also still a variety of events so it kept things interesting.  It seems like I went to several events that dealt with the LGBT community, and a few events dealing with the arts (poetry, music, dance...). Looking back I can probably make a connection from week to week from things I experienced and things I learned, not just connections from the topic at hand.  I often found myself learning more about myself through these common threads because I didn’t realize these threads until closer towards the end of the semester. 

At first I thought most of these events were illogical pertaining to the current work I am making and my current interests.  But again, when I look back on the semester it has come to my attention that some of these topics of events are actually present in my work and do pertain to interests and social/political issues in the media right now.  This was interesting to find out and reflect on, because sometimes I just make work and don’t have a lot of time to reflect back on a deeper meaning to the piece but now that I can connect topics from these events to my work I feel like it gives me a better understanding of my methods to making work/giving my work meaning.  Going along with that, it too helped me to find out more about myself.  I have been able to reign in my interests and focus on things I really want to put my time and creative vision into. Although this specifically helps me as an artist with my studies and personal work, I think it would still be beneficial for students of other majors to come to these epiphanies about themselves.  It was a weird feeling, but rewarding and satisfying at the same time.

Some of the events, like mentioned above, I did not think had any correlation to who I am and what I am interested in.  But to my surprise there were a few events that became more important to me than I first thought.  Mainly the music related events became more important to me, but also the lectures and movies geared towards the LGBT community.  I have always loved music and been amazed by people that make music, but until this class I have never related it to what I do personally with my art making.  I was able to see that many different forms of art deal with certain concepts that are similar and there is a kind of rhythm and movement involved in making music that I also find myself doing when making photographs. It’s a beautiful thing to think about and realize, and I’m disappointed in myself for not thinking this deeply about my methods and processes before now. The LGBT events were also more important to me after the thought because I felt like I was able to relate better with some of my best friends who have had to go through some of the hardships that were brought further to the surface of my attention through these events.  It also made me realize that everyone goes through some type of pain, judgment, hate, etc from other people and it could be a really wild and amazing thing if everyone was able to connect through this to help one another rather than oppress each other. I found myself getting pretty angered and heated during some of these events because I couldn’t believe how cruel some people in this world are, not that I was oblivious to it, but it was a different and eye opening experience to see it more “first-hand”, even if it was just through a video or lecture. Because of some of the strong emotions I felt during certain events, it really helped me to figure out the issues I find important in the world, and gave me time to think about how I can be proactive in changing things in my life or others for the better. I’m not sure if these things showed up in my work this semester, maybe if I reflect back on everything I produced I could see connections, but it’s hard to say now since I’m just now realizing some of these important factors from these events.  I can say that it helped me with my work to be confident and make what I desire to make, not make something to please someone else.  This was huge for me since I’m a very quiet and shy person, and I’m not sure if I would have gained some of this confidence without this course.

The two most unexpected events I went to were the ones on modern greek studies and the evolution of life histories in turtles.  I thought I could really learn some awesome things with these events, while I might have learned a bit they weren’t nearly as rewarding to attend as my other events.  They were out of my comfort zone though, which is why I would consider them unexpected.  I have slight interest in greek studies and biology, so it wasn’t a total snooze fest to attend these but if I could do it over again I would most definitely choose different events to go to these weeks.

An event I would choose to go to over and over again would be the tesla coil concert.  MY GOD was that amazing.  It literally blew my mind.  It brought me back to some of my high school roots of being a science and math nerd, and was a great way to spend a couple hours of my night rather than wasting it away on the couch watching a pointless television show. I wish the whole class could have attended this, it was so incredibly cool to experience and the atmosphere it made and crowd it drew... spectacular. I want to say they do this every year during the engineering open house week, so hopefully I remember this next year and check it out again.  I probably didn’t learn much at this event, but like I said, it brought me back to who I am at heart: a nerd.

I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed this course.  It was completely different from most other classes I have taken.  Definitely different from in-class courses I have taken rather than online courses.  It was similar to other online courses in that it was kind of self-paced and our grades relied on our performance and meeting deadlines.  I really enjoy this kind of structure rather than a typical lecture, taking notes.  I feel like you learn more and polish some skills (like self-discipline) through online courses rather than normal classes.  And especially with this mining the university course, you learned a lot about yourself.  To me, these types of things are more important to get out of your college education than listening to a boring lecture and cramming for tests. Because I have experienced this course now, I most definitely think of my educational experience differently.  I almost find certain things less stressful now because I am trying to find things from class to personally relate to that make it easier for me to comprehend and learn. I also find myself a lot more relaxed in classes and with my everyday tasks.  I don’t know if that’s because I’m nearing the end of my college career and this comes naturally or if this course has taught me so much about myself I don’t find a formal education as necessary as before.  I say this because I don’t think I’ve learned much about myself from other courses at this university that are taught formally, not that I think having an education is not beneficial. And from this point on I think I will continue to change my educational experience as I change - whereas before both of these changes weren’t correlated.

I have kind of mentioned this before, but I have been able to find comparisons and difference between the events I attended and my major.  I don’t want to keep repeating myself, but I have found that more often than not I was able to find comparisons with the events I chose and my major than differences. These comparisons and differences might not be so straightforward, but they are there and I think it is important for myself and my future works that I have realized this.

I think I did attend a few of the events I posted, but more so I went to events other people posted.  My personal schedule had some to do with this, because I would have liked to attend more than one or two events a week. I also didn’t always attend an event I found super interesting at first, due to scheduling- but I still always found a relevancy in the end.  Looking back now, I’m almost glad I didn’t always go to the events I posted though, because this gave me room to grow and find out what my peers find interesting as well.  I don’t think there was any one person whose event postings stuck out to me as “Oh, I have to go to this”, so I think there was a variety on my part of whose events I chose to go to.  Everyone seemed to choose pretty neat events though to post, and like I said, there were times I wish I could have gone to more.

I know we had to document ourselves at the events and then write about them as apart of recognition that we actually went to an event, but sometimes I liked documenting the event more than actually going to the event.  I use to write a lot when I was younger but strayed away from it in high school and college, so it was nice for me to be able to write my thoughts and feelings out again, even though I know most of the time they were just ramblings and didn’t make much sense to anyone else but myself.  But I found that almost meditative. It also aided in my gain of confidence, because I knew other people from the class were going to be reading my posts, so I had to stop being afraid of what other people were going to think and just write out what I wanted to.  In a way I found writing as documentation more important, but taking images was still important, especially as a photography student.  Sometimes I was lazy with taking images but other times I found things inspiring within the venues and had to snap pictures of it too, rather than just a selfie or group picture of who attended the event.  Times like that are when I think this documentation turned into art for me, and times when I let more of myself and emotions out in my writing were also art for me.  Obviously these were also the times I put more thought into what I was photographing or writing, which made me think about my everyday life.  I could be walking from my apartment to my car underneath and see something that catches me eye, whip my phone out, and snap a picture (this has actually happened multiple times), so these events were just another way for me to keep snapping photos and practice seeing things and forming images in my mind into an actual image with a camera. Practice makes perfect, right?

In the beginning of the course, I looked at other students blogs more often than I did towards the end.  At first I just wanted to see how other people were going about typing their post and how they were taking their pictures.  A little bit of anxiety came with this course since I have never been apart of a class taught this way.  I then found myself interested in what my classmates had to say though.  I probably looked at blogs of events I wish I attended more so than others.  And sometimes I liked to look at blogs of events I chose to go to, to see how they experienced the same thing I did.  Every week I would look at the excerpts though.  This also helped me to decide on which blog I wanted to check out further. I found the weekly excerpts to be their own piece of art in a way.  I would smile, laugh or agree with what was there and thought it was very interesting to see snippets from everyone in one place. It was almost a mini research project of how we all thought, and reading them all as one rather than excerpts added to this. Overall, I guess I was more aware of specific students experiences over others just because I attended the same events as them or was able to talk with them outside of the event about their thoughts.  It could be an interesting change for the next time this course is taught that everyone goes to an event together and have a discussion on it.

AGAIN! I really enjoyed this course and plan on taking it again if I can.  More so than learning about the different topics of events I went to, I was able to learn about myself and my peers to a great extent.  It is so rewarding to be able to say this, and I feel like it can only go up from here for next year and for other events I attend in the future on my own time.  

Apr 24-30

UI STEEL BAND AND I-PAN
TIM BERG, DIRECTOR
THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2013, AT 7:30PM | COLWELL PLAYHOUSE

These groups perform calypso, soca, jazz, and popular works.

This performance will last approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes.

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I have never been to a steel band performance before so this was pretty cool for me. Some of the band members actually composed their own songs or did arrangements of some famous songs. So cool. Aside from the entertainment aspect and going to something new, I picked up on the body language of the members. In our darkroom this semester Linda often mentions how meditative photography can be and how you use your body to make the work. I found this to be the same for these performances. Every single person was using basically their entire body to make the music, count beats or move along to the tune. I mainly thought about that the entire show and somehow finally realized that maybe that's why I'm so interested in music and mesmerized by people who make music. I know this course is over but I hope to push myself to go to more of these concerts or similar shows at the krannert because I feel it helps me to meditate on my own practices plus its nice to get away from reality for a couple hours and listen to some awesomely talented students.

OH and can I just say... This event also helped make it click in my head about how happy i am to be at this school. It is filled with so many intelligent, inspiring and talented people - so why not go support others with these campus events.

Apr 17-23

Story of a Rape Survivor

Speaker A Long Walk Home, Inc.
Date Apr 23, 2013
Time 7:30 pm
Location Lincoln Hall Theater
Cost FREE
Sponsor Women's Resources Center
Contact Molly McLay
E-Mail mclay1@illinois.edu
Phone 217.333.3137
Event type WRC Program Event
Views 8
Originating Calendar Women's Resources Center
Story of a Rape Survivor (SOARS) is an award winning multimedia performance that entertains as well as educates the audience about sexual assault prevention. Featuring the music of Nina Simone, Maxwell, and Sade, SOARS tells one woman's story about how she reclaimed her body, sexuality, and self-esteem after being sexually assaulted in college. SOARS is a cutting-edge theatrical experience that stars a diverse cast of women, combining photographs, dance, spoken-word poetry and music as a way to educate about healing from sexual violence. The ultimate aim is to show that the shame, guilt and self-blame that rape victims too often experience can be eased; that the stories of rape survivors can be one of triumph and hope.


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The information provided above basically explains what happened. When I first walked in I thought it was going to be a cheesy cliche performance like that required rape event you have to attend freshman year. But to my surprise it was actually interesting to watch. The multimedia dynamic of the event was great, it really helped to convey their specific messages and you were able to feel those emotions yourself. At the end they did a QA session and each performer was an artist outside of this show which was cool and they explained a bit about their own practices. Lately I've had the urge to want to start my own or join an organization for art therapy to help people cope with their feelings through art and hearing these ladies speak about this inspired me even more. I would say this is one of the better and most meaningful events I've attended because it was highly art and specifically photography based so I could definitely relate to that aspect and pick pieces out of the performances and introductions of the performers to mold into my own photographic practices and thoughts running through my head recently. It left me with a lot to think about and I appreciate that.



Ps- waiting for Wes to add a picture of us :)

Apr 10 - 16

I went to the event Christian posted for April 16th about the Chief.

I was hoping the room for this event would be packed, but it seemed like they didnt so a good job on letting the campus know this was taking place - as I would not have known about this if it weren't for this class. Most of the group their were anti chief but there were a few that were pro.

At first there was a presentation about how the chief as a mascot is disrespectful, etc, but I felt like their arguments weren't very well researched or thought out. They seemed to be attacking the audience with their view rather than giving information to help us form an opinion. Some people in the audience spoke out and asked questions or spoke their point of view. And most of these people remained neutral and open minded to everyone in the room which I thought was great. But one of the main hosts of this event was very judgmental and it was her views or the highway which I don't think is good, especially for events like this, because compromise is a huge part of finding a workable solution for both parties involved and she wasn't wanting to hear anything from people pro chief.

While I already knew most of these arguments and have my own stance in the issue I feel like this event helped me to better understand and help me formulate better reasons for myself to choose the side I'm on.

I wouldn't mind going to other events about the chief because I think it's beneficial to hear other people's views and it's a great way to hopefully someday come to some type of solution for very one involved.

Apr 3 - 9

"Evolution of Life Histories, Indeterminate Growth, and Perceptions of Age in Turtles"
Dr. Justin Congdon - Savannah River Ecology Lab
Apr 9, 2013
3:00 pm
1816 S. Oak St Champaign, IL

The singular life-history trait of attaining maturity combined with the relative contributions of juvenile and adult growth combine to shape the suite of life-history traits of organisms with indeterminate growth. Although the assumption that indeterminate growth is a general trait of reptiles is widely accepted, data are scarce (particularly for long-lived individuals.)

We examined patterns of variation in adult growth using over a hundred years of mark-recapture data on 13 populations of 9 species (3 families) of freshwater turtles from studies in South Carolina, Michigan, and Arizona in the USA and in Ontario, Canada. The influence of growth on life-history trait values indicated that increases in body size (and associated reproductive output) resulting from indeterminate growth are not substantial enough to represent a major factor in the evolution of life histories in general or the evolution of longevity and aging specifically.

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I was a little confused with the description of this event, even though I was a huge bio nerd in high school. But attending the event really clarified everything for me, and while some parts were a little boring to listen to I feel like I learned something new about traits and lifespan in turtles and can relate and compare those to that of humans.

It was held in a small room, that was actually full of people (usually the events I've gone to are lacking in the audience department). So it was cool to see all these people coming together to learn about something they're all interested in. Everyone was laid back and they even had a party afterward at one persons house (we didn't go though hah). It reminded me a lot of my hometown and my biology classes in high school, because once or twice we had people come in to lecture about turtles - but not as in depth as this event.

Everyone also had a good sense of humor and no one was uptight or formally dressed like some of the events I've gone to previously, which was nice because I felt more at ease being there. The speaker kept cracking jokes during his presentation and I surprisingly understood them.

Overall I actually enjoyed this event because it gave me a chance to continue learning about things in the science field that I use to love but don't have time to take electives in while at college

Sadly the only picture I have is of the buffalo statue in the front of the building. We got there just before the event started and sat in the front so I didn't want to disrupt and take pictures.

Mar 27-Apr 2

April 2, 7pm, Diversity and Social Justice Ed (703 S Wright)

Screening of "City of Borders"

City of Borders goes inside the vibrant community at the only gay bar in Jerusalem where people of opposing nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations create a sanctuary among people typically viewed as each other’s enemy. Co-sponsored by the LGBT Resource Center and Building Bridges.

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 I didn't realize it until we were a few minutes into the movie, but several things in my life right now have been revolving around these topics of religion and sexual orientation and this movie kind of rounded it all out.

I've recently found myself watching shows or documentaries on religion, specifically Christianity, since I've been raised a Lutheran yet still question it and religion in general.  Sexual orientation is also something I think about a lot recently because many of my friends are not heterosexual and are having to deal with all the political drama about same sex marriage and the opposing religious views people add on top it. So this movie kind of combined both of these, and gave me a perspective of these issues outside of the United States.

I guess I have never really thought about how these issues are laid out in other countries, and assume that they are different from how they are in the United States.  But actually, they were pretty similar.  I won't go into a lot of detail because I think we all know how religion and sexual orientation is thought about in the US, so just imagine that we aren't some superior country because other people are going through the same struggles we are, in almost identical manners.

Most of this movie though focused on how this gay bar brought people of different nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations together.  This was a pretty amazing thing.  Practically enemies would come to this bar and be free of all stress, judgments and hate from their everyday lives and come together as one - only needing to be there for happiness and love.  I think this is something other people from these countries and countries that aren't even neighbors can learn from.  If you put all the violence and hate aside, everything would be a lot more simple and everyone could work together as one to solve problems. Of course we know it's not that easy...

Another thing I found people could learn from, and was humorous, was one guy was walking along a fenced boarder with his dog.  The dog crossed the boarder, and the owner said something how dogs (animals) don't know the difference/being different isn't a worry of theirs.  I thought this was true.  Most dogs and animals are so loving and forgiving, and this is exactly how people should be too, definitely when it comes to fighting religions and sexual orientations (and other issues I suppose)... because technically we are all the same... so why should any of this be an issue? 

I really enjoyed watching this film, and found in beneficial for things I am currently questioning in my life.  I'm glad I checked the main blog one last time to see Harrison posted this.

Mar 13-19

Jack Buser, Senior Director of Digital Platforms, Sony PlayStation

"Gaming is for Grown-Ups: A View of the Industry"

I attended Harrison's event this week. I was actually a little excited for this...shh. I'm really into math, science and all these cool electronics that are created out of those fields. I'm not a huge gamer myself, but I do have a few iPhone apps that are games, play the Wii, and the occasional board game.

This lecture talked about different types of games, and how new products are considered games now (like most people wouldn't consider playing an iPhone game as a "gamer" game). There was a little talk about what Sony is doing to take their products and research to the next level. But the most important thing for me was that Jack is an UIUC Alum and could give us advice about how to be involved with the university and what you can do after graduating.

A really great piece of advice he gave was that whatever your interest is you need to relate that to the classes you are taking so they are more beneficial-tweak the material to fit you. It also gives you a chance to connect your interests to what you can do in "the real world".

This event was pretty crowded and I felt a little out of place because I wasn't a male engineer, but I did enjoy it overall. And I think I'll search for more events/lectures in the future that are held by current faculty or alumni. It's really great to see the awesome things graduates from this university can do!