This semester has been moving entirely too fast. The term didn't even begin until the end of January, followed by February, which is already a short month. And now, here I am, with the semester on its descent.
Classes are going well. I'm taking four courses and auditing another, so my schedule is a bit busy. On Mondays I have a seminar on Martin Luther King, Jr. It is great! I love the readings. Having taken my Gandhi seminar the previous semester, it's great following it with MLK. By reading all of King's writings, the Gandhian influence is blatantly apparent. In fact, over winter break, Perry and I went to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and they even had a special section on Gandhi and his Indian campaigns because of the vast influence it had on the American Civil Rights movement. When President Obama visited India last fall, he pointed out to the Indian Parliament that without Gandhi, he probably wouldn't be president right now, which is a pretty significant statement.
I am also taking Introductions to the New Testament by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. She's pretty much one of the most famous feminist theologians in the world. It's a really good class. I'm learning a lot about power structures, identity, and how these affect different parties in hierarchical relationships. As it's not in my area of focus, I'm only taking it Sat/Unsat instead of for a grade. We have small groups we meet in every week. My group had to present in class last week on the "Queer Bible Commentary." I have not had much experience in this area, so it was interesting to learn about it. I really enjoyed the introduction in it.
I'm auditing Intermediate Latin this semester to get a review on some grammar, but am also taking an advanced Latin course for a grade. It's focusing on "Writings by and about Penitent Women in Medieval and Renaissance Italy." Perhaps the nerdiest class name ever, I know. It's pretty good though. It's good for my Latin and introduces me to medieval culture and practices. A penitent woman is kind of like a nun, but a woman who never took vows or formally joined a convent. Such examples are Catherine of Sienna or Margarita of Cortona. Many are saints or unofficial saints in various Italian cities. It was a cause of tension within the institutional church because these women were effectively preaching (a no no!) and were under no supervision. So, there's a little church history lesson for you.
My last class is on Reformed Christian Thought. As I think I want to focus on the 16th century reformations following my masters, this class was an obvious choice. However, reformed thought does not refer specifically to the reformation, but rather the school of thought stemming from John Calvin, aka the Presbyterian Church. It's really good. I do get frustrated trying to get through the readings at times, but I do enjoy it. One of our secondary source texts is "Feminist and Womanist Essays in Reformed Dogmatics." I'm really enjoying this book, as it is applying old theologies to modern thought and attempting to break oppressing power structures, which I'm very interested in. So, I guess you can call me a feminist. Or a womanist, for that matter.
Enough about school. I had President's Day off in February, which was a Monday, and since I don't have classes on Fridays, I flew to St. Louis to visit Perry. It was great to be in town to spend time with her and to see some friends. Also, the weekend before my spring break, Brooke and Gary came to Boston to visit me and for Gary to attend a dental conference. And guess what? Perry surprised me!!! I had no idea until she walked in the door as I was getting ready for bed. So it was a great weekend with family. We walked around Harvard, visited the Sam Adam's brewery, checked out Fenway Park, and visited lots of the historical places along the Freedom Trail. It was a blast.
And then the next week was Spring Break! I flew to St. Louis--it was $200 cheaper than Memphis! On Saturday night Perry, some friends, and I went to Oyster Bar to see our friend's band play. It was a great time and I wouldn't have expected less. On Sunday, we drove to Memphis for the week. There we just hung out and spent time with friends and family. On St. Patrick's Day, we went down to Beale Street with my friends Katie and her fiance David. That was fun and it was Perry's first time to Beale!
But alas, now I'm back at school and trying to get a head start on my papers so I can finish the semester strong.
Oh, and as a final thought, the Sunday I flew back to Boston from St. Louis, it was 78 degress in St. Louis. Wonderful weather. Don't worry, it snowed all day on Monday in Boston. Typical.
Classes are going well. I'm taking four courses and auditing another, so my schedule is a bit busy. On Mondays I have a seminar on Martin Luther King, Jr. It is great! I love the readings. Having taken my Gandhi seminar the previous semester, it's great following it with MLK. By reading all of King's writings, the Gandhian influence is blatantly apparent. In fact, over winter break, Perry and I went to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and they even had a special section on Gandhi and his Indian campaigns because of the vast influence it had on the American Civil Rights movement. When President Obama visited India last fall, he pointed out to the Indian Parliament that without Gandhi, he probably wouldn't be president right now, which is a pretty significant statement.
I am also taking Introductions to the New Testament by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. She's pretty much one of the most famous feminist theologians in the world. It's a really good class. I'm learning a lot about power structures, identity, and how these affect different parties in hierarchical relationships. As it's not in my area of focus, I'm only taking it Sat/Unsat instead of for a grade. We have small groups we meet in every week. My group had to present in class last week on the "Queer Bible Commentary." I have not had much experience in this area, so it was interesting to learn about it. I really enjoyed the introduction in it.
I'm auditing Intermediate Latin this semester to get a review on some grammar, but am also taking an advanced Latin course for a grade. It's focusing on "Writings by and about Penitent Women in Medieval and Renaissance Italy." Perhaps the nerdiest class name ever, I know. It's pretty good though. It's good for my Latin and introduces me to medieval culture and practices. A penitent woman is kind of like a nun, but a woman who never took vows or formally joined a convent. Such examples are Catherine of Sienna or Margarita of Cortona. Many are saints or unofficial saints in various Italian cities. It was a cause of tension within the institutional church because these women were effectively preaching (a no no!) and were under no supervision. So, there's a little church history lesson for you.
My last class is on Reformed Christian Thought. As I think I want to focus on the 16th century reformations following my masters, this class was an obvious choice. However, reformed thought does not refer specifically to the reformation, but rather the school of thought stemming from John Calvin, aka the Presbyterian Church. It's really good. I do get frustrated trying to get through the readings at times, but I do enjoy it. One of our secondary source texts is "Feminist and Womanist Essays in Reformed Dogmatics." I'm really enjoying this book, as it is applying old theologies to modern thought and attempting to break oppressing power structures, which I'm very interested in. So, I guess you can call me a feminist. Or a womanist, for that matter.
Enough about school. I had President's Day off in February, which was a Monday, and since I don't have classes on Fridays, I flew to St. Louis to visit Perry. It was great to be in town to spend time with her and to see some friends. Also, the weekend before my spring break, Brooke and Gary came to Boston to visit me and for Gary to attend a dental conference. And guess what? Perry surprised me!!! I had no idea until she walked in the door as I was getting ready for bed. So it was a great weekend with family. We walked around Harvard, visited the Sam Adam's brewery, checked out Fenway Park, and visited lots of the historical places along the Freedom Trail. It was a blast.
And then the next week was Spring Break! I flew to St. Louis--it was $200 cheaper than Memphis! On Saturday night Perry, some friends, and I went to Oyster Bar to see our friend's band play. It was a great time and I wouldn't have expected less. On Sunday, we drove to Memphis for the week. There we just hung out and spent time with friends and family. On St. Patrick's Day, we went down to Beale Street with my friends Katie and her fiance David. That was fun and it was Perry's first time to Beale!
But alas, now I'm back at school and trying to get a head start on my papers so I can finish the semester strong.
Oh, and as a final thought, the Sunday I flew back to Boston from St. Louis, it was 78 degress in St. Louis. Wonderful weather. Don't worry, it snowed all day on Monday in Boston. Typical.
you know how when they do those shows on the history channel and they interview people and next to their name it says "expert in blah blah blah" are you one day going to be interviewed for a documentary as dr. drew thomas "expert in 16th century reformations"? :) i can see it now...star of the history channel!
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