The End is Near

Well the END isn't exactly in sight, but the semester is winding down and essentially nearing the end!  This class has been very interesting from the aspect that it was definitely not what i had initially envisioned.  Before coming to class i had assumed most of our curriculum would be from the book, with plenty of reading and tests.  But to my surprise the curriculum was derived from a multitude of different mediums.  Though at times the work seemed meticulous, I can now look back and say I would have preferred to stick with these different media-based outlets.  The blogging allowed room for a lot of self-expression and venting, when/if needed.  Although i would have really enjoyed more free blogs, but it could be argued that free blogs would have taken away from the relevance of the class and this form of work.  The other aspect that took me by surprise were the discussions, I will admit at times it seemed intimidating to pipe-in on the heated debates, but from a spectators aspect it was pretty entertaining haha.  The way the work was structured also made me very familiar with D2L.  Last semester I hadn't used D2L in any of my classes, so t he fact that our class relied on it so much for assignments and grades forced me to become very familiar with the program.

This class' relevance was clear from the get go, though sometimes i didn't agree with the direction it went or the thoughts implied, I was still able to appreciate other aspects and views on some controversial topics we touched on.  I enjoyed all of the speakers that came to class and spoke to us, though sometimes i was skeptical of their relevance to the curriculum at the time.  The speaker we had on the black panthers was by far my favorite, he was so informative and enlightening!  I was impressed by his thorough knowledge and perspective on all information pertaining to the black panthers and their movement.

The group work took me out of my comfort zone a little because I tend to do work on my own, I prefer not relying on others when my grades or overall well being is at hand.  But it allowed me to view various aspects of group work and build a new found appreciation.  The first group I worked with placed me in a position of leadership which I felt most comfortable with, but as our group fell apart I was placed in a great group that was already headed in a direction with their work so i was placed in place of assistance.  I was allowed to have work dealt to me and accomplish my individual tasks, far different from being in a position of dealing out the workload.  I must say, it was a less stressful situation but my overall influence was far less, which I guess is why you need a solid group of reliable people... not always your friends.

This class didn't enlighten me as much from a historical sense but more of a sociological aspect.  Some of the discussions we had about the various aspects of culture in society broadened my horizons a little.  Though some of the activities we did I felt kind of worked to divide the class, notably the "privilege" activity we did outside mid-semester.  I felt it tried to turn privilege into a race-derived issue only when its far more than that, its a socioeconomic issue more-so in my opinion.  But still i can't say this took away from my overall experience in Intro AFAM, if given the opportunity I would definitely consider taking another class in the department.