SUMMARY

Throughout the semester I tried to change up the events that I attended, but that wasn’t always the case. For a good majority, the events I attended would depend on the workload I had for the week or just my over all availability. There were definitely some hits and misses as the weeks went on but usually if I found one to be a complete bust I would take note not to attend another one like that in the future. There were about six lectures, four of them were music related events and the rest were mostly odds and ends. There were only a few that I felt I didn’t enjoy all that much. All the others, I felt like there was at least some aspect to it making it enjoyable, insightful or both. So overall there was a variety and not so much of a leitmotif for the entire selection of events in total.

I wouldn’t say any of the events I attended ended up being more important to me then I would have excepted or different from the description given about the event but there were a lot where I gained a new perspective on that particular topic. I went to each lecture with at least one person from the mining class so we tended to talk about our reactions afterwards and what we wish was different or just our thoughts and observations in general. I feel that by doing that I was able to further gain insight and opinions that may differ from my own and maybe allow me to find more of an importance in a particular topic or issue. It also allowed me to sort of establish an opinion on certain topics or issues that I would have otherwise not really had a voice or opinion for.

Over the course of the semester there were definitely some events that I expected more from or at least thought would be more interesting then what they ended up being. One of the first times I felt angered or annoyed would have been in week four when I attended a talk on race, gender, and body image in media at the women’s resource center. I just felt that the way it was organized was unprofessional and highly biased. I felt like everything they mention was just the typical thoughts people already have made, I didn’t feel like going to this benefited me in anyway. Another event that I felt was again more so one sided was the chief debate in week thirteen. Going into this I thought that I would hear both sides and that there would be more of an attendance rate. But instead it was a rather small gathering with pretty much all anti chief supporters, which I’m assuming were all a part of the organization that ran it because they all sat together in the front siding with each other and pretty much targeting anyone with a differing opinion. Once again the arguments being made by the presenters felt biased and they didn’t really want to hear what the few pro chief supporters had to say and there was maybe one of them. But at least at this one I gained a better understanding of why the chief was seen to be a bad or inappropriate mascot for the university but I do believe that it could have been gone about differently or could have been corrected in order for the mascot to remain. I just wish there was more of a crowd. Having it be such a small group intimated people to voice their opinion without the people in charge or their supporters jumping down your throat.

I really enjoyed this class and how it was set up and arranged. I feel as though it gave me a reason to go out and explore the variations on campus and all the events and opportunities that are available to us but go unheard of or unnoticed. The guidelines to attend things outside your major also was a good rule to have because being an art student in their third year already you really have no reason to go to any other building other then the art and design building. Another plus would definitely be the freedom it gave you. You were allowed to attend lectures that you showed interest for rather then the required materials and subject matter you would have to attend and learn about for other classes. The opportunity to not have to meet was another plus because it gave you a chance to go to the events that best fit your schedule and work load for that particular week. Overall I felt that it was a successful class that allowed for a different type of learning environment that best fit the lives of students based on their outside interests and schedules. I actually have recommended this class to a bunch of people in other majors other then art as well.

The creation of my own individual course definitely causes me to think differently about my entire educational experience thus far. It is definitely opening my eyes to the happenings of campus that I wouldn’t know about otherwise or have any reason to go to and experience. By being able to choose what lectures you went to also plays a role on how you felt or took this class. Obviously if you only attended the lectures that were the day before the blog was due or the ones that were at a convenient time you really wouldn’t have learned all that much or enjoyed going to the events either. But by choosing events that were of some interest made this feel less like work and more of an fun and engaging thing to do. Yes I could compare this class to my degree because if I made artwork that was just convenient or ones that only pleased others then I wouldn’t really be enjoying my time or skills but instead feel like the things that I used to enjoy were just like busy work or the tools needed to get the grade and move on.

I only ended up attending one of my own excavations and that was one that I attended during spring break I believe. I feel as though there was a variety of different miner’s excavations that I did end up attending but there were quite a few that Harrison posted that I ended up attending based on interest and availability. I would have liked to have attended more of some of the events that I posted but when I was searching for excavations I really didn’t look back and see if they fit into my class schedule at first or I was unsure of the amount of other work I had to do that week since I posted my excavations in advance.

The purpose of documentation is to allow for future proof or evidence of existence. It also acts as a way to remember or recall a particular event or experiences that you may have had. With the documentation you can more easily recall what you may have felt, seen or experienced on that particular day. For each event I tended to take more then one image. In the beginning of the semester I tended to bring a notebook with me and take written notes along with the photos. I would take photos of the location, the speaker, who I went with, sometimes my feelings or if there was food or additional information that I felt played a role in the memory of that particular event or lecture. I feel that for some of my images others may not see as much as an importance or impact then I would have because I was there but for me they act as little side notes or tools to help me recall and go back to that particular event. So yeah some of the images that may be more abstract or unclear to those who didn’t attend could be see as art as well. I feel as though the pictures were a more accurate way for me to remember and document then writing lengthy notes would be. I feel this just further proves the idea that I’m a visual learning and get more out of things when they have various forms of documentation or relaying information.

Truthfully I don’t feel like I looked at other miner’s blogs all that often. If I did I feel like I would check the blogs of the other miners that I saw attending the same event to see if they got the same experience out of that particular lecture or event and if our opinions differed. Other then that it would be if I were looking through the pictures that were on the excerpt page and saw one that sparked an interest then I would click on that particular persons blog. I feel like the miners whose existence I was aware of would is if I saw a familiar face in some random lecture other then one related to art somewhere around campus. Other then that if I didn’t already know the majority of the students in the class from the names on the side of the blog I would have no idea who was a fellow miner and if they were at the same lecture as me or not. But I did enjoy going to lectures with other people in the class. It gave the class another sort of layer because it allowed us to further share and express these new thoughts and ideas. There a few lectures where I would be so confused or frustrated that it definitely helped to have someone to talk it through with.