Well, my second class is over. I talked more or less non-stop for two and a
half hours. I keep telling the students
that they should interrupt me with comments, objections, and questions, but
they rarely do. I wonder why that
is. :)
The students are very bright and lively
-- maybe the tsunami of words issuing from my mouth has just submerged
them.
Next Wednesday, the reading assignment is The Communist Manifesto. I considered bringing in a tape recorder and
playing the Internationale, but thought better of it. No pickets and demonstrations against the
class yet. I am rather
disappointed. Maybe it is because
Caldwell Hall is the most handicap-inaccessible
building I have ever seen. Geoff
Sayre-McCord, the former Chair, told me that it is the second oldest building
on campus, and was once a surgery! I
have listened carefully but cannot hear the screams of former patients.
The UNC Philosophy Department is the only Philosophy department
I have encountered that is rather well-endowed.
An old-time professor, Horace Williams, left it title to some land that
became very valuable as Chapel Hill grew [I hope I have this right], and when
the University sold the land, the Department came into a bundle. One consequence is that the lounge has the
fanciest coffee maker I have ever seen, and the coffee is free!
I now have a working parking permit that gets me into a
nearby garage. To keep the fee
manageable, I paid for it to work only on Wednesdays, when my class meets. If I want to go to school on another day, I
am on my own. I really enjoy being back
in harness. Because of my long sojourn
in the UMass Afro-American Studies Department, this is actually the first real
philosophy course I have taught in twenty-three years [and "Karl Marx's
Critique of Capitalism" is not exactly an orthodox philosophy course.] I figure it is like riding a bicycle.
4 comments:
Wear a helmet.
Your students might like to know that the Dalai Lama considers himself a Marxist:
http://bit.ly/1ubZTye
And Pope Francis isn't too far behind. Hopefully, a declaration of atheism is next.
Years ago, I taught philosophy on cable television in Charlotte, NC. During our breaks (2 10 minute ones during a 3 hour class), we normally went to the CPCC logo on a blue background with easy listening music. Except on Marx lecture day. When the background was red, and I had them play the Internationale (we had an ASCAP license).
There is something to be said for people's education! Would that I had the logistic support for that.
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