Last Tuesday at 4:36pm, I closed my laptop and texted my friends that I had finished my finals! As I left the AJLC, where I had been completing my last obligation before the drive home, I found myself (not for the first time) struck by a surreal awareness of the passage of time. A semester that had once seemed to stretch forever was, in the blink of an eye, coming to an end.
And what a semester it was! I worked nearly ten hours a week and took seven different classes. And that’s not even including extracurriculars and co-op shifts. Now, I know what you might be thinking. Seven classes sounds like way too many. And you’d be right, it is more than usual. But fear not, many of them were half-credits. So, without much further ado—mostly in an attempt to process the end of the semester that has suddenly arrived upon us, but also partially because I think it’s interesting—I present to you: The Classes I Took This Semester and One Thing I Learned in Each of Them (a Non-Exhaustive List).
1. SOCI 3o1: Social Research Methods (4 credits) M/W/F 1o-1o:5o a.m. While researching American healthcare experiences, I learned that there have historically been measurable differences in the insurance rates of queer people compared to their straight peers. If you want to learn more about undergraduate research experiences at Oberlin, you can read Marcus’s (similarly busy) end-of-year blog!
2. SOCI 3o2: Social Research Methods Lab (2 credits) Mondays 2:3o-4:2o p.m. Once a week my class would meet in the Computer Science lounge to use the SPSS software. I learned how to run univariate and bivariate analyses on datasets like the General Social Survey and the National Survey on Wellbeing.
3. DANC 2oo: Contemporary Dance (2 credits) M/W/F 1:3o-2:5o p.m. I learned what a dégagé is and how to do one! And lots of other things. (If you’re paying very close attention, you may notice that this class overlaps slightly with my lab time on Mondays. I had to get special permission from both professors to register for a time conflict.)
4. DANC 338: Dance at Oberlin (2 credits) Mondays 7-9 p.m. In this course required for all Dance majors, I learned that dance was taught at Oberlin as early as 1885— by Delphine Hanna, the first woman to be a Professor of Physical Education in the US! You can read more about the history of the Oberlin Dance Department at OhioDance’s Virtual Dance Collection.
5. PRAX 3oo: Integrated Arts Workshop (4 credits) T/Th, 9 a.m. - noon. Along with 8 other members of the inaugural BA+BFA class, I learned about interdisciplinary feedback methods such as The Field’s Upping the Ante and Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process. Our class included students in all six of the practicing arts at Oberlin: theater, creative writing, studio art, cinema, musical studies, and dance, as well as several students with double majors in non-art departments.
6. DANC 226: Queering Choreography (4 credits) T/Th 1-2:5o p.m. After reading Emmanuel David’s article “Transgender Archipelagos,” we discussed polycentric definitions of queerness and alternative methods of visualizing identity. We then used that discussion as the basis for short movement phrases to prepare for our weekly choreography assignment.
7. DANC 311: Practicum in Dance (2 credits) Wednesdays 7-9 p.m and Saturdays 1o a.m - noon. To round out my bustling schedule, I was teaching a Contact Improvisation class through Oberlin’s Experimental College program with my friend Molly. It’s hard to put into words one specific thing I learned, but I can attest to the fact that the “see one, do one, teach one” method absolutely solidifies a deeper level of understanding. I feel like I’m walking away from teaching this class with a whole new relationship to this dance form, and I was able to get credit towards my major for it!
All in all, I can’t say that I would take this many classes again, but I’m glad that I did it! I grew so much as an artist and dancer this fall, and I am excited to take these lessons with me into the spring. Not only that, but I also realized recently that the end of this semester marks the halfway point of my time as an Oberlin student. So many great things are yet to come! And yes, I am also glad it’s over. There’s a reason I’m only getting around to posting this blog now... But it wouldn’t be a semester at Oberlin if I didn’t end it feeling exhausted and happy!
P.S. To those of you currently working tirelessly on college applications right now, I believe in you. The end is nearly in sight. One day soon, you too will be reminiscing on the passage of time and celebrating your achievements. Keep up the good work, you got this!
