Intersession classes are a blur.

This is both a discussion of the course and a review.

I took this course during the Winter 2011 Intersession.

Intersessions are a traditional 15 weeks of course taught over a period of 15 business days.  You get a couple weekends so you actually have 19 days to do the work.

capitalism :  An economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, characterized by a free, competitive market and motivation by profit.  colonialism :  A consequence of imperialism; the implanting of settlements on distant territories.  culture :  The behaviors, relationships, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human thought and work that are a result and expression of a particular group, community, or population.  feudalism :  The legal and social system that existed in medieval Europe, in which vassals held land from lords in exchange for military service and protection.  hegemony :  Control or dominating influence by one person or group, especially by one political group over society or one nation over others.  imperialism :  Primarily describes empire-building, although this term has often been used to refer specifically to the practice of territorial acquisition; that is to say, the theory and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory.  Industrial Revolution :  From the eighteenth to the nineteenth centuries in Western Europe and North America, a period marked by the increased use of machinery in various industries, which caused fundamental social changes.  Japonisme :  The influence on Western art of Japanese artistic and decorative themes.  lingua franca :  A language that allows people with different native languages to communicate.  nation-state :  A politically independent country or empire, especially one in which the citizens share the same language, culture, and nationality.  Modernism :  The revolutionary ideas and styles in art, architecture, and literature that developed in the late nineteenth century as a reaction to traditional forms.  modernity :  The social and cultural conditions following the Middle Ages, which are characterized by the rise of industrialism, capitalism, secularization, and the nation-state.  Realism – An artistic movement starting in the late nineteenth century that was driven by a practical understanding and acceptance of the actual nature of the world rather than an idealized or romantic view of it.  Renaissance :  Starting in the early fifteenth century in Florence, Italy, a period of profound social and cultural change characterized by the rebirth of ideas, philosophies, and art of ancient Greece and Rome including humanism and Neoplatonism.  vernacular language :  The native, everyday language of a particular locale.  archaeology :  A research method formulated by Michel Foucault which unearths the history of ideas.  canon :  A general rule, fundamental principle, or standard. Canonical history is the version of history that is most widely understood to be true.  deconstruction :  Jacques Derrida’s method of analyzing texts that exposes inherent contradictions and fallacies embedded within the language.  différence :  A term coined by Jacques Derrida that refers to the indeterminacy of language.  discourse :  Particular type of language or ideas used in a given context.  Enlightenment :  A European intellectual movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and man were synthesized into a worldview that gained wide assent and instigated revolutionary developments in art, philosophy, and politics. Central to Enlightenment thought were the use and the celebration of reason — the power by which man understands the universe and improves his own condition. The goals of rational man were considered to be knowledge, freedom, and happiness.  epistemology :  The study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. The term is derived from the Greek episteme (“knowledge”) and logos (“reason”); accordingly, the field is sometimes referred to as the theory of knowledge. Epistemology has a long history, beginning with the ancient Greeks and continuing to the present. Along with metaphysics, logic, and ethics, it is one of the four main branches of philosophy, and nearly every great philosopher has contributed to it.  humanism :  A belief system based on the values, characteristics, and behavior that represent the best in human beings, rather than on any supernatural authority.  metaphysics of presence :  A term developed by Jacques Derrida. It characterizes Western philosophy’s traditional reliance on that which is known (or “present”) rather than considering unknown factors as well.  post-structuralism :  A general term referring to the various theories from the 1950s through the 1970s that rejected the principles of structuralism. These include deconstruction, feminism, and postmodernism, which all challenged the assumptions of structuralist thought.  semiotics :  The study of signs. The most influential contributor to this field was the Swiss scholar Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913), whose ideas about language and signs formed the basis of structuralism.  sign :  A symbol representing a thing or idea. It is comprised of a signifier (the mark on the paper) and a signified (the thing or idea represented).  structuralism :  In linguistics, any one of several twentieth-century schools committed to the principle that a language is a self-contained, relational structure, the elements of which derive their existence and their value from their distribution and oppositions in texts or discourse. This principle was first stated clearly by Ferdinand de Saussure. Saussurean structuralism was further developed in somewhat different directions by various other movements.  appropriation :  The taking of something that belongs to or is associated with somebody else, especially without permission.  commodification :  The transformation of a good or service into a commodity: something that can be bought or sold.  hyperreality :  According to Jean Baudrillard, a postmodern condition in which reality and simulations are experienced without difference.  installation art :  Art created for a specific site, often incorporating materials or physical features of the site.  Modernism :  The revolutionary ideas and styles in art, architecture, and literature that developed in the late nineteenth century as a reaction to traditional forms.  pastiche :  Art that openly imitates previous works of art, often with satirical intent.  Pop Art :  An art movement that began in the 1960s in response to Abstract Expressionism. It is characterized by the conflation of high and low forms of visual culture and the uses of icons.  postmodernity :  The condition in which we currently live, marked by the fusion of high and low art and consciousness of the media and consumerism.  Realism :  The artistic movement, which began in France in the 1850s, supporting truth and accuracy in art.  referent :  A person or thing to which an expression refers.  sign :  An act or gesture used to convey an idea, a desire, information, or a command.  simulation :  A representation of an original.  trope :  An expression used in a figurative sense.   alterity :  Philosophical term for the concept of “otherness.”  cannibalism :  Literally, the consumption of human flesh by humans. Also, a specific form of resistance to the dominating culture in which the participants “devour” the dominating culture and transform it through that process into something original and of their own making.  colonialism :  Specific form of expansion that occurred over the last 400 years.  hybridity :  The creation of new, transcultural forms in locations affected by colonialism.  identity politics :  A wide range of political activity and theorizing based on the shared experiences of injustice of members of certain social groups. Those engaged in identity politics typically seek the political freedom of a specific constituency marginalized within its larger context. Members of that constituency assert or reclaim ways of understanding their distinctiveness that challenge dominant oppressive characterizations, with the goal of greater self-determination.  imperialism :  Primarily describes empire-building, although this term has often been used to refer specifically to the practice of territorial acquisition; that is to say, the theory and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory.  Manifest Destiny :  A term used by American leaders in the mid-nineteenth century to describe the expansion of the United States across the North American continent.  multiculturalism :  Belief that society should be comprised of a diversity of cultures and ethnic groups that each maintain an identity.  Orientalism :  First introduced in Edward W. Said’s text of the same name, it refers to the imaginary construction of the Middle and Far East by Westerners.  postcolonial studies :  Study of the interactions between European nations and the societies they colonized in the Modern period.  subaltern :  Literally, “inferior.” In relation to the Subaltern Studies Group, the term refers to non-elite natives of colonized territories.  brain drain :  The loss of a country’s highly trained and skilled human resources through migration.  Fair Trade :  A social movement designed to help producers in developing countries promote self-sufficiency. The movement advocates paying producers higher prices in exchange for adherence to certain social and environmental standards. It focuses on certain exports from developing to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate, and flowers.  finanscapes :  Global flows of capital.  gross domestic product :  The value of a country’s overall output of goods and services, during one fiscal year, at market prices. This excludes income from abroad.  gross national product :  A country’s gross domestic product, along with remittances from nationals working abroad and income from foreign subsidiaries of local firms.  human capital :  The knowledge and skills that people possess, which can be used to perform work and earn money and thus have economic value.  major market index :  A stock market index comprised of several major stocks, which is used to measure market activity.  outsourcing :  Contracting, subcontracting, or otherwise externalizing non-essential activities to free up cash, personnel, time, and facilities where the firm holds competitive advantage. A garment manufacturer may contract out data processing or accounting, for example, in order to focus on the task of making garments and reduce the average cost of its products.  remittance :  Money sent to a person in another place.  supply chain :  The network of retailers, distributors, transporters, storage facilities, and suppliers that participate in the production, sale, and delivery of a particular product.  street art :  Art in public spaces that is not officially authorized and which is often subversive and/or has an activist component.  sweatshop :  A business establishment that makes its employees work under harsh and often hazardous conditions and pays only minimal or survival wages.  tariff :  Duties or taxes charged for goods as they enter a country.  volatility :  The relative rate at which the price of a security moves up and down.  American dream :  The idea that individuals can achieve prosperity from any social position through adherence to democratic ideals. It has also been used to refer specifically to home ownership.  Cold War :  Refers to the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union from approximately 1945 to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. As opposed to a “hot” war, which featured physical fighting, this “cold” war was a battle of ideologies, between communism and capitalism. Physical battles did occur among client states including Vietnam and Afghanistan.  democracy :  A system of government in which the supreme power lies with the people and is exercised directly by them or on their behalf by their elected representatives.  diaspora :  Used traditionally to refer to the dispersion of a particular human culture around the globe. Appadurai uses it to refer to the dispersion of ideas born within a particular culture.  divine right of kings :  The notion that kings were designated by God and received instructions directly from Him. It was a policy that gave kings absolute authority over all matters both sacred and secular.  Enlightenment :  A European intellectual movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and man were synthesized into a worldview that gained wide assent and that instigated revolutionary developments in art, philosophy, and politics. Central to Enlightenment thought were the use and the celebration of reason, the power by which man understands the universe and improves his own condition. The goals of rational man were considered to be knowledge, freedom, and happiness.  hegemony :  The dominating influence of one nation, group, or individual over others.  humanism :  A belief system based on the values, characteristics and behavior that represent the best in human beings rather than on any supernatural authority.  ideoscape :  Global movement of ideas, especially political ideas.  natural rights :  A concept, popularized by John Locke, that all human beings are entitled to certain liberties and the pursuit of happiness.  synopticon :  An overview.

That reads like Intersession feels.

It was a very solid class.  I had Teddy Goldsworthy-Hanner as an instructor.  She is a successful practicing artist  and has been teaching at AAU for over 12 years.  If you’ve been reading some of this blog you know I lean hard on teachers as the source of good classes.  If you don’t interact with them then you don’t get the benefit of their experience.  Teddy has a ton of experience, is very engaging and I was so impressed with her work and her ability to communicate concepts that I would consider her for directed study – even though she is in a different discipline.

Every day we do a module and assignments.  It goes by quickly.  I copied all the material as reference for future use.  I can see myself going back and rereading these modules and some of the supplemental readings.  This was my first non-photographic GS class and it is a bit different.  There are students from other areas of art, most students were on-native English speakers and most were either in fashion design or one of the digital media arts.  I was the only photographer.

After taking an Intersession course I find my regular semester GS course this Spring term to be pretty slow.  IT has ghien me a new appreciation for what I can accomplish in a short period of time if I really apply myself.

If you take an Intersession course I think you will feel the same way.