Classes

They do registration a bit differently here. Instead of everything being online for registration, like at the University of Iowa, they have face to face meetings. So, if I want to register for a film course, which I did, I would have to go up to the American and Canadian Studies department on the fourth floor of the Arts building and talk with one of the office staff.

I did a lot of running around in the first few weeks here. Registering for classes.... excuse me, modules, attending inductions, signing up for the film society, buying books, food and drinks.

The courses I'm going to be taking are

Death and the Moving Image (Term 2)
Theatre and Cultural Politics
Voicing Women (early women's writing)
John Donne and Metaphysical Poetry
Thriller, Film and Theory
American Musicals in the 20th Century (Term 2)
Cold War Film

All in all I'm looking forward to all of my courses. They all sound intriguing at the very least. I also like the way in which they will be assessed. One giant paper due at the beginning of next term which I shall write over Christmas Holiday rather than two or three smaller papers scattered throughout the course of the year.

There is also a lot of reading. I mean... A... LOT of reading. However, I'm looking forward to it.

Also, the courses only meet once a week or twice if there is a screening involved. Most of the course work is independent reading and studying. It is different than back home. This will definitely shake up my college experience and my study habits.

One last note, my Theatre and Cultural Politics course actually meets on a different part of the campus than the main one. The main campus is in Edgbaston. It's sort of like the Iowa campus in that there is just one big blob of buildings. The Selly Oak campus, which is where my Theatre course is, is a good thirty minute hike away from the main part of the campus. But all is okay because as a student, I have a free bus pass for the 44 buss which will take me there and back with no worries.