Monday, July 29, 2013

let's take a course together at MIT


i'm not ready yet to talk about autumn, but it is just around the corner. and even after all these years, autumn makes me long for a new hooded sweatshirt with my university logo on it, new pens and a stack of fresh, pristine textbooks, beckoning to be cracked open. let the enlightenment begin! in imagination i can smell the freshness of the autumn air and feel the crunch of leaves under my boots as i make my way to the quad. tho' i spent more time at iowa and arizona state, it seems the university of chicago is the setting in my imagination - the tree-lined streets of hyde park, walking past frank lloyd wright's robie house, ducking in to the seminary co-op bookstore (tho' it certainly didn't look like that modern monstrosity when i was there, it was tucked in a dark, dingy, but wonderfully labyrinthine basement in those days). i could go on, but it's making me wistful. alas, those days were nearly a lifetime ago and the hoodie has gotten a bad rap recently.

however, last evening on facebook, i learned that MIT has a load of free courses available online. i vaguely recall reading that somewhere awhile ago, but i never really went in search of it. by the way, this proves that facebook can be good for something. i reposted the link (i think it originated with those i fucking love science people, tho' i got it through an old friend who i worked with during college) and then cyndy came up with a brilliant idea. she suggested that we (and by we i mean all of you and me and cyndy) should take one of the MIT courses together - do the readings and assignments and share our thoughts with one another, maybe even in a facebook group. she suggested an anthropology course on food and culture. and i said, yes please! and then i went to bed because it was really late.

and when i awoke this morning, it still seemed like an excellent idea. so, who's in? let me know and i'll do something about organizing a facebook group for discussion of the topics and readings. we don't have to write the papers, but let's go to MIT together, what do you say?

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an interesting conversation about life as an expat in denmark is going on here
in english and in the comments.


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why the picture of panzanella, you ask? it's food & culture, so i thought the food would inspire.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I woke up with the same kind of thoughts ~ along with lately really missing the creative push that our past blog camps (real and imagined) have offered. But most of all, miss my blog camp friends, and what better way to get together than with food? Count me in...

Lost Star said...

I think this is a fabulous idea! I'd be interested! :)

Spilling Ink said...

Oh oh oh, I think I may want to jump on the foodwagon!

rayfamily said...

Me, me! I'd love to join in!

will said...

You're talking MIT...seems to me the classes to choose should be appropriate - calculus, physics, engineering, rocket science ... not at all the soft stuff of food and anthro.