First Week of Class, Spring 2011

Katie D.

April 3, 2011 - 8:10 PM

What a week! This has been a whirlwind of classes and work, and readjustment to Eugene after spring break. The good news is that the weather is turning into the beautiful early spring that Eugene can do so well. Trees are blooming, there are daffodils everywhere, and we're starting to have the eye-popping green that happens each year as the leaves come out and the grass starts growing jungle-style.

The bad news is that it's awfully hard to be happy about classes when it looks like paradise outside.

I'm excited for the new term. I feel the optimism of the beginning of things: I feel like I'll enjoy my classes, be ahead of the coursework, and learn some exciting new skills and ideas. I also think I'll be ahead in work, and that things will stay organized in my kitchen. These are, of course, false ideas of an overly optimistic mind. However, there is a power to that first week, and the chance to be back in the academic game after a week without homework or electricity.

Here are my courses this term:

Drafting Settlement Agreements with Donna Austin
Facilitation II with Mary Forst and Jamie Damon
Professionalism in Practice with Tom Lininger
Qualitative Research Methods (independent study) with Shaul Cohen
Global Migration (Geography elective course) with Lise Nelson

It's going to be a busy term, but differently busy than fall and winter. For one, I'm very excited about my independent study Research Methods class, which will allow me to learn at the pace and in the direction which is most relevant to me. I'm also very excited about my geography class, both because migration is a topic very near to my heart and experience, and because it is surprisingly rejuvenating to be back on the general campus for a class, rather than being in the Law School with my cohort. I really, really like my cohort, and missed them over spring break. But it's a relief to be in two classes that involve different people, and which also enable me to adjust my schedule to fit my needs and patterns. I've felt a little hemmed in by the CRES scheduling, to be honest. But this term I'm more self-directed, and so excited about most of my classes.

We've had two days of Professionalism in Practice. I must admit, I was not excited about this class. But it turns out that the topic is Ethics in the field of Conflict Resolution. I love it! Who decides the ethical practices, what are the large-scale impacts, how do practitioners regulate themselves, and how could CRES interact in conflict in the most ethical way? It's all about high-minded ideals and on-the-ground practicalities. I love it.

The other central part to any week, but particularly this first week, is Inside-Out. This term I will be assisting Shaul Cohen with his class on Conflict in Divided Societies. We are focusing on Northern Ireland, and the post-conflict rebuilding they have done as a culture and as two groups with separate and conflicting ethnic identities. From our first class meetings, I can tell this class is going to be special. It's going to be a new mix of inside and outside, a complex dialogue of experience and opinion, and the usual dance of Inside-Out, in which we encounter one another and are changed completely in the process. Plus I'm so excited about knowing more about Northern Ireland, and working with Shaul to do so.

If I can carve out some springtime outdoor time, I'll be one lucky girl. For now, I'll be celebrating this new term, and diving into the business of work and study with full force. Here's to a new term! Time to get it done.