today was filled with advising appointments. i have 13 advisees - 1 from burma, and 12 from nepal. out of that group, 4 or 5 have the last name "shrestha," so i gather this must be like "jones" + "smith" in nepal. in a google search for "shrestha," the second result is this article about a train robbery. teaser quote: "fighting the enemy in battle is my duty as a soldier. taking on the thugs on the train was my duty as a human being." (warning: this article may not be suitable for young or more sensitive readers.)
all of my advisees are first year undergraduates. i met with each of them to talk about the courses being offered, and the core requirements, and potential majors. then we settled on a list of classes for each of them to take.
tomorrow and the next day are registration. the plan had been to have a new computerized system in place. but that fell through, because of recent administrative turmoil, including the resignation of our registrar. so we are doing things the old fashioned way, with tables and sign-up sheets in an auditorium.
i am teaching two courses this term: intro to political philosophy, and intro to ethics. i've never taught either before, though i have taught several of the texts we'll be reading -e.g. plato's republic, kant's groundwork.
i'm really looking forward to the start of classes. the students are such an eager, inquisitive bunch. almost all of them have made a huge investment to get here (around 75% are from outside of bangladesh), and many of them are very bright. plus there is that campus-in-the-fall energy that comes with the start of the new school year. a distinct pleasure of the academic life. (even in chittagong.)
to all of you who have been reading and commenting on these dispatches, i express my gratitude:
all of my advisees are first year undergraduates. i met with each of them to talk about the courses being offered, and the core requirements, and potential majors. then we settled on a list of classes for each of them to take.
tomorrow and the next day are registration. the plan had been to have a new computerized system in place. but that fell through, because of recent administrative turmoil, including the resignation of our registrar. so we are doing things the old fashioned way, with tables and sign-up sheets in an auditorium.
i am teaching two courses this term: intro to political philosophy, and intro to ethics. i've never taught either before, though i have taught several of the texts we'll be reading -e.g. plato's republic, kant's groundwork.
i'm really looking forward to the start of classes. the students are such an eager, inquisitive bunch. almost all of them have made a huge investment to get here (around 75% are from outside of bangladesh), and many of them are very bright. plus there is that campus-in-the-fall energy that comes with the start of the new school year. a distinct pleasure of the academic life. (even in chittagong.)
to all of you who have been reading and commenting on these dispatches, i express my gratitude:
I remember registering for classes in late 60's. Each class had a punch card and you collected a series of cards. When the instructor ran out of cards, the class was full. You delivered them to the desk that ran them to make a list of your classes. People would lose their cards or throw them away. There were often empty places into which you could add after all the lists were run.
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