It’s one thing for my classes to challenge me. For me to actively feel like I’m learning something, for me to think in new ways. But when I’m able to make connections between classes, that’s when I know I’m doing something right.This semester I’m taking an intro film class, a Baroque art history class, an acting Shakespeare class, a screenwriting class, and a class on the theory and history of photography and literature. The close relationship between these five artsy classes has given me numerous ways to find new connections and expand my learning even more.
In Film 1 we talk about how the filmmaker’s job is to notice light, and use light to tell stories. No film will ever look good without good lighting. And in Photo and Lit we talk about how photography is light-writing, and whether or not the light reflecting off something makes it a copy or an original.
In my screenwriting class we discuss language and conflict, and in Acting Shakespeare we learn about how language creates conflict.
My Baroque class teaches me about high drama, useful in Shakespeare, about the importance of lighting, useful in Film 1, and about the freezing of a moment, useful in Photo and Lit.
It also helps that a lot of my classes are right after one another, instead of spread out during the week. And while at first I thought this would be harmful, not allowing me enough time to switch gears between classes, I now see it’s helpful to have a part of my brain still swimming in the previous class, thinking on that and making new connections.
The easy blend of my classes is a lucky coincidence, and in a way the combination of the five feels like gaining a sixth topic to learn. I’m excited to see what the completion of these classes gives me, and how their synthesis will lead to future academic interests.