Belated Month in Review: January 2011

Still trying, and generally failing, to catch up. Sheesh. When did Shimer become so active online?

Adrian Nelson, participating in the Oxford study abroad program, recounted her visit to Poland over Christmas break:

While some of it was devoted to recovery time from the previous semester, as well as working on - le gasp - a thesis and other break projects, I finally got a chance to see some of the continent. I might not have, but a family invitation to spend Christmas in Poland gave me the perfect opportunity.

Alexandra Rosenberg, meanwhile, posted her memories of Montaigne scholarship competitions past:

I didn't win the Montaigne, but I earned something invaluable during the competition: the decision to go to Shimer. It is one of the best ideas I've ever had and cannot imagine being happy without receiving the education I am today.

Sara Hall, back from Oxford, reflected on how to cure the dreariness of winter:

Little things like lime green pants to help cure the winter dreariness of Chicago, and bring a smile to a stranger's face, if even for a moment. These are just as important as getting that Kierkegaard reading done and successfully contributing an interesting idea to the class discussion.

And reflecting further on the Shimer-in-Oxford experience, Sara agreed with fellow student Jesus Aviña that "it was kinda like boot camp":

It was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. As I told my family, I went to Hogwarts, and I came back a wizard. A very happy, much more confident, and much less anxious wizard, ready to face the future and see what adventures it holds.

Shimerian-in-Haiti Steven Werlin reported on Jackson at School and invited us Meet Eileen, and described the End Game:

As we look to further expansion in the coming year, we'll need to apply what our experience has taught us. We need to get more disciplined, more focused during the selection and enrollment process. We can't let our need to hurry push us to cut corners, miss steps, or spread ourselves too thin. Haitians say "two prese p ap fè jou a ouvri." That means that too much hurrying doesn't make the sun rise. It's wisdom worth bearing in mind.

Belated Month in Review: December 2010

OK, I'm a day late (actually 60+ days late) and a dollar short, but here is a roundup of interesting Shimer-related things from the month of December 2010.

Postings on Blog.shimer

December saw two postings from Shimer's study abroad program at Oxford University. Shimer-in-Oxford's worthy guide, Stuart Patterson, reported on the End of Term:

I realize I haven’t said much yet about the range of subjects folks are studying here. So I want to pay tribute to everyone’s hard work this term with just a list of some of the tutorials that they’ve undertaken over the last few months - the list isn’t exhaustive, though it might exhaust you just reading it: “Christian Mysticism,” “Druidism and Paganism,” “History and Practice of Observational Astronomy,” “Early Writing Systems,” “Chinese Literature,” “Feminism,” Proust,” “Philosophy of Mind,” “French Lyric Poetry,” “Psychology of Religion” and “Classical Guitar” to name, literally, a few. Next term promises just as rich a harvest of ideas, with “Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit,” “Government and Politics of the U.S.,” and “History of Consciousness through Material Studies” a few of the courses we have planned.

Shimerian-in-Oxford Adrian Nelson reported on The Fine City of Bath and a Stone Henge:



Dinah Gumns presented the written portion of her writing week project, Moves & Mobiles, reflecting on the impact of the Shimer experience:

The decision to go back to school had more intense consequences than quitting a job or two and racking up more student loans; I was engulfed with creative energy. As this year pushed on, it has only become stronger. I have introverted greatly. I have found that I am in my head 80% of the time. As I bike to work I try to wrap my mind around the previous day's Sociology reading. I laugh at the similarity of drivers throwing temper tantrums to the tantrums of chimpanzees. My people-watching skills are now verging on creepy. I do math problems in my head for fun; this is the most surprising, really. I am astounding myself daily.

Shimer also held a chess tournament.

Fearless first-year Shimer video blogger Dorian Electra posted on "Euclidean Aerobics":