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Courses September 2022
Sep. 24th, 2022 10:58 amI started a couple of these in August, so this is about 6 weeks' worth.
New Zealand History, Culture and Conflict (Museum of New Zealand T Papa Tongarewa) The second course on the history and culture of New Zealand. Again very interesting and looking at the arrival of the Maori in New Zealand followed some centuries later by westerners. There's an interesting discussion about the use of museums - a western concept - and how other peoples can make use of them to educate.
Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics (Leiden University) Not what I'd call an introduction. While I learnt something about how the different Indo-European languages are connected, a lot of the time was spent in learning how to reconstruct the original source language, which was complicated and totally theoretical.
Cultural Diplomacy (European University Institute - EUI) This was a discussion on how various nations can promote themselves in other countries by cultural means. There is the obvious question as to who the funders are, since governments will inevitably want to promote their own agendas, and large organisations rarely avoid any government funding. It also left me with the feeling that this is still imperialism - importing our own views and disregarding those which are prevalent in the country itself.
Governing Religion: Global Challenges and Comparative Approaches (European University Institute) This covered the legal frameworks but didn't address the practicalities. It seemed particularly appropriate when with the Queen's funeral church and state are seen as working very closely together.
Open University: Travelling for Culture: the Grand Tour A new course by the OU. A very basic introduction to how different forms of art are covered by the Grand Tour, including art, sculpture, poetry and creative writing.
New Zealand History, Culture and Conflict (Museum of New Zealand T Papa Tongarewa) The second course on the history and culture of New Zealand. Again very interesting and looking at the arrival of the Maori in New Zealand followed some centuries later by westerners. There's an interesting discussion about the use of museums - a western concept - and how other peoples can make use of them to educate.
Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics (Leiden University) Not what I'd call an introduction. While I learnt something about how the different Indo-European languages are connected, a lot of the time was spent in learning how to reconstruct the original source language, which was complicated and totally theoretical.
Cultural Diplomacy (European University Institute - EUI) This was a discussion on how various nations can promote themselves in other countries by cultural means. There is the obvious question as to who the funders are, since governments will inevitably want to promote their own agendas, and large organisations rarely avoid any government funding. It also left me with the feeling that this is still imperialism - importing our own views and disregarding those which are prevalent in the country itself.
Governing Religion: Global Challenges and Comparative Approaches (European University Institute) This covered the legal frameworks but didn't address the practicalities. It seemed particularly appropriate when with the Queen's funeral church and state are seen as working very closely together.
Open University: Travelling for Culture: the Grand Tour A new course by the OU. A very basic introduction to how different forms of art are covered by the Grand Tour, including art, sculpture, poetry and creative writing.
