Continuing Activities - Month Eleven
Mar. 28th, 2020 10:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitI've completed three FutureLearn courses this month:
The first was Great South Land: Introducing Australian History by the University of Newcastle, Australia. I had been drawn to the idea of finding out more about Australian History when I watched Michael Portillo's Great Australian Railways Journeys and this seemed the ideal opportunity. The course covered the earliest history, from Aboriginal Deep Time History, through first contact to the arrival of the convicts. It was the first three weeks of a twelve week university course and therefore suffered from trying to serve both university students and the more general participant; a couple of the sessions, on the correct use of references when writing a report, were completely irrelevant. I learnt something, but would like to have had a broader introduction. I was also slightly uncomfortable when reference was made to Aboriginal beliefs and the importance of respecting them was stated, but then current theories of the migration of peoples were insisted on as facts.
The second was Introduction to American History: From Reconstruction to War, 1865-1919 also by the University of Newcastle, Australia. And again the first three weeks of a twelve week course. Up to now I've shied away from American history, preferring British and European history, but some more of Portillo's railroad journeys in the US and Canada have given me a starter and I thought I'd like to learn more. The course covered from the Civil War, through reconstruction and segregation, to American foreign policy in the latter part of the nineteenth century to the First World War. There was a lot of the same lecturer talking in his study with an Australian accent, which became boring after a while - almost as if the participants were sat in a lecture, which isn't the way I like my courses. The concentration was on the black experience, which I know is a major part, but without a comparison of what was happening elsewhere it lacked context. I did participate in the assignment on assessing other resources - again really more relevant to university students, since it was looking at the reliability of sources - and went with an article from the Imperial War Museum website about American soldiers in WWI, a subject I already knew something about.
My third course was Preserving Norwegian Stave Churches by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. I knew absolutely nothing about stave churches, but the two week course fitted nicely in to my diary. There are only 28 stave churches left in Norway, although there were many more in the past. They are of a unique construction and there's an example here: Borgund Stave Church. I found the first week quite hard, but on reflection the concentration paid off, as I've definitely learnt a lot about the churches. The second week which talked about the craftmanship and restoration was more interesting, with the craftsmen describing what they were doing, so it wasn't just lecturers talking. A bonus wasverdande_mi very kindly telling me about their local churches and sharing some of their photos of stave churches with me, which added an extra layer of relevance.
And my cross stitch continues to grow as well:
The first was Great South Land: Introducing Australian History by the University of Newcastle, Australia. I had been drawn to the idea of finding out more about Australian History when I watched Michael Portillo's Great Australian Railways Journeys and this seemed the ideal opportunity. The course covered the earliest history, from Aboriginal Deep Time History, through first contact to the arrival of the convicts. It was the first three weeks of a twelve week university course and therefore suffered from trying to serve both university students and the more general participant; a couple of the sessions, on the correct use of references when writing a report, were completely irrelevant. I learnt something, but would like to have had a broader introduction. I was also slightly uncomfortable when reference was made to Aboriginal beliefs and the importance of respecting them was stated, but then current theories of the migration of peoples were insisted on as facts.
The second was Introduction to American History: From Reconstruction to War, 1865-1919 also by the University of Newcastle, Australia. And again the first three weeks of a twelve week course. Up to now I've shied away from American history, preferring British and European history, but some more of Portillo's railroad journeys in the US and Canada have given me a starter and I thought I'd like to learn more. The course covered from the Civil War, through reconstruction and segregation, to American foreign policy in the latter part of the nineteenth century to the First World War. There was a lot of the same lecturer talking in his study with an Australian accent, which became boring after a while - almost as if the participants were sat in a lecture, which isn't the way I like my courses. The concentration was on the black experience, which I know is a major part, but without a comparison of what was happening elsewhere it lacked context. I did participate in the assignment on assessing other resources - again really more relevant to university students, since it was looking at the reliability of sources - and went with an article from the Imperial War Museum website about American soldiers in WWI, a subject I already knew something about.
My third course was Preserving Norwegian Stave Churches by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. I knew absolutely nothing about stave churches, but the two week course fitted nicely in to my diary. There are only 28 stave churches left in Norway, although there were many more in the past. They are of a unique construction and there's an example here: Borgund Stave Church. I found the first week quite hard, but on reflection the concentration paid off, as I've definitely learnt a lot about the churches. The second week which talked about the craftmanship and restoration was more interesting, with the craftsmen describing what they were doing, so it wasn't just lecturers talking. A bonus was
verdande_mi very kindly telling me about their local churches and sharing some of their photos of stave churches with me, which added an extra layer of relevance.And my cross stitch continues to grow as well:
no subject
Date: 2020-03-28 06:55 pm (UTC)I'm glad you're listening to Vintage Murder - I do enjoy the Inspector Alleyn mysteries.