ginny t. 8/22

eep! I had no idea what I was really getting myself into when I registered for this class (and still don't, really.) Like several of our classmates, I was wooed by the course description but I didn't really give much thought to what a "Critical Approach to Postmodern Culture" would actually entail. Since our first meeting, I have had plenty of time to ponder, and now I find myself in the midst of my very own binary opposition: my feelings about this class are oscillating between terror and wonder.

I'm terrified for several reasons...first and foremost, this is arguably the most complex and intellectually challenging course I have endeavored to take, and I'm not really looking forward to making a fool out of myself in front of not only my class, but also of any number of the 6 billion people on the planet who may happen across our blog. So the pressure is on to actually have something intelligent (or at the very least, interesting) to add to the class. Secondly, I am a natural procrastinator, and as far as I can tell, cramming 9 weeks worth of reading into the day before the exam is just not going to cut it in this class. And then of course there is the brilliant, yet devious, task of divvying up the points values for my own grade...talk about pressure!

Despite the shadow of failure and world-wide humiliation hanging over my head, I am still hopeful about this class. I am relieved and intrigued to know that the issues and ideas I worry about are actually shared by a myriad of others...Postmodernism...it even has a name! (Who knew?)

I read (or maybe heard) somewhere that "it took centuries between man's invention of the wheel and the automobile, and mere decades between the car and space travel." This statement really grabs me, because I often find myself contemplating the "explosion of language" and innovation that we see in the world today; I'm honestly a little unnerved by this lightening-fast progress, and I can't help by wonder if we're not all careening towards a fiery end. The gap between innocence and cynicism; new and old; right and wrong is ever narrowing and that disturbs me. I want answers. I don't know if finding truth (if there is such a thing, though my heart would like to believe there is...) is even possible, but I look forward to trying to figure it out with you all.