Check back throughout the day for a continually updated list.
Post-Modernism, Prof. Vandenberg
In post-modernism yesterday, fifty or so tightly packed, Derrida-hungry
kids waited for Prof. Vandenburg to arrive. When she still hadn’t
shown up after 25 minutes, a few witty comments started to fly about
how “post-modern” it would be for Vandenberg to let the class teach
itself. Vandenburg walked in unhurriedly a few minutes later, only to
announce, “I’m sorry…it was very post-modern: I was using my
computer clock, which I shouldn’t have done.
Of note: As of the first class, no one had yet used the abbreviation “po-mo.”
Music Hum, Prof. Loo
Loo started class out by attempting to goad some students into sharing
their current music preferences. There was a smattering of
unenthusiastic “Kanye West”‘s and “Radiohead”‘s before one eager
listener declared, “Classic rock.” Loo asked for some elaboration.
“You know,” the kid shrugged, “Like Kansas…Boston. Oh…Elton John.”
Film Noir, Prof. Douglas
Ann Douglas was doing a roll call in her Film Noir seminar and this occurred:
At least it sounded like she said “charred.” People at my end of the table gave each other a lot of “WTF” looks.
20th Century Lyric Poetry, Prof. Strand
A girl in Mark Strand’s 20th Century Lyric Poetry seminar admitted she hadn’t applied or registered (there were way too many people in the class), and he looked at her, squinting, with a look of mild disgust, and asked, “What were you thinking?”
Seminar in Political Economy, Prof. Morelli
Morelli: I don’t know anything about that topic, but I would like to collaborate.
Introduction to Poetry and Poetics, Profs. Golston and Murray
Murray: “Occasionally we will dissolve into bouts of barely concealed rage that will hopefully be pedagogically interesting.”
Introduction to Literary Theory, Prof. Robbins
He walks in and writes on the board:
Everything is X
X is a construct
“One is not born a woman; but becomes one”
He never explains or references either the first part or the Simone de Beauvoir quote.
Soil Mechanics, Prof. Ling
Professor Hoe I. Ling, a professor of Soil Mechanics in the CEEM Department opened his class today with a photo of the surface of Mars taken by the 150 million dollar Sojourner rover. Ling has a thick Chinese accent.
“Yes. Many of you might remember when a little device went to Mars. This is the first photo that the toy gave us.”
Readings in Jewish Humor, Prof. Dauber
Jeremy Dauber from Readings in Jewish Humor said of Phillip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint:
“It’s a filthy book and I hope you enjoy every filthy moment of it.”
Christianity, Prof. Somerville
Somerville: “You all are Christians, were Christians or are not Christians.”
21 Comments
@wooooohoooo Civil Eng getting love from Bwog.
Spread some of that good old Bulliet love to Saliba, Bwog. He’s Columbia’s favorite example of tenure gone almost (but not quite) bad.
@SEAS '10 I’ve heard the word “pedagogical” too many times lately.
@SEAS freshman walks into advanced engineering course, apparently oblivious to the entirely senior composition of the class – “excuse me, is this Frontiers review section?”
“THIS IS SPARTAAAAAAAAAA”
@wait so did this actually happen? and if so, then who provided the answer, the professor or the entire class shouting in unison, whose minds all frighteningly seem to act as one?
@cannon: in 1004, about finding the CS building:
big doors in mudd, get buzzed in by reception, etc…
“it’s kind of a big maze once you get in there. watch out for the minotaur.”
@1337 s3x public void getItOn(professor hotProfessor){
professor Cannon = hotProfessor;
int i = 1;
while (i > 0){
Cannon.kissMe();
i++
}
}
@please oh plase bwog, talk about math classes.
@history of sexuality Singy, without preamble, jumped right in with discussing seven-year-old boys fellating teenage boys and mentioning that his papers on masturbation and sadism had “given [him] a reputation.”
@derrida is not postmodern.
@Saliba “sorry I cannot tell you where your discussion section will be held– the president of this university was too busy last semester inviting every dictator who strolled by to be honored at our school to think about practical things like classrooms. Maybe we should just have class in his house– I hear it’s rather large.”
@Silly School My stats class this morning was moved to a different time on a different day because classrooms were assigned correctly.
The interim dean of the stats department said they were using a new computerized scheduling system this semester, and it hasn’t quite figured out classrooms yet.
@Saliba 2 I preferred “My ear doctor tells me it’s only women’s voices I don’t hear well. Something about the pitch.” (In response to a soft-spoken girl trying to answer one of his questions.)
@Prof. Gallagher “When you see a double sum, you see victory!”
@Juanathan Yes, but you missed the best part…
Prof Gallagher: “When you see a double sum, you see victory! I love the smell of napalm in the morning!”
(by the way, this came up in an example of a non-commutative ring)
@i feel so lucky I had the pleasure of being in both that Introduction to Poetry and Poetics and the Music Hum class from the previous post. Yey for me and my crazy teachers.
@hand I’m bout to watch me a po’mo.
@what do you call literature about wireless internet?
Post-Modemism!
@invisible_hand #4 is adorable!
@... It is only the second day of classes and I am already freaking out pomo style.
@Oooo Murray and Golston are tag team teaching intro to poetry and poetics again? I took that fall 04…awesome class, I was sad they didn’t offer it again.
@Alum Prof. Douglas (not “Douglad”) must have meant “‘chard”, as in the second syllable of Richard.