In non bitching-and-moaning-about-the-excruciating-minutia-of-everyday-life related news, things are going well here. I am settled rather well in my room, which has roughly the square footage of a Chevy Astro-van. Residence life seems like it will be fun. Most evenings there is at least one group of people in the kitchen with a few bottles of wine, baguettes, and cheese to share (berets are optional).
I signed up for courses, some of which seem interesting. In truth, my primary rubric for class choice was finding classes that would allow me both Monday and Friday free to facilitate travel. I am a touch trepid about commencing class with the French students here at Sciences Po. This is the school in France for political sciences (I think something like all but one of the French prime ministers during the 5th republic are Science Po alum). To be honest I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Their much touted ‘Science Po method’, my methodology prof freely admits, to a focus on style over substance. One must be able to concisely present information in a symmetric rhetorical form. This is not, on its own, a bad goal, but it becomes a suspect academic attainment when it takes priority over depth of analysis and understanding.
Science Po instated four or five years ago the first affirmative action program at an elite French school. The program, which would hardly make waves on the other side of the pond, has aroused considerable controversy here. The students benefiting from this program, by definition the children of immigrants living in a select number of Paris suburbs, are virtually the only Arabs or Blacks in the entire school (excluding of course the cleaning staff).
I recently saw a brief interview with one of Sciences Po’s ‘more traditional’ students, who complained that affirmative action degraded the republican ideal of equality of opportunity. When the reporter asked him where he was from and where he went to high school it turned out he was from one of the most posh suburbs or Paris and went to one of the two most exclusive high schools in France. To see this kid spouting off about equal opportunity, without a glimmer of irony, was jaw-dropping. One of my classmates, an American of Indian or South Asian descent, admitted to being worried about what the French students might think about her presence, especially if they mistook her for someone who had benefited from this program.
Oh, as a completely unrelated side note, I found out one of my residence friends was involved in improv in Montreal, and, more interesting, that Science Po has an improv group that offers open workshops.
Anywho, I am off to buy a baguette and some cheese. Vive le cliché!
PS. As I am not able to post from home, you may notice several seemingly simultaneous posts. In reality, I have taken to saving posts in word until i have access to an unfiltered internet link.
I signed up for courses, some of which seem interesting. In truth, my primary rubric for class choice was finding classes that would allow me both Monday and Friday free to facilitate travel. I am a touch trepid about commencing class with the French students here at Sciences Po. This is the school in France for political sciences (I think something like all but one of the French prime ministers during the 5th republic are Science Po alum). To be honest I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Their much touted ‘Science Po method’, my methodology prof freely admits, to a focus on style over substance. One must be able to concisely present information in a symmetric rhetorical form. This is not, on its own, a bad goal, but it becomes a suspect academic attainment when it takes priority over depth of analysis and understanding.
Science Po instated four or five years ago the first affirmative action program at an elite French school. The program, which would hardly make waves on the other side of the pond, has aroused considerable controversy here. The students benefiting from this program, by definition the children of immigrants living in a select number of Paris suburbs, are virtually the only Arabs or Blacks in the entire school (excluding of course the cleaning staff).
I recently saw a brief interview with one of Sciences Po’s ‘more traditional’ students, who complained that affirmative action degraded the republican ideal of equality of opportunity. When the reporter asked him where he was from and where he went to high school it turned out he was from one of the most posh suburbs or Paris and went to one of the two most exclusive high schools in France. To see this kid spouting off about equal opportunity, without a glimmer of irony, was jaw-dropping. One of my classmates, an American of Indian or South Asian descent, admitted to being worried about what the French students might think about her presence, especially if they mistook her for someone who had benefited from this program.
Oh, as a completely unrelated side note, I found out one of my residence friends was involved in improv in Montreal, and, more interesting, that Science Po has an improv group that offers open workshops.
Anywho, I am off to buy a baguette and some cheese. Vive le cliché!
PS. As I am not able to post from home, you may notice several seemingly simultaneous posts. In reality, I have taken to saving posts in word until i have access to an unfiltered internet link.
posted by Ken at
4:15 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home