Never did I expect to be thrust into such in-depth political and historical discussions, but that is exactly what I got from this course. The subtitle of the class was "From Shakespeare to the Coen Brothers," and this is an accurate portrayal of much of the time period we covered and the kind of literature/film we dissected in order to uncover how the perceptions of the world have changed over time. I especially appreciated the course's emphasis on balance. Professor Whelan stressed that the world had become too "buffered" against the fantastical, and as such it is in an unsteady state. I took the lesson's from this class to create personal goals to help myself become a more balanced individual and to help the world around me in a beneficial way.
The following is the final paper for the course. The assignment was straightforward: define your own views of the world, broken down into specific sections/foci. Of course, this was much easier said than done. After much self-reflection and drafting of ideas that weren't quite true to myself, I finally came away with a satisfying document.