"Everyday life: NYU Library - on reading, talking, and printing ..."

"NYU Library"
Ursprünglich hochgeladen von berlin.follies

Spent the last days trying to get my first assignments done. Studying in the US seems to be more like being back in school in Germany. You have small classes and weekly assignments, or - in my case - if the classes are twice a week, you get assignments from one class to the next. The only difference from German schools is that it is more and heavier stuff to read, of course.

New media solutions are also taken to their best, you have to write responses on blackboard for every single reading. Almost the whole class communication takes place on that platform. Also the schedule can be changed spontaneously, so that there is a new reading for the following day on you of course don't get when you don't check your account at least twice a day. One of the well appreciated side-effects of this new way of communication: professors actually answer their emails! Something a "Magisterstudent" who got to know the "Old Skool" within Old History or some other Humanities departments in her early days of studying has to get used to ;o) ...

Another appreciated side-effect is the ability to discuss things in class that go beyond the regular reading everyone did at home. A couple of days after the 9/11 memorial day, carefully spoken concerns about the current government are being uttered again, in my cultural theory and media criticism class this lead to a rather hesitant political discussion. Nonetheless, there is still room for general debates in university classes - which is a good sign.

In general new media seem to dominate most of the student's life - you never meet anyone who is not "addicted to facebook", or checking their emails three to four times a day. Mobile phones rule the streets of The City in these early years of the 21st century and you never see a person walking alone without headphones inside their ears. One of the first questions you are being asked upon arrival on campus is whether you are a Mac- or a Dell-person ... even before your majors are brought into the little chat on the sidewalk. Well, better get used to that - I chose the Dell-free printing room from that day on, and so far I am pretty content with that choice.

Runs in the family, I guess ... ;o)