I entered college as a freshman in fall 1984. My declared major was Political Science; my orientation was careerist; my worldview embarrassingly narrow. Over the years my horizons broadened. I changed majors, and tried a few courses (but, in retrospect, far too few) just because they seemed interesting. I went to law school and to graduate school in public policy. When I finally finished in 1992, I thought I was done with classes, homework, exams and grades.
I was wrong. In 2005, while working full time, I entered UMBC’s doctoral program in Language, Literacy and Culture. I took it one course at a time, sometimes grinding out the work and sometimes losing (or, more often, finding) myself in the ideas I was exploring. And last semester, I completed my very last course requirement. All that’s left to do is write a dissertation on a topic I care deeply about (no simple task, but one I’m largely free to shape and manage). But as for classes, homework, exams and grades . . . I think I’m done.
Back in 1992, I created a list of every course I had taken after high school, by title, in chronological order. The result offered a terribly distorted and superficial view of everything I had experienced and learned. But it was sort of fascinating nonetheless, the patterns and details providing subtle hints of the profound changes in my life and perspective. Now I’ve brought the list up to date. Here it is, from first (fall '84) to last (fall '09):
The American Novel
Physical Geography
Evolution of the Solar System and Earth
The Supreme Court
Statistics
Evolution of Life and Humans
Comparative Politics
Principles of Microeconomics
Humans and the Ecosystem
Introduction to Politics
Greek Views of Humanity
Principles of Macroeconomics
Advanced Microeconomic Theory I
World Politics
Nature of the Universe
Advanced Microeconomic Theory II
Freedom of Communication
Law and American Education
Advanced Macroeconomic Theory
Industrial Organization Theory
Constitutional Law I
Demise of the Dinosaurs
Public Finance
Economic Analysis of Laws and Legal Institutions
Money and Banking
Law and Public Administration
Independent Research in Political Science
Contemporary Moral Issues
Economic Models of Public Choice
Economic Models of Conflict Resolution
Introduction to Sociology
Philosophy of the Mind
International Finance
The Sixties: A Crucial Decade
Stars and Stellar Systems
Wage Theory
Government and Business
Economics of the Media
Microeconomics and Public Policy
Empirical Analysis I
Political and Organizational Analysis
Professional Responsibility [for Public Servants]
Public Speaking
Public Policy Workshop and Applications
Empirical Analysis II
Public Management
Conflict, Cooperation and Strategy
Introduction to Human Services, Labor and Education
Civil Procedure
Contracts
Torts
Property
Criminal Law
The Legal Process
Accounting
Environmental Law
Corporations
Introduction to Government and Business
Negotiation Analysis
Gender and Law
Evidence
Federal Income Taxation
Elective Politics
Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy
Constitutional Law II
Administrative Law
Professional Responsibility [for Lawyers]
Water Law
Advanced Legal Seminar on Global Climate Change
Seminar: Energy and Environmental Policy
Third Year Paper [Law]
Land Use
Public Lands
Introduction to Language, Literacy and Culture
Intercultural Pragmatics
Cyberspace, Culture and Society
Sociological Theory
Internship in Language, Literacy and Culture
Human Learning and Cognition
Construction of Race, Class and Gender
Topics in Language, Literacy and Culture: Community and Culture
Methods of Language, Literacy and Culture Research
Advanced Qualitative Methods
Research Proposal Seminar
