Self-Assessment

I think that the grade that reflects the work that I have done in this course, and thus earned, would be an A -. I think that I was prepared for class and that I stayed focused. What hindered me was a prompt response in the blogs. My last week of blogs were a little late and I find them to be weaker than previous entries.  I was present for every class and I came with knowledge of the topic we were going to be studying.

I think my best strength in this class was my attentiveness in class. The first day I tried to record the lesson only to realize that my computer was not equipped with a microphone. Therefore, my note had to be excellent because there was no way to recall the information. I took both written and electronic notes. On days when I realized the computer (and its internet connection) was going to be a distraction, I wrote out my notes. I think this was a good plan for me because I was able to recognize when focusing was going to be difficult and I was able to prevent that disturbance. I was also able to keep my shenanigans within the allotted break. For example, I drew a picture for Courtney on some of the days but I did not allow that to take away from the class period. I was focused during the lesson and would think about other things at the appropriate time.

My next strength would be my blogs. I took them very seriously. Despite the fact the last 5 were below par (according to me and discussed about further down), I still spent a good deal of time on them. I wanted to make sure that each blog conveyed what I wanted it to. I also wanted to make sure that there was a point to my blogs. I wanted to write for the sake of substance not for quantity.

Examples of my strengths in the course all focus around the art and literature we studied. My strongest day(s) in class were the days we studied certain concepts in art and when we analyzed texts. I was particularly prepared for Dante’s Inferno because it is one of my favorite pieces from this time frame. I think that was the day that I asked the most questions and was able to use the response from the class and the professors in a blog I wrote later about my confusion with the text. I am also glad that we addressed the works that inspired the Renaissance because I think it was a nice reminder for me. I was able to recall the concepts at a quicker pace because of this foundation.

I don’t think that I was as versed in the arts as I should have been. I recall the first day not being able to name a technique for achieving balance. I know that I should have been able to do that, but I was too nervous and shy in the beginning to be outgoing. I think that is one of my weaknesses. I do not speak up in class and prefer to learn by listening. I remember Courtney using one of the things I said under my breath in one of her arguments (she did give me credit). I think my experience in the classroom would have been better for me intellectually had I spoken up and shared my thoughts instead of musing on them and not getting any clarity on my confusion.

Another weakness that presented itself was my “random thought” blogs. I did not really stay within the classroom setting in some of my blogs, and I fear that some of them are not as useful to my education as the others. These blogs include The Roman Nose and Stargazing. Although they were relative to the time period, they were not really connected to what we were studying in class. I think that I was just so excited to find things out in the world that was Perugia that I wanted to write about them despite the fact that it was an outlier topic. However, I also think this is one of my strengths. I did not limit myself to the classroom but to the outside world as well. I used the surroundings that I was so happily placed in to enhance my learning experience. Despite the fact that these blogs topics are coming from the left field, they do illustrate my learning outside of the classroom, which is of course one of the main perks about studying abroad.

My final weakness that I have thought of at this time is my inability to comprehend the music. I feel as if I understood at least three quarters of the music but I think that I should have made a better effort to confirm my thoughts on the other fourth of the equation. Honestly I thought I would be more experienced in this section because I have had 10 years of Piano lessons but it was an abrupt wake-up call when that section of the class started. I found myself just copying the melodic curves of those around me instead of trying to understand the concept for myself. That is the area of the class that I feel least prepared in and also the area that I wish I would have devoted more time in. I regret not writing a blog based solely on music because it would have been beneficial to not only my understanding of the terminology associated with this part of the class but it also would have helped prepare me for the third essay that is required.

In summation, I think that I have completed quality work for this class. I took it very seriously and I learned a lot. When I think about getting grades in a class I think about the amount I learned. I think that my knowledge should reflect the grade I earned. In this course I think that I have gained so much knowledge about the Renaissance and myself that it would be difficult to consider anything below an A- as my learning level. Again, I put the minus there because I was not always on time with my blogs. My weaknesses do not overpower my successes in the course and I feel very confident in how I carried myself in the classroom.

Synthesis

I am surprised at how my opinions became stronger as the course went along. In the beginning I really stayed true to what I knew when I was writing my blogs. They were primarily about the art and the assignments in class. Towards the last two weeks of blog posts I started to expand into things we haven't seen, like Giotto's Lamentation, or things that inspired me outside of class like my discussion of the Roman nose and how women are treated in art history. I think this is because I wanted to apply what I was learning in class to the outside world. I wanted to use what I was learning in the classroom and apply it to what i was experiencing. I think this is evident in my blog about star gazing as well as my comparison of Siena and The Prince. I wish I would have done more blogs like the one I did on the Trevi Fountain. I think that would have pressed further my understanding of techniques used by renaissance artists. I also wish that I would have done at least one blog on the music that way I would have been more prepared for the third essay that is centered on that topic. I also wish that I would have used a more direct approach to the central concepts of the Renaissance. I think I would have remembered them better had I used a word for word use of each concept and their connections with certain pieces of work.

I acknowledged in my great expectations blog that what I thought would happen would really be subpar to the experiences I was going to have. I was correct in that assumption. Everything was much better than I could have ever dreamed it to be. It is difficult to explain, unless you've had the same experiences I've had. My happy art noise was let loose on multiple occasions. I was not disappointed by any piece we saw. I cannot say the same for the first time that I saw the Mona Lisa. So I think that is a small sort of accomplishment. I was impressed with all of the churches and guides that we had. But most importantly I was impressed with my instructors. I don't think that my experience could have been any better because of the professors and the other students in the class. It wouldn't have been the same, obviously, but I strongly believe that it would not have been so wonderful had one person been different. What i was most pleasantly surprised with were the two trips we took during class to Assisi and Urbino. I had not heard of the ladder and on the plane I learned from the couple I was sitting beside that Assisi was not that interesting of a place. They were wrong. I think I learned more on those trips in just the one day than I did on the weekend trips to Florence and Rome. I am also very pleased at how I was able to get a deeper understanding of texts I have already worked with. I have read Dante's Inferno in snippets in 4 different classes before this course. However, I still learned something new. I was able to look at the piece in a way I haven't before; the punishment aspect. I am glad that I have a background in Medieval and Renaissance literature before this course because I could expand on what I already comprehended and I was able to have a deeper connection with the texts. I am disappointed that Praise of Folly was cut from the syllabus. This is actually the second time in my academic career that the text has been removed from the assignment list and I am really getting antsy to read it.

I think that re-reading my blogs after coming back to the States was very helpful to my self-understanding. Separating myself from the assignments and the location allowed me to see the difference in my writing style in the beginning of the semester to the end of it. As for my self-understanding, I can definitely see that i started to focus more on my own thoughts and views rather than just an analysis of what the piece said. I was willing to look more into how i operate rather than just an impartial discussion of the work. For example, you cannot hear my voice in my first blog about Pico. It wasn't until later that I was comfortable saying "I think" openly and often in a blog. I took me a while to realize that I cannot be wrong in my opinions. I can be incorrect, and later have why I am confused explained to me, but I can’t be punished for my thoughts. I feel like sometimes my blog did not express the amount of confidence that I wanted it to. For example, the blog about the Courtier. I would have liked to have been more forceful with my beliefs on the perfect person. However, I feel that I just circumnavigated each adjective until it had the semblance of being a thought. I feel like I did the same thing in the final blog. I was not very confident in my thoughts on the use of the senses or reason. In the beginning I did not thing that I was mentioning anything in my blogs that were profound. I kept comparing myself to the great things that were said in class, and I did not think that anything I had to say was that deep. I still don’t know how much I brought to the intellectual table, but I do know that I can tell I learned a great deal while in Italy.