This course pleasantly surprised me. When I first registered, I was mainly worried about doing poorly. Not having any knowledge of Chinese history, I wasn’t sure what to expect of the course. I was also afraid of not enjoying the material, especially since I had taken a history course before and left it after only two lectures. And yet here we are at the final week of the semester. I am shocked, and impressed, at the thought of having learned so much in such a short amount of time and that, despite having learned so much, I never found myself needing to cram or felt like I was on a deadline. I appreciate the fact that the course was designed to teach you history in ways other than reading, making the class more enjoyable even for people who despise history.
I consider myself to be a procrastinator and don’t bother to do things until I have a deadline. Because of this, I found it very helpful that there was a timeline telling us what assignments to expect and what homework was due. This alleviated some stress and allowed me to plan ahead, especially since all of my courses loaded me with assignments. I even created a habit of frequently looking back at Canvas and at the course site to make sure nothing was missing. The consistency of the course also helped. Each week was essentially the same: initial posts and feedback on reflection posts on Tuesdays; comments and feedback on posts on Thursdays; reflections on Sunday; and, once in a while, a Friday assignment. Nothing was given last minute, and nothing too excessive.
As part of the course, each week we were told to write a reflection that included three things we had learned. I, personally, found it to be helpful when it came to summarizing what I had learned. As I look back on these now, I realize that they were things that I had learned before reading my classmates’ initial posts. This allowed me to reflect more on the things I had learned before and after reading the initial posts instead of focusing on looking for more things to write down.
Furthermore, this course taught me to not only see certain objects as a way to learn history but to appreciate them more because of it. This has completely changed my idea of history. Before, I would have never thought that there were aspects of history deeply rooted in everyday objects. Even now, I am surprised that there is so much history ingrained even in the clothes I wear. However, I can’t say that it has changed my idea of China. Or, more specifically, there wasn’t much to change. I didn’t know much about China, to begin with, and so, instead of changing my perspective, it expanded my knowledge and perspective of China.
Ultimately, this course carries a DE General Academic Requirement, meaning that it aims “to broaden and deepen students’ understanding of human difference and to develop the intellectual and civic skills students require for participation in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world”. After taking this course, I believe that I have earned the requirement. I have not only successfully expanded my knowledge of Chinese history, I was able to make connections between various areas of knowledge and integrate it into my broader educational experience.
In conclusion, this course was really good. Even though it would have been a better experience to be on campus, I still found myself enjoying what this course had to offer. I appreciate the way it was structured and didn’t mind asynchronously learning the material. This was my first time creating a website/blog, too, and I am glad to have had so much creative freedom with it. Thank you for a great semester, and I hope to meet you in person when we come back to campus!
