flu vacation ending

So, I last taught a class on September 14. The swine flu vacation hit after that, but I’ll start teaching on Monday. This has been a weird, unexpected period for all of us. I don’t know what we’ll do if an actual swine flu epidemic hits later in the semester, but the situation with make-up classes is actually quite easy.

That’s because AUC changed its teaching schedule this year. We used to have 2-day classes (Monday/Wednesday) or 3-day classes (Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday). Among other problems, the latter schedule was tough on junior faculty, who were always the ones stuck with it– especially since there’s a sizable commute now to the new campus.

As of this year, all teaching (other than 5-day language classes and maybe some labs) became 2 days per week: either Sunday/Wednesday or Monday/Thursday. Tuesdays were left open for meetings and activities, which I think is perfect– try finding a meeting day that works for everyone! Now we have the Tuesdays. And the Tuesdays will now be easily used for flu makeup classes. I’m supposed to do 4 of them, but already had a Netherlands lecture date for the 4th of those.

I sort of remember my students. We only met three times before the flu vacation hit, and I guess we’ll have to start from scratch. Both of my classes were doing Plato’s Republic.

And let me say, the edition of the Republic I accidentally chose is extremely annoying. Since I make a point of not being prissy and finicky about translations (often the worst sort of pseudo-intellectual attitude) I looked in the catalog and went by pricing and other considerations.

And I ended up ordering the Oxford edition of the Republic, and now I sorely regret it. You expect good decisions from an Oxford University Press book, right? Well, the translator annoys me very much. He split the 10 Books of the Republic into 14 Chapters, and gave each chapter a title. His (unnecessary) interpolated comments in italics sound at times like some Hollywood parody of an analytic philosopher. I am disliking this experience, and it’s my own fault for not looking at the translation first, and I’ll make sure to do that next time.

Chapter 8: Philosopher Kings

Chapter 11: Warped Minds, Warped Societies

Chapter 14: Rewards Now and Hereafter

It’s disappointing that there is no chapter called “A Dank and Gloomy Cavern.”

I’m not generally a “purist” in most areas, but adding non-existent chapter titles to ancient classics is a bad idea, I think.