![\"\"](\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_b7Eh98KJ_qI\/TAmk4R2TaNI\/AAAAAAAAA-4\/3o9c7AYC5Cw\/s320\/7_quick_takes_sm.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSchool has begun so, for this week\u2019s Quick Takes, I\u2019m listing the classes I\u2019ll be taking this semester. \u00a0I\u2019m also in the Yale Daily News<\/em>\u00a0with a column on the value of shop classes<\/a> (woodworking, glassblowing, etc).<\/p>\n The first class (and the only normal undergraduate class I\u2019m taking) is Oratory in Statecraft<\/strong>. \u00a0The class is a mix of the history of oratory (starting with the Illiad<\/em>) and a practical workshop in writing and delivering speeches. \u00a0I\u2019m so excited; I\u2019ve wanted to take the class since I was a freshman.<\/p>\n This is also the semester I need to write my senior thesis<\/strong> in political science. \u00a0I\u2019m still firming up my thesis, but here\u2019s the basic topic: I want to look at how new opportunities to engage in political speech and activism online impact general political culture and rhetoric. \u00a0The shift from activism as protests\/marches\/sit-in\/letters to activism as destructive assaults on websites (DDoS attacks<\/a>) isn\u2019t good for political discourse.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s all the courses I\u2019m taking at the undergraduate level. \u00a0The coolest class I\u2019m taking for my Masters in Public Health is definitely Public Health\u00a0Surveillance<\/strong>. \u00a0The class is focused on designing tools and networks to monitor the spread of disease (like Google Flu Trends<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n My next public health course,\u00a0Principles of Epidemiology II<\/strong>, is exactly what it sounds like. \u00a0We learn about proper design of epidemiological studies. \u00a0Total fun! \u00a0I love the problem solving challenge of the whole thing.<\/p>\n Data Management for Epidemiology<\/strong> is another class where the title says it all. \u00a0Luckily, I really like statistical programming and data crunching.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n One nice aspect of my program is that there\u2019s a weekly Seminar in Epidemiology of Microbial Disease<\/strong>. \u00a0There\u2019s no letter grade or assigned work. \u00a0Every week the department just comes together to hear one of the professors talk about their current research. \u00a0It\u2019s great to have a sense of what everybody\u2019s working on, something that wasn\u2019t possible in the giant undergrad political science department.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s the end of my classes, but I am also auditing Catholicism: The Second Century<\/strong>, which is an undergraduate history lecture. \u00a0The professor is a great speaker, and the reading list looks interesting. \u00a0We start off with the letters of Abelard and Heloise<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_b7Eh98KJ_qI\/TS_u31GF8pI\/AAAAAAAABOA\/t3p1FBwB8sA\/s320\/oratory.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_b7Eh98KJ_qI\/TS_0Juccr6I\/AAAAAAAABOE\/dZYQXuzOmFE\/s1600\/JimmyDDoS.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_b7Eh98KJ_qI\/TS_4bo3d6RI\/AAAAAAAABOI\/-1HbLrHk2iA\/s320\/google+flu.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_b7Eh98KJ_qI\/TS_6JWLCFsI\/AAAAAAAABOQ\/n09oBnslxKU\/s320\/epi+shirt.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_b7Eh98KJ_qI\/TS_7hRMXmrI\/AAAAAAAABOU\/DSKdsXt-GfU\/s1600\/epi+curve.gif\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/_b7Eh98KJ_qI\/TS_8WWZmpgI\/AAAAAAAABOY\/_9RHWhdEKkE\/s320\/research+mtg.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_b7Eh98KJ_qI\/TS_9JOeSL_I\/AAAAAAAABOc\/b8FTUgM1UWg\/s320\/pope+2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/4256452356987023523-8523776341564293757?l=www.unequally-yoked.com\")
<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"