Site Search:
 
Speak Korean Now!
Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!
Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Useless subjects you would like to be an expert in.
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Off-Topic Forum
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
pangaea



Joined: 20 Dec 2007

PostPosted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 5:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Medieval History and Religious Studies
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DejaVu



Joined: 27 Jan 2011
Location: Your dreams

PostPosted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1. Oenology

2. The study of cheese and cheese making

3. Greek mythology

4. Self-promotion in the 2010's

5. Every topic I can think of that isn't based on science.

Sorry, but I could only think of useful things that I would want to learn.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
amf826



Joined: 07 Apr 2011

PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Greek Mythology is pretty fun, but I would like to spend more time reading Sophocles in Greek. I love the tragedies! Since I have a BA in Classics, I would like to continue and get a PHD in Greek Archaeology.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cj1976



Joined: 26 Oct 2005

PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 6:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is Korean useful or not? I guess in the wider global context, it isn't all that useful, but if you plan to stay here for a while, then it is absolutely essential. I think that applies to a lot of languages.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DorkothyParker



Joined: 11 Apr 2009
Location: Jeju

PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 3:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fishead soup wrote:
The Modernist/Postmodern historical dialectic.

The blurring of the distinctions between high art and popular culture
Starting with Warhol and following through to Wrestlemania.

Semiotics

K pop from a feminist perspective. Male voyourism" Your gaze hits the side of my face" Barbera Krugar. Comparing K pop celebrities to Thai bargirls.

The Myth of the Submissive Asian women from a Post-Modernist perspective.

American Cultural Imperialism and the Changing face of Asian culture.


I like you. ^^ I did my senior thesis on videogames as a high art medium. I don't think it was super excellent, but it was certainly a challenge.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ZIFA



Joined: 23 Feb 2011
Location: Dici che il fiume..Trova la via al mare

PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

DejaVu wrote:
1. Oenology.


I used to know the full histories of a dozen or so wines. Went down well in certain circles at the time.

I used to be a real afficionado of 80's music and pop-culture but.. lost interest. Nowadays science is more my thing.

Something like..genetics. But its not exactly useless.. of course.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
banjois



Joined: 14 Nov 2009

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 1:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

mithridates wrote:
MollyBloom wrote:
mithridates wrote:
learn Old English / Anglo-Saxon


I know you and I often have crossed paths with good knowledge of language/etymology, but I think you might find amusing the fact that I once had the pleasure of studying under Daniel Donoghue, a mind-blowing-incredible-wowzee AS scholar who, in my opinion, is the world's foremost AS scholar out there. He was amazing: he was short in stature, with delicately ruddy cheeks, and always wore those tweed suit jackets with the leather patches at the elbows. In his class, when he spoke AS it was absolutely mesmerizing, and I kick myself every day that I didn't (audio) record his classes. I hung out with him a few times in his office, and he told me some cool stories about Seamus Heaney, a close friend of his (Donoghue edited Heaney's translation of Beowulf). I can still recite some lines from that poem, mainly because that class had such an impact on my studies.


I always wondered about that since I think I remember Heaney himself saying that he wasn't an expert on Old English, just a really gifted writer and translator. His translation of the Tao Te Ching was the first one I ever read too.

One thing I've always wanted to find is a marked-up version of Beowulf, something like this. Heaney's translation is more like a reworking of the poem and the copyright-free versions I've found online are not all that impressive, but something like that image that does all the dictionary work for you as you read along would be ideal.

Moldy Rutabaga on this site (Ken Eckert) also knows quite a bit about Old English.


The riddles from the Exeter Book are probably the best things ever written in any language. I've gotta work on getting the OE skillz back....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
MollyBloom



Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Location: James Joyce's pants

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mithridates wrote:

One thing I've always wanted to find is a marked-up version of Beowulf, something like this. Heaney's translation is more like a reworking of the poem and the copyright-free versions I've found online are not all that impressive, but something like that image that does all the dictionary work for you as you read along would be ideal.

.


I do love annotations in a work, but I think for it to work and not be bothersome it needs to be in perfect form (whatever that may be). Do you prefer to read annotated works? For me, that site was way too disruptive, but it's just my preference. I prefer footnotes over endnotes if they are offered. Sometimes a side-by-side reading of the text and notes/annotations is the best way, because you can choose which parts you want to utilize the notes. I always wanted to publish an edition of Ulysses that had the notes right on the page, but the paper size would have to be A3 and the book would be 1500+ pages! Shocked

Maybe this can help you:

http://www.beowulftranslations.net/

I'm emailing Daniel Donoghue and asking if he knows of such an edition that you are looking for. I'll PM when I get a response.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
RangerMcGreggor



Joined: 12 Jan 2011
Location: Somewhere in Korea

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 7:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pop culture in Burkina Faso
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
chaiplz



Joined: 21 Mar 2011

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 8:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A BFA in Computer Animation...

oh wait I already have one Embarassed

I guess it is sort of useful.. although very few people seem to think so (see: Job Market for 3D Artists/Illustrators that begrudgingly do Graphic Design work)

Luckily I also have the cultural/linguistic side that makes me want to travel to world and learn everything. Perhaps I will write/illustrate children's books while teaching in Asia.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Off-Topic Forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4
Page 4 of 4

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

TEFL International Supports Dave's ESL Cafe
TEFL Courses, TESOL Course, English Teaching Jobs - TEFL International