From the Archives: Rejected Orientation Activities
As many of you, not being members of the CCR program, will not know, next Monday is our annual orientation day for the graduate program. Typically, we schedule a couple of morning panels where faculty and more experienced graduate students speak to program issues. Past themes have included interdisciplinarity, getting started on your research, locating yourself materially and disciplinarily, etc. This year's theme is more of a life-oriented one--we're calling it "Balancing Acts" and asking speakers to talk about how to balance work with life, short-term duties with long-term plans, studenting with parenting, and so forth.
And what better game to go along with the theme of balance than Twister?
Except rather than actually using the names for limbs (left hand, right foot), you have to use epistemology, ontology, axiology, and teleology. And rather than calling out colors--how prosaic!--onlookers will read out passages from one of four rhetoricians. Finding the best position on the board is no longer simply a matter of physical quickness--only the intellectually quick will succeed! Yes, I bring you: Rhetorister!!
Or rather, I would have, had not the Semi-Official Ad-Hoc Subcommittee for Oversight of All Proposed Orientation Acitivity, Including but not Limited to Fun decided that perhaps this would not necessarily supply the rollicking good time that it appears to. Ah well. Back to the drawing board. (You can click for a closer look, though.)
That is all.
Comments
Ok, I give. Who the heck is that on black? I mean, I recognize the other three, but that dude looks a bit planet of the apesish to me.
Posted by: jenwingard | August 15, 2006 4:06 PM
I soooo wanna play! Will you bring it to the party later? And who are these party poopers who thought this wouldn't work? (Wait--aren't you in charge? Are you saving your rank-pulling karma points for a more significant moment?)
Posted by: susansinclair | August 15, 2006 4:18 PM
The black is technically dark green, and the fellow in question is none other than Plato. It helps if you look at the bigger version, and realize that (a) he's sporting quite the beard, and (b) he's in profile, looking left.
I picked a pretty crappy pic of him, but didn't realize it until after I was done...
Posted by: collin | August 15, 2006 4:25 PM
Rhetorister looks um... interesting, but I'm so glad it's not worked into our orientation schedule. I just don't know how I'd follow an activity like rhetorister.
Posted by: Tamika | August 15, 2006 8:04 PM
Plato kinda looks like an alien. Rhetorister would be the PERFECT activity to discuss the issues of harassment from an embodiment/performativity nexus.
For that matter, why does Shel Silverstein merit his own dot and not Judith Butler?
I'm kidding...
Posted by: DocMara | August 16, 2006 6:54 PM
It's official: alien Plato has been bumped, by majority vote of the SASOAPOAINLF.
Posted by: collin | August 16, 2006 7:19 PM
whew, having come to this a little late, I must admit I was dreading being the jerk who pointed out that the bottom row is actually Aristotle, until that is, I made it to the last comment. Now I wish I could see alien Plato! What a coo-el image, rhetorister. Perhaps we can start a rhetorister SIG at CCCC--then maybe rhetoric will get on the program.
YOW! Spank!
Note: this is in response to past Cs, though with CG in charge, this year (I'm hoping) will be bettah.
Posted by: dhawhee | August 20, 2006 12:47 PM