My final grades for semester one are starting to filter back in and I have to say I'm pretty happy with how I've gone.  This is the first semester that I've studied both externally and on-campus, and with the overlapping dates, something that I was quite concerned about, I seem to have had it under control (the constant hair-pulling aside while attempting to balance my calendar!).  The grades so far include: (updates to this post in red)

REL22: Buddhist Meditaton Traditions.

Essay One: HD
Essay Two HD

Overall: HD

PHI350: Philosophy and Cinema.

Tutorial Participation: HD
Journal: HD
Film Review: D
Final Essay: HD

Overall: HD

ABT31: Comparative Indigenous Studies.

The Philosophy of Mind is an area that I'm quite interested in.  Last year I studied a course by the same name (Philosophy of Mind) which I found fascinating.  I wasn't quite sure where I stood before I started the course, and, to be honest, I'm not that certain where I stand after the course too.  I was, however, attracted to the philosophy of Ned Block.

It's been a while since I've posted here so today I hope to have a few new items to offer.  One Friday I received my second essay for REL22: Budhist Meditation Traditions in the post.  I received another HD.  I'm beginning to wonder if an academic study of religion is where I should focus my post-grad studies.  I've never received anything less than a HD for religion and it's one of the two subjects (the other being Aisan Studies) that I've received 100% over-all.

 I've now received all of my mid-term grades and considering how poorly I've been going just keeping up I'm not too displeased with the results.  I wasn't expecting anything fantastic as, unfortunately, all of my assessment has been written the day before submission. Anyhow, my grades to date are:

PHIL2400: Ethics and the Passions.
Tutorial Seminar - High Distinction
Mid-Term Essay - Distinction

PHI350: Philosophy and Cinema.
Film Review - Distinction
Mid-Term Essay - Distinction

REL22: Buddhist Meditation Traditions.
Mid-Term Essay - High Distinction

ABT31: Comparative Indigenous Studies.
Mid-Term Essay - Credit

I haven't written a journal entry for PHI350: Philosophy and Cinema in a few weeks so this is a first attempt to catch up.  I'm catching up on my reading material today so I'll likely follow this post with another reflecting upon that material.  What I would like to focus this post upon is my second piece of assessment, a short essay.

The question I chose asked about Rancière's three 'regimes of the arts' in relation to cinema.  I loved this topic and there is such a wealth of information out there.  This, of course, was my first problem.  Because I had a passion for the topic and the depths that I could see it reaching a short essay couldn't do it justice.  My notes alone were twice as long as the essay was allowed to be, and if I included all of the topics I desired to cover then a rather detailed book would have been the result.

I've just booted up my notebook, logged on here and realised that it's been a while since I've written a journal entry for PHI350: Philosophy and Cinema.  I've been snowed under with course work and various forms of assessment for PHIL2400: Ethics and the Passions, ABT31: Comparative Indigenous Studies, and REL22: Buddhist Meditation Traditions.