Friday 30 September 2016

From Dickinson College

Here is the mail I received today morning. I hope Zayed will soon join us in a SKYPE conference sometime this week. Now have a look at this slightly edited mail.
dickinson college এর চিত্র ফলাফল

Dear Sir,

I know you told me to keep you posted with works right after orientation but certain developments prevented me from doing so. I hope you will keep this from my parents but I had high fever for the first two weeks of college but everything is fine now. I did all of my classes in that feverish state and never skipped a single class. I think that has made me even more confident in what I am capable of. Now I'll first tell you about the academic side of things. The past two weeks have been extremely eventful for me and you'll see why.

dickinson college এর চিত্র ফলাফলThis semester I am taking Contending Political Ideologies (A 200-level Political Science course where we discuss the development and evolution political ideologies from their conception to the present. So far we've done Liberalism and are now working on Conservatism but I would really like to see what our Professor has to say about Socialism.), Introduction to Philosophy (So far we've covered Plato's Apology, Aristotle's Metaphysica, Descartes' Meditations and a re now doing Van Inwagen's Metaphysics), Single Variable Calculus ( which is basically what we've been doing since class 8 but with a ton of theory. I need to take this course so that I can take intermediate Microeconomics in the Spring Semester) and my First-Year Seminar on London and Multiculturism. This is a writing intensive course and the professor in this course seems to have a very high opinion of my abilities. We've become quite close and she even invited me to her house during Fall Pause. But those are just the boring details, one of the most interesting thing that happened last week is that I declared my major!  I got to do so because I had credits from A Levels for the introductory level courses and I should them I was making sufficient progress toward the major because I have a Calculus class this semester. It was apparently the fastest in the Economics Department's history and I took the opportunity to show both my adviser and the department chair my research proposal. The Department Chair, Prof. Farrant is a very interesting man who sometimes reminds me of Farzeen Bhaiya when it comes to passion for the subject, approved of it right away and said I should make this a 300-level independent study instead of a 200-level one which basically means that I'd get more priority in utilizing the college's resources. My adviser, Prof. McPhail was equally enthusiastic and spoke along your lines. He said that this could easily be a career making venture and my age was definitely what gave me the advantage over most other economists and the novelty of the topic and the location of where I planned to do this research immediately blocked off potential competition. I am also looking into several institutes such as the Becker-Friedman Institute and the Santa Fe Institute, on his advice in order to look for openings into workshops that would help me rub shoulders with the who's who of contemporary academia. At the same time, I dropped my name in the roster for research assistants for the spring semester so that if any professor is looking for an assistant, I might get a chance to work with them. All of this is preparation for the chance to get published before graduation which will be a huge boost for grad school and a Research Masters’ program. 

This Monday, my Seminar Professor recommended me to be a writing tutor at the College's Writing Center which is basically a sort of peer reviewing post where I will get to help students revise their papers and work with Professors as a Writing Associate. I had the interview yesterday and now I am patiently waiting to see if they take me. If they do, I begin training from the Spring Semester and will start work from Fall 2017 (it is a paid position so that means I won’t be making sandwiches at the campus cafe anymore. Thank God). 

dickinson college এর চিত্র ফলাফলSir I'd like to thank you at this stage but I already know how you would take it. So I want you to know that I am definitely not straying from that goal which we set back in Dhaka and after everything is done, I will definitely return. I have become part of a group of friends and I do enjoy their company so I won't say that I am unhappy here socially. In fact I'd rather say I enjoy a little too much during Fridays and Saturdays and I am planning to not do so on Saturdays because that puts a lot of strain on my Sundays for all the homework due on Monday. I have all of my classes on Monday and no classes on Tuesday.

If had to give any advice to the students of your class, it would be this: read as many complicated books as you can from authors from around the world and different eras. I am attaching a link with this email containing an article that lists all the major texts used in the top colleges of the US. Something tells me that you may look this with derision because it does not contain many Eastern names but that's fine, you'll still have some use for it I believe. And I almost forgot to mention, my adviser specializes in economic history and is currently working on texts which pertain to economics from across different cultures. He had very little idea though about the Eastern and near-Eastern traditions of economic thinking and as such he was very interested about my half-complete research paper and the notes I took on Al-Muqaddimah. He wanted to see both and thought of these as new leads to what he's working on. I'm just glad I got to build a rapport so early on and I am doing so with as many of the economics department faculty members as I can. Tomorrow I will probably visit the Professor who specializes in Econometrics. I will probably declare my second major in maths this time next year. If any of your students wish to study economics at the undergrad level and are truly passionate about it (because Prof. Farrant actually said that he could sniff out passion) they should definitely consider it. And online I think there is a list of schools that give out Davis Scholarships and I noticed that I got rejected from all of those who do. You should be wary of these colleges because most of their Internationals (who are seeking financial aid) are UWC students. Dickinson on the other hand isn't a Davis School and neither was Villanova. Although Grinnell was. As was U Chicago. I should let you know that the U Chicago dream hasn't died yet and I am definitely going to give it a shot at grad school. 


Thursday 29 September 2016

Urgent - Preparation for Exam on Saturday

exam preparation sleep and eat এর চিত্র ফলাফল
  1. Please make sure that you know the EXACT Location of the SAT Exam Venue. 
  2. Take a FULL Test at home tomorrow at 8.30 am - I will be in the class to monitor timing. 
  3. Monitor your SLEEPING Time from tomorrow morning - DO go to sleep by 11.45 pm. 
  4. Monitor your morning allergy and take precautions. 
  5. Take HEAVY breakfast by 7 am tomorrow and on the EXAM Day. 
  6. It may happen that your exam will start LATE - in that case you will have to give the exam EMPTY Stomach. AVOID such a scenario.
  7. Visit BLOG after every 8 hours. 
exam preparation sleep and eat এর চিত্র ফলাফল

Wednesday 28 September 2016

Sentence Writing Error Detection Drills

Sentence correction এর চিত্র ফলাফলWe are working on the following 2 items right now - from 10.30 onwards we shall start a MOCK and end the class at around 2.00 pm.

Sentence Errors Review 12 Pages

A Man for All Seasons - Reading Assignments

Congratulations to those who have attended yesterday evening's theatre performance by a fully professional cast and hands - A Man for All Seasons. This is perhaps the only Robert Bolt play performed in Bengali language either in Dhaka or in West Bengal. I also invite you to keep working on the individual Genre/Author-reading (for those who are already assigned with). I remember that for this year we have already decided to work on Tennessee Williams, Graham Greene, Amitabh Ghosh (selected), and readings in Metafictions.

a man for all seasons এর চিত্র ফলাফলa man for all seasons এর চিত্র ফলাফল


Tuesday 27 September 2016

Performance of A Man For All Seasons - today at Shilpakala Academy at 6.30 pm. Everyone is required to attend.
Man for All Seasons
A Man for all Seasons

Sunday 25 September 2016

Four-line Verses on Cigarratte

Here is an advertisement for cigarette that was published on an Indian Film Magazine in 1848. Can you identify the verse's author and find out the links in our BLOG that discusses his poetry? There is a clue in the pic as well. Can you find out the modern practitioner of such poetry in English - he is someone descended from a Kashmiri family and received recognition in the West. In 2014, we did a long critical paper on his poetic craft.



Friday 23 September 2016

Discussion 10 Min - Before the MOCK Tomorrow

a delicate balance film এর চিত্র ফলাফল
edward albee এর চিত্র ফলাফলTomorrow, Saturday, we shall begin the class with a discussion over Edward Albee's film A Delicate Balance. I want all of your to watch the film as part of our discussion. If you are unable to watch the film in FULL, please watch it with Drag-and-Pull method. In this way the film can be watched in 49 min. I am currently working on the entire oeuvre of Albee and this 10 min session will be a great opportunity for me to engage our class in one of the FINEST writers of 20th Century. Please find the link to the film below.


Thursday 22 September 2016

MOCK Schedule

Mock - 5 = 22nd September (you are absent, but you have been informed earlier)
Mock - 6 = 23 September, Friday (you are expected to attend at 8.00 am or by 8.30 am)
Mock - 7 = 24 September, Saturday (you are expected to attend at 8.00 am or by 8.30 am)
NO MOCK = 25th September SUNDAY
Mock - 8 = 26 September MONDAY (you are expected to attend at 8.00 am or by 8.30 am)

Wednesday 21 September 2016

Visual Treat

At the end of the day - something to look forward to... all these are done by Shamsul Alalm Helal. No copyright infringement intended.

Photography at the Wrong Places

Our WORK-Day Today

We shall work on a large number of reading items. This is also going to test your ability to read with Speed and Accuracy. The links will appear one at a time.

Walden Pond এর চিত্র ফলাফলBartleby the Scrivener এর চিত্র ফলাফলI have already received 2 confirmations that 2 of you will NOT be attending. This definitely frustrates the plan for today. This is to inform everyone that this coming 10 days will be extremely crucial as we will be engaged in MOCKS, Reading Sessions and Essay Writing Sessions. If you inform me beforehand that you wont be coming, I can prepare the works ahead.
  1. Thoreau = Writer of WALDEN Pond 
  2. Bartleby the Scrivener = Melville
I have received a 3rd request to be excused today.

Here are 3 links to the second reading item. The first link is to the background study through Photographs. The second link is to the TEXT. The third link is to an analysis of the story.

Background through Pictures
Bartleby the FULL text = 30 pages
Reflections on Bartleby

Sunday 11 September 2016

TIMEPASS - Her 5th Life

This book had had a life of its own in our class. I bought it two times and two times I got this as a gesture of goodwill from the readers I 'create' in my class. This time the book arrived as I was passing through a hope against all hopes - but arrive it did. I take the opportunity to thank Jarin for doing this improbable thing 'happen'. I believe that this is a book that should be read by every emerging 'human', every would-be artist, every woman in the 'being'. Welcome back Protima!

Mock Monday = Veranda Video Conference

চিত্র ফলাফলThere will be a real MOCK tomorrow. We start exactly at 8.30 am and hope to get it over by 12.30. Everyone shall bring her OWN Real SAT Books. I would also like to see your copies of SAT-II Math and Physics Books. Nibras, Basma will take the mock from home but shall keep the time from class. Jidit and Sushmita will take their respective tests in TOEFL and GRE.

Since this will be our last class before EID, I will also expect you to send me a schedule of your works for the next 2 days.

I am planning to have a Video Conference of VERANDA members on Eid day. Attendees are requested to contact Jarin for finalizing the time and getting Era, Bushra, Raidah, and Raisa to join the conference.

EId Mubarak to all of you.    

Saturday 10 September 2016

Under Milkwood


Everyone is required to listen to this 5 minute reading of Dylan Thomas play - voice-over by Richard Burton. Find all types of literary devices used by Dylan - Alliteration, Assonance, Atmosphere, Imagery, Metaphor, Onomatopoeia, Setting, & Simile. These terms will be useful in writing the Redesigned SAT Essay.

Under Milk Wood

Some Revealing BLOG Posts

Very Important

Revealing BLOG Posts

Thursday 8 September 2016

Individual Reading Materials

This is to remind the students that you will be required to give TALK on your chosen titles in the class in the coming weeks. 

Promit Reading items for PRE-resreach work: Kautilya's Arthashastra (almost done), The Wealth of the Nations, Sanskrit Play: "Mudra Rakshaha". Economics folder. My individual reading items: Mahatma Gandhi's Freedom's battle, Mary Wollstonecraft "A Vindication of the rights of Women", The Stranger, Decoding the Theory of Knowledge (TOK). 

Mayisha = My individual reading list includes "Sea of Poppies", Sophie's World, The Stranger, Metamorphosis, The Bell Jar. Pre-research work includes The Plague, Jane Eyre, Love in the Time of Cholera, Hamlet. 

Turna Daisy Miller (Finished), The Metamorphosis (Finished), Reading Lolita in Tehran, Moby Dick, My Antonia, The Awakening.

Jarin Introducing Marx by Rius, Think like a freak by Dubner and Levitt, In the light of what we know by Zia Haider Rahman, Reading Loilita in Tehran by Azar Nafsi, Fear of Mirrors by Tariq Ali, The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee, Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

Nibras = Half way through The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri; completed Moby Dick. Had been assigned with ALL reading materials of September 2015

Arif Godel Escher Bach : An Eternal Golden Braid, Alice in Wonderland, Pale Fire, Age of Innocence, Moby Dick, Flatland, The Great Gatsby.

Tasnim Snow by Orhan Pamuk- 4th chapter; Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk (half-way through; Things fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (done); The Great Gatsby (recently started); Reading Lolita in Tehran (just started)

Tahsin Reading Lolita in Tehran (in progress); Mad Woman in the Attic; Mind on One's Own
Moby Dick (in progress); Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri; In the Light of What We Know (completed)

Ahnaf = GBH! George Bernard Shaw Anthology.



Wednesday 7 September 2016

URGENT Notice - Tomorrow Morning Meeting

I will meet the following till 1.00 pm.

Promit - Should confirm time
Mayisha - Already confirmed
Turna - Should confirm time

The rest should let me know if they can meet me at 1.00 pm onwards. But do please confirm by messenger. 

Monday 5 September 2016

New Reading Item (Selected) - গৌতম বুদ্ধ / সিদ্ধার্থ

I am NOT including every titles that we worked on today in the class. It is because all of you have your exclusive reading schemes and I want these to be part of your Unique Presentation during application essays.

Open Reader on SIDDHARTHA
Siddhartha - Full TEXT
Siddhartha - Critical Objection

This is a GREAT reading. The mail text has only 55 pages to read. Wonderful insight. There are some criticisms on Hesse's handling of this great theme - but in spite of such objections, you can thoroughly enjoy the book.

Here are two EXCELLENT articles on Buddhism in America and Europe = two MUST reads for everyone.
Buddhism and America
Schopenhauer and Nietzsche - influences on Herman Hesse

Sunday 4 September 2016

Our BLOG is Reopened

This is to request everyone to visit the BLOG at regular intervals as I was finally able to resuscitate this page with much effort. Tonight, I will post a few things about tomorrow's class. You are also encouraged to submit your Queries through the COMMENT section of each post.

All SAT Applicants are requested to submit your reading materials through messenger.

Mayisha, Promit, Arif, and Tahsin - will additionally send me the reading list for the intended PRE-research works. Those who were already assigned with Ajar Nafisi's book, should send me SHORT report of their "personal assessment" of the book's content.