There further you get into your graduate education the less time you will find yourself in class. However, if you are just starting out there's a good chance you're in a few. Most grad classes are really focused on your area of study, but if you're adding some weird, out-there concentration (like I am) you might find yourself in a classes that you don't necessarily think would be placed in the same schedule. For example, as a Women's and Gender Studies student, one would expect to find things like Feminist Thought and Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault on my class schedule, but pairing those with Theatre for the Young...?
This leads me to my main "topic" this time: Types of classes.
I think this information can be useful to anyone in grad school, but particularly those that have some seemingly randomly placed classes in there.
First, you will undoubtedly have the class that will might you wonder if you are in fact above a third grade reading level. For me, this class is Feminist Thought. I can't tell you how many times I've had to google words just to get a partial understanding of one sentence in a forty page long article. (One would think that theorists should be forced to choose between incomprehensible to people with less than a Ph.D, or long enough to be my Master's thesis, but that's a topic for another day!) This class will be the one you find yourself nearly in tears over several times throughout the semester (actual tears may too come). It is the most challenging class you have come across in your entire academic history and because of it you will question whether the admissions committee decided to torture you for a good laugh at your misery.
Next, you might find yourself in a class that you thought was going to expand your knowledge on a subject you were already quite familiar with (this would be my Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault class). I have a decent background in trainings and education in domestic violence and sexual assault, so upon seeing this class listed for the semester, I jumped on it. I was told that it was taught by a board member of the local women's domestic violence shelter and that he had been teaching the class for many years. This was definitely the class I thought I would rock. Well as it turns out, I know everything this professor is going to say before he says it. Everything. The readings are simple and about things I already know and class discussions do nothing be reiterate the readings. There's really no point to this class whatsoever and every week I'm left wondering why I'm there and how the rest of the class has managed to survive to this point in their life. Baffling.
Finally, the is the fun class (Theatre for the Young), the class you thought was going to save your sanity for the first semester at least. Wrong. It might be fun at first, you might think "Well, at least it's a break, right?" but then as the semester progresses you realize that you're losing more of your sanity with each class you attend (and being the good student you are, you'll attend them all...most of the time). If you are put in the position that I was, you'll be in a mixed class. By this I mean that this class is open to undergrads too. BE WARNED of this class! It is EVIL and you will want to rip your eyeballs out because of the level of stupidity. You will be taught as if you are an undergrad, because that's what the majority of the class is. In fact there is only one other grad student in the class with you...and she might stop showing up after a while. The "grad component" of the class only means doubling the paper length and a surprise project. My prof left it up to me what I was going to do for this surprise project and thinking about applying to Ph. D programs in the future, I chose teaching. This seemed like a great idea. Then I was given no feedback and all of the sudden surprise, you're teaching next Monday, get me a detailed lesson plan by Tuesday at the latest (of course its Monday afternoon when you get this e-mail and well, duh, you have a paper due Tuesday for DV&SA). So you throw something together for a lesson plan and all is good. Once again, no feedback. Joy.
The real pleasure in all of these classes is realizing that you're encountering all three types at the same time. This will throw you into a semi permanent state of confusion. You may have ups and downs to the point that you think you're developing a mental disorder. Don't even get me started on the will power it takes to go from Theatre for the Young into Feminist Thought on the same day. If only you could see the sideways head turn and the sarcastic "really?" expression on my face.
The real insanity of it all is that when you're find yourself reading for one of your no-brainer classes you will be thinking about the challenging class and wanting to read for that instead. Why? Who knows, maybe you're just a masochist...I mean you'd have to be to subject yourself to grad school in the first place, right?
Monday, October 10, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
A Theory on Theory
After being subjected to Judith Bulter as a part of a Feminist Theory graduate class, I have come up with my own theory (on theory) and, well, I think it's a winner. Comments, questions, addition input...all welcome.
*Please note this is in no way meant to offend, it is all just a part of "coping through sarcasm" that I have found particularly usful in reading and discussing Judith Butler*
A Theory on Theory
There is a misapprehension in parts of the academic community that theory may be proliferated beyond the binary frame of "academic" and "student" depending on the manner in which one writes. It must be understood, however, that where there is a theorist who postulates and articulates and thereby produces a form of discourse with the intent of legitimizing one's utterance by a systematic deconstructualization of the actual or previously imagined intelligence of another, there is first a deeply rooted sadomasochistic relationship between aforementioned academic and student, without which the utterance would never be legitimized. Neither participant in the relationship is free to be that which they are, either academic (read: sadist) or student (read: masochist), outside of the context of the relationship and the standards to which they are upheld cannot be negotiated within the bounds of that relationship, nor can they be fully comprehended from the outside. Theory and the act of theorizing, therefore is not, to quote Judith Butler, a "product of choice, but the forcible citation of a norm, one whose complex historicity is indissociable from relations of discipline, regulation, punishment".
It must be noted that at the core of this relationship is the concept of asymmetrical reciprocity, whereby the academic, in the act of theorizing, establishes a sense of dominance in their field of choice, and the student, in being subjected to theory, 1) realizes their staus in the hierarchy of academia, the term peon come to mind first, 2) is granted the opportunity, through the persuit of acceptance in academia, to expand their knowledge base, which as previously mentioned could have been at an already exceptional level or previously imagined to be at that level, all in the hopes that through this subjectification they will one day dawn the title of "academic" and the cycle of theory can hence continue.
It must be noted that at the core of this relationship is the concept of asymmetrical reciprocity, whereby the academic, in the act of theorizing, establishes a sense of dominance in their field of choice, and the student, in being subjected to theory, 1) realizes their staus in the hierarchy of academia, the term peon come to mind first, 2) is granted the opportunity, through the persuit of acceptance in academia, to expand their knowledge base, which as previously mentioned could have been at an already exceptional level or previously imagined to be at that level, all in the hopes that through this subjectification they will one day dawn the title of "academic" and the cycle of theory can hence continue.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Things I've learned in a week
So far, I think I've gained a great deal of knowledge from the five days that I've been at grad school, only three hours of which have I actually spent in class. SO the following will be a half retelling of my adventure so far and half a guide if you ever find yourself in my situation.
1: just showing up is half that battle. If you e-mail someone in housing and tell them that you are driving from Pennsylvania to Michigan (a 10 hour drive from where I was to where I was headed) and that you will need a place to live when you get there, they tend to frantically get you a place to live once you show up on there doorstep and they know you were serious.
2: if you are coming from a relatively small undergrad university into a university large enough to have multiple graduate programs, you'll most likely need a map and someone on the phone looking at an interactive online map to figure out where the hell you're supposed to be.
3: if you haven't been formally admitted yet (meaning your paperwork hasn't been completely processed) you won't have access to a few essential things, such as: the place you may be living. Sure, housing gave you a card that would theoretically let you in, but you, a person studying theory, will know that not all theories come together into practice as people might have planned. If you don't have access to you residence you most likely won't have access to your meal plan, which leads me to...
4: The most essential thing to pack should be a coffee pot. From a coffee pot you can make food that will keep you alive and upright until you get your meal plan fixed. By food I, of course, mean things like Ramen, tomato soup with cheese-its (grilled cheese without the frying pan), other assorted soups, rice (though it's a little crunchy), any canned food really. Just note that i recommend thoroughly washing your coffee pot between each "meal"! Also, what grad student would go to school without a coffee pot?!?
5: If your university is like mine they have given you $25 of FREE PRINTING! As a grad student, this will quickly be gone, but if you happen to sit down at a computer that someone has not logged off of and mistakenly start printing, assuming it is towards your balance, but you're not exactly sure how (truly it was a mistake) then you have even more free printing! Lesson learned for me and them: Always log off of the computer before you walk away!
6: If you arrive at school and its fairly warm out you might want to open your window. If it doesn't seem to push open, try sliding it. I know, simple, but it took a few days.
7: Networking is good. This might seem fairly obvious. If you think about it though everything about you is what people see and judge you from, down to what you wear. Who knows, wearing a shirt that has countless words/phrases for the word vagina, might lead to a job in the Women's Center *crosses fingers on that one*. Honestly I have had so many random chances to get jobs here since Monday. Be aware of what people say and how you respond.
8: Don't get too excited when the bookstore only has one $13 book listed for a class, especially if that class is something like Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (something you KNOW will not be covered in this small dinky book). This just means the prof probably has his own website with all the books you'll need...in my case 5 required and 6 more recommended (and yes, the one he had in the bookstore was on the recommended list).
9: Grad school is that time when all the major changes and different weird classes during undergrad will ALL come in handy! Just in my first reading from one class I have put to use knowledge from 3 undergrad classes, all of which are different majors!
10: Study groups are good. You will need them, you will cling to them, you will be amazed at how willing people are to form something that seemed so dorky in undergrad.
That's all for now...back to "learning"
1: just showing up is half that battle. If you e-mail someone in housing and tell them that you are driving from Pennsylvania to Michigan (a 10 hour drive from where I was to where I was headed) and that you will need a place to live when you get there, they tend to frantically get you a place to live once you show up on there doorstep and they know you were serious.
2: if you are coming from a relatively small undergrad university into a university large enough to have multiple graduate programs, you'll most likely need a map and someone on the phone looking at an interactive online map to figure out where the hell you're supposed to be.
3: if you haven't been formally admitted yet (meaning your paperwork hasn't been completely processed) you won't have access to a few essential things, such as: the place you may be living. Sure, housing gave you a card that would theoretically let you in, but you, a person studying theory, will know that not all theories come together into practice as people might have planned. If you don't have access to you residence you most likely won't have access to your meal plan, which leads me to...
4: The most essential thing to pack should be a coffee pot. From a coffee pot you can make food that will keep you alive and upright until you get your meal plan fixed. By food I, of course, mean things like Ramen, tomato soup with cheese-its (grilled cheese without the frying pan), other assorted soups, rice (though it's a little crunchy), any canned food really. Just note that i recommend thoroughly washing your coffee pot between each "meal"! Also, what grad student would go to school without a coffee pot?!?
5: If your university is like mine they have given you $25 of FREE PRINTING! As a grad student, this will quickly be gone, but if you happen to sit down at a computer that someone has not logged off of and mistakenly start printing, assuming it is towards your balance, but you're not exactly sure how (truly it was a mistake) then you have even more free printing! Lesson learned for me and them: Always log off of the computer before you walk away!
6: If you arrive at school and its fairly warm out you might want to open your window. If it doesn't seem to push open, try sliding it. I know, simple, but it took a few days.
7: Networking is good. This might seem fairly obvious. If you think about it though everything about you is what people see and judge you from, down to what you wear. Who knows, wearing a shirt that has countless words/phrases for the word vagina, might lead to a job in the Women's Center *crosses fingers on that one*. Honestly I have had so many random chances to get jobs here since Monday. Be aware of what people say and how you respond.
8: Don't get too excited when the bookstore only has one $13 book listed for a class, especially if that class is something like Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (something you KNOW will not be covered in this small dinky book). This just means the prof probably has his own website with all the books you'll need...in my case 5 required and 6 more recommended (and yes, the one he had in the bookstore was on the recommended list).
9: Grad school is that time when all the major changes and different weird classes during undergrad will ALL come in handy! Just in my first reading from one class I have put to use knowledge from 3 undergrad classes, all of which are different majors!
10: Study groups are good. You will need them, you will cling to them, you will be amazed at how willing people are to form something that seemed so dorky in undergrad.
That's all for now...back to "learning"
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Welcome to Graduate School...are you overwhelmed yet?
Today was my first day as a graduate student in the Women's and Gender Studies (will be referred to as WGST from here on out) master's program.
After a long and frustrating admissions process, I'm finally here and getting settled into my new life as a grad student. I had my first class tonight, met some amazing people (some are a part of my cohort, others are not) and get in touch with some great programs here on campus.
I feel like I have a billion things to do before I'm officially feeling "settled", but things are moving along quite smoothly after a last minute rushed move to Michigan on Monday.
My first impression of grad school: This is going to be fun! I know, I sound like such a dork and my perspective will probably change as the semester progresses and I get more and more and more work to do. For right now though I'm enjoying my time and trying to get as much done ahead of time as possible.
I realize that throughout the semester/year keeping this up will be increasingly difficult, so it'll be interesting to see what little snippets actually get posted here.
That's all for now though because this grad student had an exciting first day and needs to digest and get some rest before the "fun" of grad school gets out of hand!
After a long and frustrating admissions process, I'm finally here and getting settled into my new life as a grad student. I had my first class tonight, met some amazing people (some are a part of my cohort, others are not) and get in touch with some great programs here on campus.
I feel like I have a billion things to do before I'm officially feeling "settled", but things are moving along quite smoothly after a last minute rushed move to Michigan on Monday.
My first impression of grad school: This is going to be fun! I know, I sound like such a dork and my perspective will probably change as the semester progresses and I get more and more and more work to do. For right now though I'm enjoying my time and trying to get as much done ahead of time as possible.
I realize that throughout the semester/year keeping this up will be increasingly difficult, so it'll be interesting to see what little snippets actually get posted here.
That's all for now though because this grad student had an exciting first day and needs to digest and get some rest before the "fun" of grad school gets out of hand!
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