16 posts tagged “edumacation”

Guy: So, I see from your profile that you're writing a thesis. What's it on?
Me: Toni Morrison.
Guy: Yeah, he's a really great writer. I've read some of his books myself.
Me: ...

The end.

The Cider House Rules
Life of Pi
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right
Backlash

If only being an English major didn't get in the way of my reading...

I am insanely excited about my classes this semester:

English 237E: Shakesperean Sexualities:

Pericles
Coriolanus
Antony and Cleopatra
The Winter's Tale
Troilus and Cressida
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Twelfth Night
Measure for Measure
Othello
The Merchant of Venice
All's Well That Ends Well
Macbeth

Sociology 257: Gender, Sexuality, and the Body:

Real Knockouts:The Physical Feminism of Women's Self-Defense by Martha McCaughey
The Male Body by Susan Bordo
The Politics of Women's Bodies by Rose Weitz

Sociology 229: Social and Cultural Production

Women's and Gender Studies 201: Perspectives on Women in the World:

Orientalism by Said
Western Women and Imperialsim: Complicity and Resistance by Nupur Chaudhuri and Margaret Strobel
Women's History in Global Perspective by Bonnie G. Smith
Guests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissi
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Truth Tales by Kali for Women

I also don't have classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays. Best. Schedule. Ever.

This is my final list. I chose these programs based on departmental structure and practical application. Most master's programs in Women's Studies are with entirely theory [which would be fine if I wanted to be an academic/have a job outside academia, but I don't/do] or are three or four theory classes and then random courses cobbled together from other departments [which is what Vandy's program is, and I'm not a fan]. These programs also either require or offer off-campus study in the form of individual projects in the community or internships. Since I plan on being employed in this field, I obviously would like both. Anyway, here's the list:

1. California Institute of Integral Studies. (MA in Social and Cultural Anthropology)
2. Towson University (MS in Women's Studies)
3. University of Southern Florida (MA in Women's Studies)
4. Roosevelt University (MA in Women's Studies)
5. New College of California (Some random activist program whose name I can't recall).

Notice the following:
1. None of them are in the South.
2. All are located in or near large cities.
3. None of them require the GRE!

I'm pretty sure my chances are good.

I always make a ton of these, so I've separated them into categories.

I. Education-Related Resolutions
A. Finish my thesis.
B. Graduate
C...Magna Cum Laude.
D. Finish my grad school applications.
E. Get into grad school.

II. Not Strictly Education-Related, but Nevertheless Intellectual Resolutions
A. Read more outside of class. This includes literature, non-fiction, philosophy, and feminist theory. The older I get, the more I realize that I need to take it upon myself to educate myself.
B. Find a school of feminist thought that suits me better and pisses me off less than radical feminism.
C. Use this thing more. It makes my brain feel all limber and stretchy, especially since I have so few intellectual conversations these days.
D. Start paying better attention to current events.

III. Personal/Health-Related Resolutions
A. Continue working on last year's resolution of "Quit taking [unnecessary] shit off people."
B. Pay more attention to my appearance [because, normally, I don't].
C. Eat healthier.
D. Stop consuming soda. Even the diet kind.
E. Make a workout schedule and stick to it.
F. Make some friends who don't suck.
G. Date guys that don't suck.
H. Take vitamins.

IV. Miscellaneous
A. Write at least five crochet patterns.
B. Knit a sweater.
C. Go camping/hiking at least once.
D. Learn to kayak.
E. Get a decent job.

I can't believe I'm writing this.

Seriously, people, in what alternate universe is calling sexual assault, which is not only an act of extreme brutality, it's absolutely horrifying and soul-shattering to experience, "surprise sex" acceptable? I'd kind of like to know so that I can send you there, never to return.

I'm not a big fan of the whole "OMG I RAPED THAT FINAL" or, conversely, "Boo hoo, that final raped me and left me in a metaphorical dumpster with my underwear torn and duct tape around my wrists! *kutkri*" routines, either. Call me crazy, but you really can't sexually violate an exam, nor can one sexually violate you. If you studied and did well, great. If you didn't study and did well anyway, really great. If you didn't study and failed, ha, sucks to be you. But for the love of freaking god, rape is not an acceptable analogy for any of these processes. It's not cute, it's not clever, it's not funny.

All it is is really fucking offensive and all it does is make me hate you and not want to talk to you ever again.

Especially those of you who know full well what I've been dealing with lately. Screw you.

Books to read:

-The Mommy Myth by Susan J. Douglas and Meredith W. Michaels*
-The Cider House Rules by John Irving.*
-Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat Idiot by Al Franken.*
-The World of Tibetan Buddhism by the Dalai Lama.
-The Transformed Mind by the Dalai Lama.
-The Meaning of Life by the Dalai Lama.
-The Life of Pi by Yann Martel.*
-Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and Pursuit of Happiness in America by Dan Savage*

* = books I've already started.

Knitting/Crocheting Projects to Complete:

-Big pink purse. */$
-Funky black hat. *
-Gray and Noro purse (for me!)
-Funky crocheted hat to match my similarly funky scarf. $
-Kitty Hat. $
-A calorimetry.
-A baby blanket that I've been working on since September. *
-Overly bright Malabrigo messenger bag. #
-A funky blue hat.
-A marbled entrelac scarf. #
-Possibly a sweater.

I know it looks like a lot, but most of these have already been started:

# = Started
* = Lots of Progress
$ = Nearly Finished

Schoolwork:

-Work on Thesis (I want rough drafts of my first two chapters)
-Start reading for next semester (Lots and Lots of Shakespeare, it seems. The reading list for that class is so intimidating.)

I found out a few days ago that my family has put me on Grandmother Duty. My Gran just had knee replacement surgery and needs someone to keep an eye on her and cart her around town, and since I don't have a job, I've been volunteered. I'm fine with that. It means I can actually get something done instead of waiting tables during the holidays (which is pretty much the worst job EVER).

It'll be a nice break. I'm really looking forward to it.

ENGL - 290B - M 12:10-3:00 - Honors Thesis
ENGL - 273E - TR 11:00- 12:15 - ProbLit:Shakespearean Sexualities
WGS - 201 - TR 1:10-2:25 - Perspectives Women World
SOC - 257 - TR - 2:35-3:50 - Gender, Sexuality & Body

[ENGL 288 - TR - 9:35-10:50 - Special Topics: Metamorphoses]

I'm still debating whether or not to take Metamorphoses. On the one hand, I don't want to take fifteen hours while writing a thesis. On the other, my thesis isn't an actual class and I'm really walking the line between graduating Cum Laude and graduating Magna Cum Laude and making an extra A would really help. Whether or not I can make my usual grades while writing a thesis, however, is not a risk that I am necessarily willing to take. But, I can work on my thesis over break if it's necessary so I'll have a smaller workload when I get back.

I think it'll all boil down to what I end up making this semester.

Let The GPA Freakout of 2006 Begin.

First of all, it's not little. It weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of twelve pounds which, for a laptop, is freaking enormous. Especially when you consider the horrible weight distribution that laptop carrying cases provide. Imagine carrying that through airports multiple times in a single school year (I went to a school in Southern California my freshman year), and you'll see why I have quite a bit of pent-up hostility directed at my laptop, which I have resolutely refused to name. It's not worthy.

Secondly, it worked more or less fine until literally one week after its warranty expired, at which point everything began to break. Grr. My current list of grievances against it includes:

-Taking forfreakingever to do anything, despite repeated hard drive consolidations, defraggings, and deletings of my extensive library of Beavis and Butthead (don't judge me) and Daria episodes along with sundry music videos.

-Instigating a holy war with my printer that has resulted in me being unable to keep the two connected for more than a few minutes at a time. If they're linked up for longer than half an hour or so, they both crash and become paperweights just long enough for me to have a multiple-artery coronary only to spring merrily to life again. Not. Funny. At. All.

-Randomly deciding to link the functioning of the 1 key to the 3 key. If I want to type 1 or !, I must hit and hold down the 3 key or the shift and 3 key first- and then go back and delete the one. I would C&P, but the control key on that side is broken as well! Ain't computer owenership grand?

-Not automatically deleting temporary files. What a pain.

-Killing off the ethernet port for some reason entirely unknown to me. I am now wireless-dependent. This isn't a problem at school since my residence hall has wireless everywhere, but it really sucks at home because I have to use my mom's computer and she doesn't enjoy my 3AM AIM conversations quite as much as I do.

-Innumerable suicide theats.

So much for computers being the wave of the future that will save us all countless hours of productivity. I'd have been better off with a typrewriter. I'm going to visit my dad over Christmas and have him do a system restore (after I borrow his external hard drive and stick all the crap I still need on it) and see if that helps anything. I need this computer to make it 'til May.

Lesson Learned: When I finally get the money to replace this thing, I won't be purchasing a Dell.

 "I thoroughly enjoyed your paper-- it's akin to the work of a first or second year graduate student in sociology or wgs." 

-My Soc Professor on My Term Paper.
 
The best part is that I'm an English major.

This seriously makes my life.