2 posts tagged “student life”
I can't talk right now. I'm drowning in a sea of values, expansions, resource mobilization, political opportunity, cultural framing, and DYNAMICS. I would really appreciate it if theorists could speak English. This seems unnecessarily complex to me: "the potential for collective violence varies strongly with the intensity and scope of relative deprivation among members of a collectivity." OH, now I get it. Thanks Mr. Gurr.
I have an exam tomorrow a.m. and then a paper to finish and I'm done another period of classes. I quite enjoyed this class on social movements and participation, although like most university social science classes it was a little heavy on theory and a little light on practical knowledge. I can only hope that my real skills are soon put to use. I'm tired of reading, criticizing, and writing about it. I want to DO something. Something useful. Something that not only justifies all this money spent, but makes me proud of how I spend my time.
Sure, I've learned a lot in university. I have much more general knowledge than I used to, but I think a lot of it has come from reading books and the newspaper. I've learned how to write an essay and how to study (not that I apply either method correctly... as evidenced in this very moment I am not studying), and I've learned how to work in a group and how to organize a presentation. The irritating part is that I've learned more about these things from the few jobs I've managed to have in the last three years than at school. What does that say for a university education? Worthwhile? Yes. All its cracked up to be? Probably not. I'll think on it once the next 16 hours are over.
School. Right.
Why, you ask, have I not written about my school experience in the almost two months I've been here? Well, honestly, there wasn't all that much to write about. The university system is quite different here. For the last 8 weeks I have been taking two classes, twice a week. Starting in April I will start new classes that will last another 8 weeks. Finally, I will finish my last 6 credits in June. Essentially, the semester is 5 months long, but it's divided into 3 periods, and students take two classes per period. The reason there hasn't been much to write about is because I've only recently had any work due. Since classes only last for 8 weeks, there are no midterms. All of my evaluation is happening now, in the last two weeks of class. On Friday I have an exam worth 75% of my grade!!
Despite this apparent imbalance, I much prefer this way of studying. I prefer to focus on two subjects at a time, rather than spreading myself thin trying to care about 5 subjects at once. In the first period I was taking "Citizenship and the Welfare State", which turned out to be pretty interesting since the prof spoke mostly of what he knew (the European welfare system), but was always eager to talk about the differences in the U.S. and Canada. I was also taking "Culture and Technology" which the prof renamed "Organizational Space and Technology". In this class we discussed such diverse topics as virtual reality, casino and risk culture, and the West Edmonton Mall (Omnitopia). I just finished writing a paper on the myth of the paperless office for this class. At times the subject matter was quite theoretical and abstract, but I liked it because I had no background in any of this stuff. Everything we talked about was something I was learning.
So far, my academic experience in another country has been good. But I'm slightly worried that the exams will end up being much more difficult than I expect. Luckily (or maybe not), if you fail your exam the first time, you can write another version a month later. Who invented this system?? For the next week I have much studying and writing to do, but the weather is supposed to be lovely all week, so I'm hoping to do much of it outside.
This is my "studious" face. I'll be wearing it all week.
