Wow, they take it very seriously

Some of you may remember an earlier blog entry, where I talked about this prof who hates men.  And how I dropped the class etc.  If not, please refer to the blog post "Well, Screw You Too."

Anyway, the university sends out these random surveys asking students what they like and don't like about the experience, etc.  So I filled one in and talked about my experience in that class and with that prof.

Got a "form letter" reply within a couple of days.  Didn't think much of it.  Then I got a personal email from some coordinator person, asking for more details.  Like the prof's name.  So I  gave them the info.

A few weeks went by.  Just got an email today from a faculty member, the "professor" side of this survey committee.  Apologizing, and saying the matter has been sent to the dean of that faculty for their attention.  

Cool!  We are talking about the Dean of the Faculty of Social Science.  Not some random dean of student housing thing.  Let's see what transpires.  Will keep you posted.

I like U Ottawa more each day.

Have to remember my new role

Let me set this up first.  Here's a typical scenario:

In studying and analyzing social inequality, people tend to adopt a critical social theory approach.  This is just a general term to incorporate all sorts of "non-traditional" paradigms, such as feminist theory, marxism,etc etc.  So far so good.  I get that.  A common feature of said theories is that they all reject positivism.

Books and articles that discuss social inequality tend to begin with a whole bunch of statistics which show the reader how bad things are.  You know, how income is unevenly distributed, how women and men have income disparities, etc etc.  You got the picture.

I guess stats sell, as we know.  Give people a bunch of numbers, and they think it's real.  You know, like we are ranked #xyz in this survey, or your GMAT score is in the 99th percentile.  That sort of thing.

So here's Chunski, putting (as usual) his academic reviewer hat on.  WTF!  If your theoretical basis rejects positivism, why are you using statistics to justify your claim?

Those who know me and how I react to muddled thinking will now be expecting very heavy sighs.  Or very loud swearing.  Or, if you were in 416, a big question mark and WTF.

But that's not my role now.  Unfortunately, most profs don't expect or want their undergrads to trash the books and articles designated for the course.

So dear old Chunski is reduced to going through this material hoping to the heavens that there will a question asking him to reflect and analyze the material, rather than just regurgitating it.  Probably not going to happen.

I just hate it when people speak from both sides of their mouth.  You CANNOT have the f**king and eat it too!

Think I Blew It

Wrote a history midterm the other day.  I was so confident immediately after that I felt certain I would get an A+ on it.  I mean, I knew every single question well, and while there were choices, I could have answered any of them.  The short essays were a breeze.  The long essay?  Hell, I wrote four single-spaced pages (letter size).

A day later, I wasn't so sure any more.  I think I might have over-done one part at the expense of another.  Let me explain.

The long essay is:  Explain and analyze how the US and the Soviet Union, allies in WW2, became such bitter enemies by the 1950s.

(In hindsight, because this subject is so broad, I would have been better off if I had chosen the other essay question, which needed a narrower answer.  But that's another story). 

Well, I said to myself, I know this shit.  So I dove into it.  I mean, I REALLY knew this shit.  If I had three hours I would have written 15 pages or something.  Anyhow, seeing that I only had 80 minutes for the whole exam, and half of it for this one essay, I started with the situation before WW2, and essentially stopped around 1950.

Bitter enemies by the 1950s, right?  I felt that would do it.

Now? Now I am not so sure.  Shit happened in the 1950s that made things worse as well.  Should I have  talked about them?  I mean, like Korea?  Like Indochina?  Latin America? I mean, a lot of shit happened in the 1950s.

I don't know.  My initial thoughts were that well, by 1950-ish they were quite bitter enemies, and so that was enough.

Damn.  Maybe I spent too much time on the 1940s!  Will let you know how things go.

BTW, thanks to those who comments on my term paper dilemma.

I decided to say Truman was not responsible (well, not solely responsible).
AND
for the other history class,  my paper is on Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech which many maintain was the start of the Cold War.  Haha, I say it's actually a message of peace, that Churchill was trying to be a peacemaker.  Let's see how that goes down!   

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

Decisions are hard, as Hamlet pointed out.  How does one choose, when the choice is between the path of least resistance and one's own conviction which assuredly will encounter an uphill battle?

In both history course this semester, I have to produce term papers.  In both cases, I know what the convention wisdom is on the subject, what is in every history textbook.  I also come to a realization, from my own research, that there are supportable alternative views that depart from received views.

Those of you who know me would know that I am a bit of a shit-disturber (I think that's a Canadian expression.  That's like a rabble-rouser, more commonly used in the US -- BTW, it's rabble-rouser, not REBEL rouser).   Anyway, I derive inexplicable pleasure in seeking the road less traveled.  So what do I do?

Let me be more explicit.  Take this paper I am on right now.  Was Truman responsible for the Cold War?  Convention wisdom suggests yes.  Personally, from what I have found, I beg to differ.

Now I know that if I say yes, and provide all the typical responses as to why, it would be fine.  But where's the fun in that, eh?  So my gut says to say No.  That however is a bit of a challenge to the status quo.  I don't know how the prof (actually the TA) would take it.

Easy way out?  Or do what I think?

"A man who is not true to himself gets constipated," wrote Stephen King.

What do you think I will do?  OK, so I have now convinced myself.  If things don't work out, I blame Stephen King.

Thought about going out, but...

Since I have a snow day, I thought maybe I could take the bus and go to the gym.

Good thing I checked what it's like out there.  Can you see the bus stop/shelter on the right side of the photo?  Haha.

On second thought, maybe not  :)

I am so Sad

This is a very sad day for me.  My hero, "The Man Who Could Fly," is dead.

Rest in Peace, Gordon Banks! 


He was not only one of the greatest goalies ever, he was a very good man.  Humble to the end.  He inspired me into even attempting sports.  This was someone who, AFTER LOSING AN EYE, could still play professional soccer as a goalie!

RIP.  Missing you already.

This will be a fun week!

This huge big snow storm is heading my way.  Supposed to bring between 10-15 inches of snow on Tuesday/Wednesday.  What great news!  I have a mid term on Wed at 11:30.  With that much snow, it will take me an hour to walk to campus.  What joy!

And tomorrow I have this French class.  I don't look forward to walking home at 10 pm when there's a raging snow storm.

But then it's my choice, right?  To move to this cold place.

By now, I think everyone in the area is totally fed up with winter.  It came early this season too, so we are really sick and tired of this crap.  Some side streets and sidewalks are still covered by several inches of ice.  Nothing will ever get rid of that until it really warms up.  And when will that be!

Hey, I made Dean's List last semester!  Haha.  Pretty neat.  They released the official grades for last semester, and they showed the average grade for each class as well.  In all five classes that I took, the average was no higher than a C.  I guess grade inflation hasn't taken its toll on grade integrity at U Ottawa yet.  Cool.

Learned a new phrase today in French (Well, I actually asked how to say it):  un an plus proche  des vers


Ah, WUNDERBAR!  They just announced that campus is closed today at 4 for 24 hours.  Apparently this is the first time in 25 years that they close down campus on account of snow!  PERFECT!

HUGE LINE FOR FREE BEAVERTAILS

This is what happens when there's free food!

The line goes on forever.  I simply don't have the patience.