Life After the MA?

Now that the semester got underway, my mind turns to what I'll do after this.  Assuming I finish it and pass, that is (more on that below).  Application starts now for next fall, so I've been considering what my options are.  Basically I have two, since I want to stay at uOttawa.

First, I can apply to do another undergrad, this time a Bach of Social Sciences, with two minors.

Second, I can opt to apply to do a Certificate in Law (non-degree).

Here are some more details.

The Faculty of Social Sciences has a degree option that does not entail a major or honours ( too restrictive, so I don't want to do them.  E.g.  A major requires 20 courses in the discipline, and an Honours degree requires 24.  Plus, there are numerous required courses etc.  Too much structure).  One of the minors must be in social science.  Since hopefully I will have an MA in sociology, I can't very well apply to do a minor in sociology.  Haha.  So I can do a minor in psychology, or perhaps one in Political Science.  The other doesn't have to be in Social Science, and will either be History (I just need 4 more, for a total of 10 for a minor), or in Law (for which I need 8 more).  Alternatively, I can opt for a BSS without any minor, but it's a shorter degree.

For the Certificate in Law, well, it's not a degree program, so you end up with a certificate.  Nothing wrong with that, since I need another degree like I need another hole in the head.  For that I need a total of 10 (same as a minor) but since I already have 2, I just need 8 more.  All must be in law though, so there's less variety.  I THINK I can still take other things, for the heck of it.  Not sure.  Anyhow, I can do this one PT though, so I can actually stretch it out.  And not have to worry about taking too many undergrad courses with a bunch of 18 year olds.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, I'd like to hear them.  Please share them with me!  Both sound quite interesting to me.

So that's the latest!  Now back to doing sociology... getting a bit too left wing for my taste :)

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I said earlier, assuming I finish it and pass.  What did I mean by that?

As far as stuff specific to sociology goes, I'm fine with it, even if sometimes things get a bit strangely "out-of-this-world" left.  Learning a different perspective is not a bad thing.

But there are also some REQUIRED courses that I am not interested in.  They are research courses.  Ok, well, yeah it's been a while, but I did do research courses.  So a lot of this stuff is repetitive for me, and I don't think I am learning much that's new to me.  I think I am going to approach the academic administration people to see if there's some way these can be waived.  If not, I am one unhappy camper... hence my comment on finishing it.  Plus, haha, the prof I have now on research design REALLY SUCKS!

BTW I just emailed the School.  Will let you know how things go.

How to make a name for oneself in academe

Not that I am revealing anything new, but thought you might get a kick out of this.

We all know that a lot of people, especially "scholars," tend to have an ego the size of Quebec (sorry, Texas, you're not big enough as a measure of size).  It gets to you, though, doesn't it, when some of them acquire a god complex.  But what irritates me most is how often people take every chance they have to aggrandize themselves.

For one of my papers, I am reading a crap ton of research articles on ethnicity.  As I was reading this one review article (i.e. an article that provides an overview of the "state of the art" if you will on a particular subject, in this case ethnicity.  It would look at numerous important articles in extant literature, and tell the reader where things are on the leading edge.  That sort of thing), I saw some very familiar high-powered names, as I would expect.

So big deal researchers like Alba get cited twice.  Berry, three times.  Rosenthal four times.  Glazer, surprisingly, only got one mention.  Tajfel got three.  If you don't know these people, it's ok.  Take my word for it, they are like the ethnicity research Hall of Famers.  So, no surprises there.  But wait.  The author of the review article itself (I will not say her name here) got cited FIVE times!!!!!  Yup.  This is what it looks like, right?  I am reviewing the state of the art, and I am the one most often cited as being state of the art.  Look at me, mom, I am SO fucking great!

Yeah yeah, I know that academics do often cite themselves.  But this is just blatant and crass.  And you know, I read some of the person's work, and they seem to be a constant regurgitation of her own previous work.  The same shit all over again.

So rude.

Hello Gym!

Today was the first time I went back to the gym in a year and a half (or did I go in between lockdowns, who cares).  Luck had it that I was the only one there as well (had to make appointment for one hour slots).  Well, I didn't last the whole hour.  No surprises there!  After all of 45 minutes I was drenched in sweat and about to die.

Made another appointment for tomorrow.  We'll see if I stay lucky and have the gym to myself!

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Walked through campus again today, and all the first year students doing their orientation and welcome activities.  Man, I was young once!  It's really quite a treat to see all the people having a good time and being excited about a new chapter in their lives.  No doubt all that enthusiasm will vanish in a matter of weeks.  Once assignments come due.  It ain't no high school no more.  And UOttawa academics is serious shit.  Felt like wanting to walk over and tell them that.  But why dampen their mood?  Haha.

Had my first class today.  Everyone else in the class (all 7 of us) was on the thesis stream, except for me who is doing the coursework option.  Felt a bit overmatched, since they all seemed to have been sociology majors or something like that.  Oh well, unlike the undergrad degree, this time around my goal is just to do enough to graduate.  No more shooting for A+ and such.  So hopefully things will work out.  

Am I still rather unmotivated?  Yes and no.  The idea of learning new things is exciting.  But after having the summer off, and having gone through all that online learning shit, the idea of yet more online courses (all my classes are online this term, more on that below) is not overly appealing.

Why are my classes all online?  Not that I don't have a choice.  But I had to pick my classes, and many of the 7000 level (MA level) classes have this "gender and" thing in front of them.  Like Gender and Race Relations.  Gender and Aging.  Fuck.  I can't deal with all that gender stuff.  Nothing against it, but my experience has been that anything that is Gender and this and that ends up being summarized thus:  "Men are bad.  All men are bad.  Men are just bad.  And repeat."  I don't think I can sit through that shit.  So, I am left with only so many courses to choose.  And the ones I picked are all online. So...

While on the subject of school, I am really not impressed with how the graduate program in sociology is run.  Let me elaborate.  Last Thursday I received an email saying that there was an Orientation and Information session on FRIDAY!  Fuck.  Seriously.  They do this every single fucking year, no?  You go and tell people on a Thursday to attend a virtual meeting on Friday of Labour Day Long weekend?  WTF?  What planets are they from? I was on the road, but I could have stayed in the hotel for that session.  But you can guess what I did.  I declined the meeting.  OF FUCKING COURSE!  Morons!

And now, two of my classes will meet this Thursday and Friday.  As of this moment, there is nothing on Brightspace (the online portal we use) as to syllabus, zoom links, reading list, nothing.  Nada.  That's crazy.  For those of you who had me as a prof, you will remember that I sent out my fucking syllabus three months before classes began.  No three hours!

So you can see how much I hold these people in disdain.  Not a way to start a new semester, surely.

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We're having a general election in Canada.  The campaign lasts about a month.  I can do advance polling starting this Friday, though official voting date is Sep 20.  Think I will go and vote on Friday or Saturday.  I don't understand why they called an election.  The governing party did not need to call one for another two years.  And polls do not suggest they will win a majority.  So what's the point?  I don't want them to lose, but then I also think they should pay for their hubris.  Oh well, I will do my part, and we'll see how the chips fall.

A New School Year, A New Chapter

Folks,

After a long hiatus, school starts again.  This new school year marks a new chapter in my post-retirement adventure, now a graduate one.  As you know, I finished my undergraduate, and will now embark on an MA in sociology.  Wish me luck.

I have been rather ambivalent about this new phase.  Unaccountably I've been quite unmotivated.  Indeed till today I had harboured the idea of not even going through with it.  What changed?

I went on campus today (more on procedures for that later), and it's "welcome week" with all its companion activities.  The energy, the excitement, and the community feeling of the place cut through my mental haze.  The short sojourn through campus brought back a modicum of enthusiasm in me, and when I got home I started putting together my notebooks etc.  Interesting how quickly things changed.

Earlier I mentioned something about the procedures to get on campus.  You have to upload your vaccine records, and then EVERYDAY you have to fill in a screening app thing.  A bit tedious, yes, but in reality it only takes 2 minutes.  But unless there is some form of enforcement, what exactly is the point?  I am pragmatic by nature, so I often question the efficacy of any measure unless it is enforced.  Anyway, just thought I'd share that.

Today I went to my health club, with the view to empty my locker and give up the membership.  Then I chatted with the club manager, and instead of cancelling, I actually renewed it!  Talk about a change of heart.  We'll see if I end up regretting this.

Anyhow, classes start on Tuesday, right after Labour Day.  As it turns out, ALL my classes are online (unless they change it) even though the majority of the university's classes are in-person.  We'll see how that goes.  Not a fan of online stuff, as you well know.

I'm not sure if ANYONE even reads the blog anymore, especially since the email update is no longer available.  So, if you DO read it, or even just happen upon it, would you mind leaving a comment or emailing me to tell me so?  If no one is actually reading my blog, then I might simply abandon it.  So, please help!  Thanks :)

So much for now.  More once classes start up.  We'll see how my ever-switching mood evolves.

Ta-da!