the ways of the force are mysterious indeed
Today, at the Book Festival, I ran into three of my students. We ended up talking about being in America (they are all from overseas and just arrived here this semester), finding things to do, having to always talk in a different language (I told them they'd get used to it) and so on. I almost had my picture taken with Clifford (the big red dog) and saw a singing and dancing sloth. Oh and, of course, Terry Pratchett (who didn't sing or dance but was good fun all the same).
Then, I went to watch the rugby World Cup and ran into a couple of graduate students whom I know from the class I'm TA-ing. We sat around and talked about rugby--how we all got interested (they are both American and I, as I'm sure yous know by now, am Nepali), what's the point of watching it (when "our" teams don't play or play terribly) and, as graduate students tend to, we discussed sports and politics--identity-formation and nationalism. All the while the All Blacks were running in over 80 points against the Romanians.
Finally, I walked home and ran into an ex-student. By this time, I was expecting to run into students--current or former--so, apart from not being able to recall his name (nothing new there), I was prepared. We discussed what he's been doing (this is his final semester, he's trying to decide between postgraduate studies, law school or travelling/working overseas).
Then, I got home. Home is thankfully empty of students. For now.
Labels: damn the force, national book festival, plans for the future, students
and on my way home...
I run into a former student on my way to my new home from TUWSNBN. I don't recognise him. The conversation goes like this:
Student: Hello Priya.
Me (who the bloody hell is this?): Hello! How are you?*
Him: Fine. Starting off Friday night partying as you see (he's carrying a large carton of beer)
Me: Great. Good. Have fun.
Him: I live just up here (points to apt building next to my new abode). What about you?
Me: Oh, I live nearby (Still attempting to remember who this is). Well, enjoy your Friday.
Him: Thanks. I had a good time in your class.
Me (yay, he's a student! I think I even remember his name): I'm glad to hear that, [name]**
Him: Have a good weekend.
It's a bit weird having a student, even a former one, live right next door.
* Like many people, I become effusively friendly when I have no idea who it is I'm talking to, especially when it's clear they know me.
** Nope, I was wrong. I called him the wrong name. He didn't correct me. I think I can't be blamed for not being corrected when I say the wrong name. I'd correct people who called me [not]Priya.
Labels: students, things that happen when walking home, washington dc life
meditations on (of) a sovereign power
Today, I finished the second of my two classes on "sovereignty" for my World Politics course. A few highlights:
- The in-class exercise where I divided them into groups* and had them list characteristics of sovereignty worked rather well. The bit where I told them that our class was like a (domestic) sovereign with me as the sovereign power worked well too, especially as one of the students pointed out that I was not autonomous but had to answer to a higher authority--that of the department of SIS. So, the example (of the class as a sovereign state) wouldn't really work.
- After listing characteristics of sovereignty, we discussed Iraq and how domestic sovereignty was being "compromised" (their term). We also talked about how the invasion/occupation of Iraq was undertaken and the consequences to international sovereignty. Both these discussions went quite well with students ranging in their views to "War was a good idea" to "Well, we're there, we need to figure out what to do next" to "We are the United States, we can do whatever we want".
- Being told, "I want to write a paper on my mancrush, Henry Kissinger". Seriously.**
- Being given a paper with an elaborate drawing of "the Sovereign State of Petoria" by one of the students who then told me he'd like to found and run his own state and if I had any tips for such an endeavour.
- And a related story: One of my students was on the shuttle to the Metro yesterday. Contrary to the usual tactic of avoiding their instructor, this kid sat next to me and we discussed his interests in World Politics (cinema and IR), moving to Washington, going to university and so on. It was actually refreshing to have a student not avoid me (as is most students'--including mine--tendency!) but sit down and have a chat about stuff. Especially as this kid doesn't talk in class at all. It makes me realise that in many ways American kids are more trained in this "social interaction" business than I (and my non-American colleagues probably) have been. Even after all these years of being in academia, my tendency, when I see a professor I know, is to quickly leg it in the opposite direction.
* While I'd like to take credit for the idea, I actually nicked it off Weberman!
** I told the student that I really didn't need to know that and it was an image that will refuse to leave my head from now on.
*** It's a rather clever drawing. I wish I had a scanner to put it on Blackboard. E and I used to spend a lot of our time in one of our postgrad classes doing a similar exercise (drawing concepts out). I believe some of the results even made it to older posts on PTSD.
Labels: "mancrush", am I sovereign?, sovereignty and IR, students, World Politics
what is the world coming to?
Remember how I said I'd talk about the boundaries between my students and the professor (aka Me) here?
Well, tonight there was an awards ceremony/farewell gig. During it, two of my students hugged me. Seriously.*
* For those who know me, I'm not a huggable-type of person. Or a hugger. Not by any means.
Labels: children of the future, hugging, students
should i intervene or should i leave?
I'm rather incoherent for a proper post right now (grading, grading and more grading) but wanted to share some of the "discoveries" I've made in the course of grading my students' papers:
1. How to access sources?: Be creative!
A student doing research on a rather sensitive topic uses MySpace and CraigsList to find sources. The results are actually quite amusing.
2. What to do?: Can't tell, really.
Students researching the "war on drugs", female genital mutiliation and HIV/AIDS all ask how they would (hypothetically) react if their research participants had wrong medical information about their subject matter.
3. Who are we talking with?
Discussions of "research participants" versus "research subjects"; "Third World" folks; "Leftist" governments and so on.
4. Where does it all come from?
A student doing scientific research pointing out that the data she's using "used to be someone's words at some point". So often that point gets missed amongst the numbers we see.
5. Where did they all go?
This time around, there were a few kids who never handed in written work, hardly ever showed up to class and who couldn't be tracked down at the end of the semester.
E's disappeared so you'll be stuck with me until she returns. Yes, yous can join me in hoping she will be back soon Labels: grading, students, things to do on a midnight clear
