Random Stuff

women60banana

Truly random question time! For you Universitiers, how often would you say you are assigned essays/papers?

tune1shade

Most classes seem to have one or two papers assigned per semester (at least at McGill in most liberal arts classes). The first usually is due at the end of January/beginning of February and there's usually another around March. They always seem to come in bunches.

Last semester, I had two papers for Poli Sci, a term paper for Economics of Climate Change, two for theatre, and none for econometrics (though I did have 3 assignments) or Behavioral Economics.

dollarflame6

depends on your major, I guess. I'm a double major and in physics, I have zero never no never any essays or papers. Just problem sets every week.
In English, about every three or four weeks a 6 -8 or 8-10 pager is due.
My friends who are bio majors don't have problem sets or essays or papers.
My friend who is a music major said he has to write music history papers for some reason that I can't understand.
A boy I know who is a philosophy major said he has to write stuff like every week.

jedi_grrlie

It depends on the class, the prof, and the subject.

But count on probably 2-3 major papers a term, plus the possibility of smaller papers or assignments.

agentnumone

I'm never assigned papers or written assignments in my core subjects... well because im a chem major, I mostly get lab reports to do.

but in my general ed courses Ive gotten lots of papers

my pop rock course had essay exam questions and my political law course had tons of written assignments.


Did you guys ever play that clapping game that goes
"down down baby down by the roller swweet sweet baby, i'll never let you go, shimmy shimmy cokeapop shimmy shimmy chow, shimmy shimmy cokeapop shimmy shimmy chow, momma momma sick in bed called the docter and the doctor said..." etc?

because theres this new Simian Mobile Disco song that just uses that game as the lyrics Its quite amusing and fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r01B9T8JNM
lol heres a random video with the song i found on youtube... hahahah

women60banana

Hmm. Thanks for the help, guys. Do you know of anyone taking Communications?

dollarflame6

QUOTE (mixtape @ Jan 3 2008, 10:00 PM)

Hmm. Thanks for the help, guys. Do you know of anyone taking Communications?

Katie is!

canoe7grape

yes! i am! i absolutely love every single COM class i've taken. ask ANY questions i seriously love my major, and for being as unsure about my true future as i am, i thank God every day that i chose COM as my major because it's completely awesome and SO fitting!

DJRose

QUOTE (Tabetha @ Jan 3 2008, 09:18 PM)

My friend who is a music major said he has to write music history papers for some reason that I can't understand.

Understanding the history really does help with performance and performance choices. But yeah. I really effing HATED writing those papers. My favorite music history paper was the one where I compared the movie scores or Aaron Copland to those of Danny Elfman. Don't ask me any more about it, it was almost 8 years ago and I put it out of mind.

women60banana

QUOTE (katieyellow @ Jan 4 2008, 12:28 AM)

yes! i am! i absolutely love every single COM class i've taken. ask ANY questions i seriously love my major, and for being as unsure about my true future as i am, i thank God every day that i chose COM as my major because it's completely awesome and SO fitting!

FINALLY! It's like you're the only COM major on earth! I seriously have such a hard time finding anyone to talk to about it. So! Please do tell me about your classes - what you guys generally do/talk about every day, what's the workload like?

Thank you sooo much.

canoe7grape

haha i swear i'm not the only one!!! michigan state has one of the best COM programs in the nation... i'm proud to be a part of it

alright. so. here at MSU, you take your basic com classes that touch on the three main tracks of communication. interpersonal, mass media and organizational. so you can get your feet wet and try to understand what different things make up the different kinds. once you decide which you like best, you pick your "Track" and take the upper level courses. For me, I'm a COM major with an interpersonal track. Interpersonal was the most fun for me because the teachers I had were AWESOME. It's basically all about relationships. I really can't say more than that because we analyze any and every relationship, and not just the way you talk with people. the way you act, etc. Mass media is more focused on newspapers, television and things like that. Organizational is basically business com, the way you interact in the workplace. I'm sure it varies with every school, but i'm pretty sure that's the GENERAL gist of things...

Workload also varies with every school. Not only was I required to get my basic courses (COM 100, 200, 225, 240 and 275) out of the way, I had to take my upper level interpersonal tracks (325, 425). Now, that's not a lot of courses, so here, we had to work on cognates within the school of social sciences. THAT'S where all the work is, I feel. Because with COM, you do take exams, VERY RARELY have projects/presentations because it's all about comprehension. And because it's so interesting for me, it was easy to sit through the classes to learn. The cognates though, would be things like psychology, anthropology, sociology, things of that nature. that's honestly where all the work was. I'm still not done with those because I dread them so much, and I LOVE my COM classes so much... I'm actually done with all my com classes, I have been, but I've been taking extra ones for fun. I'm also a public relations specialization, so I have to take extra com classes and some advertising classes as well. The work load itself isn't too bad, it's the fact that everyone thinks COM is a blow off major, it's not. It takes work to do well, but the stuff is SO interesting. YOu can do SO many things with a COM degree.



I hope this helps a little. It's early, and my thoughts aren't coming out right... but if you have any more questions or anything at all, PLEASE ask! I LOVE what I'm learning and I wish I had friends in the same major so they could understand, haha

canoe7grape

i really do love urban outfitters... i think i want the obama one, haha

tune1shade

I'm reading Simone de Beauvoir's "the Second Sex." I've only just passed the introduction, but it makes a whole lot of sense. She talks about how one defines oneself in relation to The Other. Not only do people define their Self in relation to The Other (i.e. everyone who is outside the Self), but the definition of social and ethnic groups in relation to The Other (i.e. other social or ethnic groups) is inherent in history. For example, when colonists came to the "New World," they defined the indigenous people as "Natives" and defined themselves thusly, whereas the indigenous people saw themselves in relation to the intruders. For both groups, their respective identities were formed in relation to the other group; they saw what they had that the other did not, they compared their social customs, etc.
The same comparison is used for the difference between the sexes. However, de Beauvoir argues that, unlike in the conflict between ethnic, religious, or racial groups, women are CONSTANTLY seen as The Other. To compare this to the above example, the natives did not see themselves as The Other, as they had a definite sense of Self, and some sense of autonomy. However, with women, they are constantly defined as NOT men. Also, she goes on to say that there is no rallying of women; she cites that, for example, a woman is more likely to align herself with a male of the same religion than a female of a different religion.
Until women are able to gain a sense of The Self as a group and are able to define themselves as Not Men, there will always be oppression of women.

canoe7grape

i just finished reading "Scar Tissue" by Anthony Kiedis. Wow. Amazing. If you have any interest in him, or the Chili Peps at all, I suggest you read this book..

DJRose

QUOTE (tonetoile @ Jan 4 2008, 12:05 PM)

I'm reading Simone de Beauvoir's "the Second Sex." I've only just passed the introduction, but it makes a whole lot of sense. She talks about how one defines oneself in relation to The Other. Not only do people define their Self in relation to The Other (i.e. everyone who is outside the Self), but the definition of social and ethnic groups in relation to The Other (i.e. other social or ethnic groups) is inherent in history. For example, when colonists came to the "New World," they defined the indigenous people as "Natives" and defined themselves thusly, whereas the indigenous people saw themselves in relation to the intruders. For both groups, their respective identities were formed in relation to the other group; they saw what they had that the other did not, they compared their social customs, etc.
The same comparison is used for the difference between the sexes. However, de Beauvoir argues that, unlike in the conflict between ethnic, religious, or racial groups, women are CONSTANTLY seen as The Other. To compare this to the above example, the natives did not see themselves as The Other, as they had a definite sense of Self, and some sense of autonomy. However, with women, they are constantly defined as NOT men. Also, she goes on to say that there is no rallying of women; she cites that, for example, a woman is more likely to align herself with a male of the same religion than a female of a different religion.
Until women are able to gain a sense of The Self as a group and are able to define themselves as Not Men, there will always be oppression of women.

That's a really interesting idea, Tone. I don't know that I agree though, because I think women are always defining themselves as how they are different from men - eg "Chick flicks", "girls only nights", that sort of thing. The practice is so common, it's often maligned as man-bashing! And I can only speak for myself, but I definitely know that I'm more likely to spend time with other women than men who are in the same groups as myself (to borrow from your example, I'm way more likely to spend time with Christian/Muslim/Pagan/unaffiliated women than I am to hang out with Jewish men, all other things being equal). But it's an interesting concept, and in cultures where it's more applicable I can definitely see how it would be used to oppress.

women60banana

QUOTE (katieyellow @ Jan 4 2008, 10:51 AM)

haha i swear i'm not the only one!!! michigan state has one of the best COM programs in the nation... i'm proud to be a part of it

alright. so. here at MSU, you take your basic com classes that touch on the three main tracks of communication. interpersonal, mass media and organizational. so you can get your feet wet and try to understand what different things make up the different kinds. once you decide which you like best, you pick your "Track" and take the upper level courses. For me, I'm a COM major with an interpersonal track. Interpersonal was the most fun for me because the teachers I had were AWESOME. It's basically all about relationships. I really can't say more than that because we analyze any and every relationship, and not just the way you talk with people. the way you act, etc. Mass media is more focused on newspapers, television and things like that. Organizational is basically business com, the way you interact in the workplace. I'm sure it varies with every school, but i'm pretty sure that's the GENERAL gist of things...

Workload also varies with every school. Not only was I required to get my basic courses (COM 100, 200, 225, 240 and 275) out of the way, I had to take my upper level interpersonal tracks (325, 425). Now, that's not a lot of courses, so here, we had to work on cognates within the school of social sciences. THAT'S where all the work is, I feel. Because with COM, you do take exams, VERY RARELY have projects/presentations because it's all about comprehension. And because it's so interesting for me, it was easy to sit through the classes to learn. The cognates though, would be things like psychology, anthropology, sociology, things of that nature. that's honestly where all the work was. I'm still not done with those because I dread them so much, and I LOVE my COM classes so much... I'm actually done with all my com classes, I have been, but I've been taking extra ones for fun. I'm also a public relations specialization, so I have to take extra com classes and some advertising classes as well. The work load itself isn't too bad, it's the fact that everyone thinks COM is a blow off major, it's not. It takes work to do well, but the stuff is SO interesting. YOu can do SO many things with a COM degree.



I hope this helps a little. It's early, and my thoughts aren't coming out right... but if you have any more questions or anything at all, PLEASE ask! I LOVE what I'm learning and I wish I had friends in the same major so they could understand, haha

Acckk, I love you! Okay, so, presentations? Are they like group/partner, etc?

tune1shade

QUOTE (DJRose @ Jan 4 2008, 06:46 PM)

That's a really interesting idea, Tone. I don't know that I agree though, because I think women are always defining themselves as how they are different from men - eg "Chick flicks", "girls only nights", that sort of thing. The practice is so common, it's often maligned as man-bashing! And I can only speak for myself, but I definitely know that I'm more likely to spend time with other women than men who are in the same groups as myself (to borrow from your example, I'm way more likely to spend time with Christian/Muslim/Pagan/unaffiliated women than I am to hang out with Jewish men, all other things being equal). But it's an interesting concept, and in cultures where it's more applicable I can definitely see how it would be used to oppress.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense and you make some really good points. For example, I also tend to hang out more with women than men, even if I share racial or ethnic alignment with the men.
The Second Sex was also written during the 50s, so times have definitely changed. I still feel, though, that women are perceived as the Other. Even with chick flicks (and this is getting a little preachy on my part, I admit), they're specifically "chick" flicks, as in they need to be defined as away from the norm. (I mean, certainly there are "guy movies," but it is more likely to see a movie toted as a chick flick.)
But, I do definitely agree with your "girls only night." It is definitely a sign that women are more willing to celebrate (in some way) of being a women with other women.

DJRose

QUOTE (tonetoile @ Jan 4 2008, 03:29 PM)

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense and you make some really good points. For example, I also tend to hang out more with women than men, even if I share racial or ethnic alignment with the men.
The Second Sex was also written during the 50s, so times have definitely changed. I still feel, though, that women are perceived as the Other. Even with chick flicks (and this is getting a little preachy on my part, I admit), they're specifically "chick" flicks, as in they need to be defined as away from the norm. (I mean, certainly there are "guy movies," but it is more likely to see a movie toted as a chick flick.)
But, I do definitely agree with your "girls only night." It is definitely a sign that women are more willing to celebrate (in some way) of being a women with other women.

Oh the book was written in the 50's? That just changes everything, doesn't it? Times really have changed. Now we have entire television networks dedicated to entertaining women (and tv networks dedicated to entertaining men as well). I guess I see it from the perpsective of "men don't get us, so we need to have our own channel", rather than "Women are different from men, so they need to be separated". It's a very interesting point of view, though, and one I certainly never thought about.

Although I was just thinking - watch a sitcom. On so many of the sitcoms out there it's the Mom running the show and the Dad bumbling about doing his best to tie his shoes.

canoe7grape

QUOTE (mixtape @ Jan 4 2008, 01:57 PM)

Acckk, I love you! Okay, so, presentations? Are they like group/partner, etc?

Well, for my intro to org com class, ALL we did in the recitation (smaller group of kids OUTSIDE lecture) was work on a project. we created a business plan, and that's what we did, along with exams. the only other presentations i've had to do were all group work. i've done probably a total of... 5 papers in my upper level com classes... if my memory serves me correctly... we had to do group papers in a diff com class, that sucked. but... honestly, group work, as far as MSU's curriculum goes, is few and far between

women60banana

Katie, thank you soo much. Seriously. It means a lot that you love taking COM and you've eased a lot of my fears. Woooo, now I want to get the fuck out of high school and start taking it, hahaha...