Swimming in Blue Books

I'm a reader for an Intro to Law class this quarter. Being a reader means that I simply grade the mid term and the final. I can only work a maximum of 20 hours, so I don't attend class. Last week, I administered the mid term for my class and went home with 43 blue books. The exam consisted of two essay questions which I have to finish grading by tomorrow afternoon.

The summer session is only 6 weeks long, so the students have had only 3 weeks to learn the material that they were being tested upon. Grading isn't so bad, except that it can get tedious after awhile. Today I finished grading one of the essay questions, and I'll probably start tackling the second one tonight.

The O-side Fam

I have many, many relatives on my mom's side of the family scattered in the Midwest and California. My maternal grandma had 2 sisters (my great aunts) move to California when they were in their 20s. Of course, I don't blame them for relocating to the West Coast, the Pacific Ocean, and 60 degree winters. They never returned to Minnesota, and they had children (my mom's cousins) and established their lives in California. When I applied to UCI, I had no idea that I would be living so close to some of my mom's cousins and their families. (Confused yet? Me too- I just call everyone here my cousin) In fact, I had no clue where Irvine was even located. After meeting the Murphys (Mike, Karen, Mallory, Allison, Kylie) and the Millers (Eileen, Chris, Kellen, Cole) at a family reunion in the summer of 2006, I learned that we would be only a one hour train ride away. Oceanside is only about a half an hour north of San Diego. I spend the holidays with the Oceanside family and we have loads of fun. (Of course, I do feel like I'm cheating on my Minnesota family.)

This weekend I went to Oceanside, California to visit the Murphys. Every time I visit, I bring them bars. Bars is an unknown term in California. When the Murphys were in Minnesota last summer, they were confused by the reunion invitation which invited guests to bring bars. They were clueless, until they were told that bars are sort of like cookies in 9x13 pans. They love to tell this story to all of their friends. This weekend, I brought Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Bars.

On Friday night, we went to a free jazz concert in the park with some of the Murphys' friends.

On Sunday, I went to an Angels game with Mallory, Kylie, and Kevin. Kevin is a new cousin that I just met this weekend. His family lives in Montana (by way of Idaho and North Dakota), and Kevin works for a construction company. He is currently doing work in Parris, CA, which is about an hour inland from Oceanside. This is the view of the Angels stadium from our seats:

Watching baseball in an outdoor stadium is a fun experience. The Minnesota Twins play in the Metrodome, so I had never watched baseball in an outdoor stadium. A few weeks ago, I came to watch the Twins play the Angels. My friend and I sat right behind the bullpen. I watched Carlos Silva warm up with Joe Mauer. Later I saw Pat Neshek, Dennys Reyes, Joe Nathan, Juan Rincon, and Matt Guerrier.

I always cheer for the Minnesota Twins, but the Angels are my second team. I'm not a very good fan, though. Here we are in the nosebleed seats:

(Kylie, Kris, Kevin, and Mallory)

Kris, Kylie

Books I'm Loving: Gender Vertigo by Barbara J. Risman

I recently finished Gender Vertigo, recommended to me by KB. The underlying research question that Risman seeks to answer is how we explain gender differences and inequalities in society. Gender organizes our society, and it is socially constructed through childhood socializations. Gender is a social construction because the definitions of "being a woman" and "being a man" are not necessarily based upon biological differences. What does it mean to be a woman or a man? Traditionally, women do more housework than their male counterparts. Is performing this labor part of being a woman? When a woman vacuums or prepares dinner, is she "doing gender?"

Through case studies, Risman contends that gender is a structure that perpetuates inequalities in society. We learn this structure in the family, in formal institutions, and through cultural rules and images. This structure constrains our choices and expectations. First, Risman compares single mothers to single fathers to determine that men are just as capable of "mothering" children as women. Nurturing and caring for children are socially constructed as "women's" work with no biological bases. Second, Risman analyzes couples who have constructed egalitarian marriages in which the woman and man share child rearing and household responsibilities equally. These couples are able to do this because women are not economically dependent upon their husbands, families are redefined so that breadwinning and domesticity are the responsibility of both partners, and the definition of masculinity is redefined so that nurturance and emotional sensitivity replace domineering attitudes. Finally, Risman analyzes the children that are raised in these households. Although these children adopt their parents' egalitarian attitudes, they still become gendered due to the cognitive images and knowledge learned from their peers and in formal institutions. Consequently, moving into a post-gendered society is an extremely slow process.

This book is valuable to my personal research interests because it debunks the dichotomous conception that masculinity and femininity are based upon biological differences. Instead, the socialization of females and males occurs in the families and in formal institutions. Most importantly to me, Risman demonstrates that children raised in egalitarian households are well-adjusted and happy, and being raised by working mothers and nurturing fathers is not detrimental to their well-being.

It's not the Heat, it's the Humidity

Lately, it has been hot here in sunny California- humid and temperatures in the mid 80s. Of course, it is nowhere near as uncomfortable as the most humid days that I've experienced in Minnesota or South Carolina. We don't have air conditioning in my apartment, but there is a nice breeze. Nevertheless, I have been spending my days at my air conditioned office or at the pool. I find myself wishing for a winter day; of course, I mean a 60 degree California "winter" day, not a below zero Minnesota day.

I have started RAing for my Sociology professor, KB. Our research interests are compatible (gender, abortion, women in government), so it is a good match and I am eager to build a relationship with her. At the moment I am keeping busy compiling data for her, sorting membership compositions of committees. It is tedious, but a good learning experience. KB was one of my professors last spring when I took her class called Gender, Family, and the Welfare State. I wrote a paper about citizenship and abortion for that class, and I will be expanding it under KB's guidance. I am excited to take this paper further, and I hope that it becomes a qualifier.

A Marathon, not a Sprint: Part 3.

UCI operates on the quarter system. We start the fall quarter at the end of September and end the spring quarter in the middle of June. Each quarter is comprised of 10 weeks of instruction and a finals week. As I said before, being a grad student is my job, and everything I do is in preparation of being a professor. I am working any time I am in class, teaching a discussion section, reading, grading exams, and writing. My schedule is really flexible, and I get to create my own schedule. The only times in which I have to be accounted for is class times and office hours. I can work anywhere that I want: my office, a coffeeshop, the beach, or even the pool. I have been known to grade exams at the beach and read books at the pool.

Grad school classes are referred to as seminars. They are usually 3 hours long and meet once a week. It is a lot different from being an undergrad. I have been in seminars with class sizes ranging from 4 to 10 students. Although professors teach the seminars, it is up to the students to carry the discussions. In grad school, professors do not lecture; instead, they facilitate the discussions. Professors prepare a syllabus, and we are expected to keep up with the weekly readings (books and journal articles) so that we can contribute to the discussions. Each week, one person will prepare a presentation that offers a summary, analysis, and any criticisms of that week's readings. Seminars allow us to familiarize ourselves with the literature, and the weekly presentations get us ready for the time when we will have to prepare class lectures.

In addition to taking 2 classes each quarter, I also TA. As a TA, I lead discussion sections where I prepare a lesson plan with activities geared towards helping the students understand the course material. I also hold office hours each week so that I am accessible for students in case they have questions. Of course, I also grade papers and exams. TAing has been a great way to build relationships with professors and it gives me good teaching experience. Although I have to deal with what we call "grade grubbers"- students who will anything for an A, even if it's undeserved- being a TA has been a valuable and rewarding experience for me.

My first year of grad school went by really fast, and I am looking forward to my second. I am having a great time in California, and I encourage you to keep reading as I share my experiences.

A Marathon, not a Sprint: Part 2.

A common misperception is that grad school is the place to go for floundering, unemployed college grads who do not know what they want to do in life. Some believe that it is the place to go to figure out what you want to do or to prolong adulthood. Although this may be more common in Master's programs, it is never a good idea to enter a Ph.D. program just because you don't know what else to do with your life.

Grad school (for Ph.D. programs) is different from law school or medical school. A very big difference is that our tuition is paid for and we get a paycheck. Being a grad student and TA is considered to be our jobs. Because we will eventually be contributing to the literature in our field, this is considered an investment. When we apply to grad school, we have to outline our research interests in our Statement of Purpose (SOP). These interests are usually categorized into 4 subfields: American Politics, International Relations (IR), Political Theory, and Comparative Politics. My area of research is race and gender politics in the United States. I am interested in issues of representation, public policy, women in government, political participation, and abortion politics. Of course, these interests may change and they do for most grad students. Most of those in my cohort fall into the IR and Comparative category. We have 2 theorists, but I am known as the Americanist. Due to my interests in representation, race, and gender politics, I am a fellow with the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD). As a fellow, I have to take 6 designated CSD courses (this is not in addition to the 18 required courses). Last year I took Political Culture and Democracy; as well as Gender, Family, and the Welfare State. Below is a photo with me and a few other CSD fellows:

As a CSD fellow, I attend CSD dinners and speaking engagements throughout the school year. We bring in professors from other universities to come in and talk about their work. Sometimes they are interesting, and sometimes they are not. We have a large group of faculty members who are affiliated with the CSD. CSD dinners are a good opportunity to build relationships with these professors and other grad students. Many of these CSD professors co-author with grad students. The CSD also brings in renowned scholars and speakers. Last year we invited Mary Robinson (former president of Ireland), Faizullah Zaki (member of the Afghanistan Parliament), and President Jimmy Carter to speak. (I will spare you the list of academics). When President Carter came to campus, I and the other CSD fellows met him at a welcome reception.

I do not have a job in addition to being a student. The general school of thought is that everything that we do is geared towards our completion of the program. We are not encouraged to work, since being a grad student is considered our job. During the summer we are expected to further our research. I have a fellowship from the CSD, and I have a research assistantship from the department. This summer has been very relaxing, and I am told that it usually is after the first year. I have been reading a lot of literature relevant to my research interests. I was also a reader (this means I grade projects and exams) for an Intro to American Government class during the first part of the summer, and I am currently a reader for Intro to Law. I am also a Research Assistant (RA) for a professor in the Sociology department. I am collecting data for her and working with her on my own research. Finally, I worked with a fellow grad student on a poster for presentation at the American Political Science Association (APSA) conference. I will be presenting our work in Chicago in 2 weeks. For this presentation, we analyzed gender recruitment and attitudes among Members of Parliament in European Democracies. We will be turning our results into a paper that we can present at future conferences.

A Marathon, not a Sprint: Part 1.

The road to a Ph.D. is long and tough, and I'm pacing myself. I didn't always think that I wanted to be a professor, the chosen profession of most Ph.Ds. The ubiquitous Mayo Clinic made becoming a doctor an enticing possibility for any kid growing up in Rochester, MN. I realized fairly early on in college that I was not cut out for medical school. I pursued a degree in political science at the University of Minnesota, not knowing of my career possibilities. I had always assumed that I would work at the state capitol or for a non-profit organization doing political activism. It was a passing conversation with one of my respected professors that changed my career trajectory. He offered to write me letters of recommendation if I decided to pursue grad school. After many conversations with him and other professors, I decided that I wanted to teach and research. I credit this professor for instilling within me the confidence to embark on the demanding work required to earn a Ph.D.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to have earned a Master's degree in order to enter a Ph.D. program. In fact, it is recommended that you enter a Ph.D. program if you know that that is your ultimate goal. Along the road to a Ph.D., I will have earned a Master's degree as well. The normal time to degree (NTTD) in Political Science at UCI is 6 years. Of course, not everyone who enters the programs comes out. Some decide to take the Master's and run, and some drop out prior to completion. Each year, a new group of incoming students enters the program. Collectively, this group is referred to as a cohort. Here is my cohort:

(back row: Bryan (San Diego); Kim (NC); John (San Diego); Karl (NE); Ryan (TX). front row: Doc (Greg, NE); Heidi (Portland); Katie (Costa Mesa, CA); Robin (San Diego). It appears that I made my own row.)

Some cohorts are really small (6) and some are really big (22). We have a good size. Unlike some of the previous cohorts, mine is really close-knit. We have become friends and we spend a lot of our free time together. We even have a nickname for ourselves: The PoMos, short for Post-Modernists.

All Ph.D. programs have different degree requirements. At UCI, we have to take a total of 18 courses, 3 of which have been decided for us. During our first year, we took Foundations of Political Science in the fall, Micropolitics in the winter, and Macropolitics in the spring. The purpose of these courses is to build our foundation and knowledge of the literature but also to encourage cohort bonding. Completion of the course work will take approximately 3 years. We are expected to take 2 classes each quarter and then work as a Teaching Assistant (TA). Twelve of the 18 courses that we take must be in the Political Science department. If we so choose, we can take up to 6 classes in other departments. This is good for me since I plan to take courses in the Sociology and Women's Studies departments.

We have to write 3 qualifying papers before we can advance to candidacy. These papers are usually expansions of course papers. We need to have 2 professors (we call them 1st and 2nd readers) sign off on these papers. I am currently working on my 1st qualifier. When I have finished it and 12 courses, I will have a Master's degree. After completing all 3 qualifiers, we have to take an oral exam (orals) with a committee of 5 professors, one of whom can be outside of the department. This tests our knowledge of the literature in our field. Upon successful completion of orals, we advance to candidacy and are considered All But Dissertation (ABD). During the last year of working on a dissertation, Ph.D. candidates go on the job market. We will have to interview and give a job talk, which is essentially a presentation of our dissertation. When we have completed our dissertations and defended them in front of a committee, we have earned our Ph.Ds. Sounds easy, right?

Chapter 1

If you are reading this, you should know me. If you don't remember me, that's okay too (unless you're one of my grandmas). I moved to Irvine, California last September to pursue a Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. I traded 10,000 lakes for the Pacific Ocean, Twins for the Angels, humid summer days for cool ocean breezes, cornfields for mountains, and snow and ice for 60 degree "winters." Irvine is an expansive, sterile, planned community situated along the coast between Los Angeles and San Diego. I finished my first year of grad school last June, and I am set to start my second at the end of September. Read along as I keep you updated on my classes, research, and life on the West Coast.