Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

[eumaas]

I have to write a history paper today, and it's utterly beyond me how people write a history paper without using theory. I was floundering around trying to figure out what to have as a thesis (I'm comparing Neolin and Handsome Lake), and now I've decided to dive into some theory books in order to make sense of the information.

[Dr. Medulla]

I have to write a history paper today, and it's utterly beyond me how people write a history paper without using theory. I was floundering around trying to figure out what to have as a thesis (I'm comparing Neolin and Handsome Lake), and now I've decided to dive into some theory books in order to make sense of the information.

C'mon, it's easy. You just take the facts, which are objective, and you write them all out in a way that is unbiased (or, if you can't do that, confess you sin to the reader and ask for absolution), and, voila, history. Unimpeachable, never-changing, definitive history. Now, to run a warm bath and open up a vein …

[Dr. Medulla]

A historian friend just sent me a cartoon about how your thesis will never leave you alone. I said that this was a more accurate representation:

[revbob]

Grading a midterm exam this evening. Answer to the question of the FDR cabinet secretary who was the first woman to hold that rank? Joan Jett. I wrote "If only …" (Actual answer: Frances Perkins. Who didn't record I Love Rock n Roll or Cherry Bomb, so who cares?)

Oh, that exam I mention above? The final results were a class average of 52.75% (Did you get a D? You're above average!) and over 1/3 failed.

I think you're missing the big picture. You're actually getting through to them and making a difference in their lives. Now if you can get one of them to work HR from Bad Brains into an answer then you can retire without the thought of having to kill yourself because all your best efforts were in vain. Reminds me of one of my favorite TZ episodes "The Changing of the Guard".

[Dr. Medulla]

Grading a midterm exam this evening. Answer to the question of the FDR cabinet secretary who was the first woman to hold that rank? Joan Jett. I wrote "If only …" (Actual answer: Frances Perkins. Who didn't record I Love Rock n Roll or Cherry Bomb, so who cares?)

Oh, that exam I mention above? The final results were a class average of 52.75% (Did you get a D? You're above average!) and over 1/3 failed.

I think you're missing the big picture. You're actually getting through to them and making a difference in their lives. Now if you can get one of them to work HR from Bad Brains into an answer then you can retire without the thought of having to kill yourself because all your best efforts were in vain. Reminds me of one of my favorite TZ episodes "The Changing of the Guard".

I don't make a difference as a TA; I only make a profound difference in their lives in my own courses.

[eumaas]

3 As, waiting on one more class. I only take four classes a semester because I'm old and slow now.

[Dr. Medulla]

3 As, waiting on one more class. I only take four classes a semester because I'm old and slow now.

Fantastic, tho nothing less than I'd expect from you (the grades, that is, not the workload).

[eumaas]

3 As, waiting on one more class. I only take four classes a semester because I'm old and slow now.

Fantastic, tho nothing less than I'd expect from you (the grades, that is, not the workload).

Thanks, man!

[Dr. Medulla]

My academic news is that it looks like I'm getting three courses next year thanks to an epidemic of sabbaticals—it'll be revisits of the two classes I've done before and a US history survey, Reconstruction to WWII. Plus my diss is done, pending an okee dokee from my supervisor (i.e., she's reading it right now). I don't expect any serious revisions given her past feedback. We've got our committee of readers lined up, so it'll either be a late summer or early fall defense.

[eumaas]

My academic news is that it looks like I'm getting three courses next year thanks to an epidemic of sabbaticals—it'll be revisits of the two classes I've done before and a US history survey, Reconstruction to WWII. Plus my diss is done, pending an okee dokee from my supervisor (i.e., she's reading it right now). I don't expect any serious revisions given her past feedback. We've got our committee of readers lined up, so it'll either be a late summer or early fall defense.

Awesome. Congrats on the diss.

[Flex]

My academic news is that it looks like I'm getting three courses next year thanks to an epidemic of sabbaticals—it'll be revisits of the two classes I've done before and a US history survey, Reconstruction to WWII. Plus my diss is done, pending an okee dokee from my supervisor (i.e., she's reading it right now). I don't expect any serious revisions given her past feedback. We've got our committee of readers lined up, so it'll either be a late summer or early fall defense.

Nice on the dddddddddddddddddddddiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssssssss

Addendum: Also Gene's braniacism.

[Dr. Medulla]

Thanks, but it really doesn't feel like a big deal. After having my emotions go up and (mostly) down—as Gene can attest from my fucked-up moaning—having re-read the whole thing over the course of a week, I'm okay with it. That is, I think it's a decent document of where my thought and ability is (and isn't). I could level a pretty good critique of its weaknesses, but also a defense of sorts against that critique. I'm also in a good place in terms of being able to walk away from it. As in I have no desire to publish or even let anyone read it. It's not that I'm ashamed of it (tho I've gone thru waves of that in the past), but that I'm skeptical that anyone would have a sincere interest in the subject matter, despite it being quite marketable given the pulp juvenile delinquent angle. I'm not interested in tricking gawkers into thinking they're getting kitsch and laying out something a lot more serious. And, as I've come to realize, it really is an example of writing as autobiography. How it's structured and argued is quite revealing about myself, my values, and my weaknesses, and even if others won't necessarily be able to read between the lines, so to speak, I don't especially want anyone to get the chance.

[JennyB]

My academic news is that it looks like I'm getting three courses next year thanks to an epidemic of sabbaticals—it'll be revisits of the two classes I've done before and a US history survey, Reconstruction to WWII. Plus my diss is done, pending an okee dokee from my supervisor (i.e., she's reading it right now). I don't expect any serious revisions given her past feedback. We've got our committee of readers lined up, so it'll either be a late summer or early fall defense.

Congrats! Now you will be Dr. Medulla, PhD

[Dr. Medulla]

Congrats! Now you will be Dr. Medulla, PhD

The Venture Bros-related joke is Dr. Dr. Medulla. But I loathe titles and accreditation. Both my previous degrees are in a box somewhere in the basement, which is where this other one will end up.

[JennyB]

Congrats! Now you will be Dr. Medulla, PhD

The Venture Bros-related joke is Dr. Dr. Medulla. But I loathe titles and accreditation. Both my previous degrees are in a box somewhere in the basement, which is where this other one will end up.

That's a nice change from most of the Ph.D.'s I know.