So, after summer spent with parents, one of whom has been spending a fair bit of time in hospital (getting better), I returned to the US of A a few weeks back. This is going to be a very busy semester--more so than usual for reasons that will become clear as we proceed--and I figure I'll write about some of the things I see/note around here, both at work and when I'm out and about in the area. For reference, I volunteer (sometimes) and am working on doing something in the so-called outdoors once every couple of weeks or so. I also pop into gas stations, visit fairs and yard sales, drive dogs about, and such. I'll try write about some of these experiences and encounters.
I'm teaching two classes in the Fall--a senior seminar on Diplomacy and Security that I'm running as one on terrorism and counterterrorism and a National Security class for upper-level undergrads. The senior seminar is my 15th? 16th? new prep since I started here. I know. I'm also doing an independent study -- on radicalization - with some graduate students. Add the usual committee assignments, panic/worry over not having done enough work over the summer and it's likely to be a fairly (quite) busy Fall.
I've taught the NatSec class before but this semester we have three different versions of it. We also have a new Security Studies Concepts class and so I ditched a lot of the theoretical classes as I reckon they'll be covered in the Security Studies class (on Securitization, feminist and postcolonial approaches). I also changed classes on police militarization (which, last semester, almost led to blows in class) and added sections on State Terrorism. Otherwise, it's a fairly straightforward class that examines some key concepts still and then moves towards "issues". So far, I've got a full class signed up. Let's see how many stick around after the semester starts next week.
For the Senior Seminar, I've got 11 students now. I think 8-10 is a good number but we'll see how it goes. I feel that since the class is only advertised as "Senior Seminar: Diplomacy and Security", students don't really know what they are getting or what will be the topic. I think quite a few faculty make posters and pin them around but I wasn't too organized for that.
Not much to add. I still need to put up readings online and am trying to finish writing a paper that has done the rounds of different journals and emerged differently each time. Those types of things are the hardest to place--by the time it's gone to Journal No. 3, I forget what the reason I wrote it for was. Ah well, as is the norm in academia, keep at it I guess. Sometimes, though, I miss the proper 7am-3pm, paid almost as much as I get paid now job I had in my early 20's...
This weekend, I'll be walking dogs, signing up to foster for a shelter in a nearby town, and checking out an Auto Fair and Swap Meet at a nearby town. The plan is to also send off this one article before the semester begins on Monday.
I'm teaching two classes in the Fall--a senior seminar on Diplomacy and Security that I'm running as one on terrorism and counterterrorism and a National Security class for upper-level undergrads. The senior seminar is my 15th? 16th? new prep since I started here. I know. I'm also doing an independent study -- on radicalization - with some graduate students. Add the usual committee assignments, panic/worry over not having done enough work over the summer and it's likely to be a fairly (quite) busy Fall.
I've taught the NatSec class before but this semester we have three different versions of it. We also have a new Security Studies Concepts class and so I ditched a lot of the theoretical classes as I reckon they'll be covered in the Security Studies class (on Securitization, feminist and postcolonial approaches). I also changed classes on police militarization (which, last semester, almost led to blows in class) and added sections on State Terrorism. Otherwise, it's a fairly straightforward class that examines some key concepts still and then moves towards "issues". So far, I've got a full class signed up. Let's see how many stick around after the semester starts next week.
For the Senior Seminar, I've got 11 students now. I think 8-10 is a good number but we'll see how it goes. I feel that since the class is only advertised as "Senior Seminar: Diplomacy and Security", students don't really know what they are getting or what will be the topic. I think quite a few faculty make posters and pin them around but I wasn't too organized for that.
Not much to add. I still need to put up readings online and am trying to finish writing a paper that has done the rounds of different journals and emerged differently each time. Those types of things are the hardest to place--by the time it's gone to Journal No. 3, I forget what the reason I wrote it for was. Ah well, as is the norm in academia, keep at it I guess. Sometimes, though, I miss the proper 7am-3pm, paid almost as much as I get paid now job I had in my early 20's...
This weekend, I'll be walking dogs, signing up to foster for a shelter in a nearby town, and checking out an Auto Fair and Swap Meet at a nearby town. The plan is to also send off this one article before the semester begins on Monday.
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