My thesis is due in exactly one week, and now that it's crunch time, the prospect of packages is the only thing keeping me from insanity. Oh, and free food. Which reminds me--tomorrow my Memories and Legacies of the Holocaust class gets to attend a *free dinner* alongside Holocaust survivor and German literature critic Ruth Kluger. I am currently reading her memoir, "Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered," which covers her experience as a young girl living in concentration camps. (This is really big for me because the only other time I was ever invited to a special dinner by the college it turned out to be a mistake and they revoked my invitation. Ever since I've been a little bitter, but hopefully tomorrow night's dinner will make up for my sophomore year tragedy.)
As you all should know, I spent my Spring Break in Berlin. As I mentioned in a previous post, the final assignment for the class is a collaborative project between the German students and my classmates that will be presented via video conference in late April. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm terribly excited to create a final project (it is work, after all, and I have serious senioritis), but the really cool part is that the German students are currently visiting us in New York to explore some Holocaust memorials in the city and to work on the final projects.
The Germans arrived last Thursday and have probably been about as busy as my class was when we visited them in Berlin (which means non-stop action from morning to evening). But over the weekend my class organized a party for both groups to socialize, and Saturday night a few of the German students spent some time at the seniors 50 nights party at the Alumnae House, which is the college's hotel. It's been a really unusual experience for me, coming from a small suburban town in Ohio, to have the opportunity to socialize with so many people from another country. While a good amount of international students attend Vassar each year, I know very few of them because up until recently most of them lived in the same dorm, and it's rare to have more than just a few in your classes--although I did have a friend from Bosnia who I visited in his hometown of Sarajevo when I was JYA last year.
My group, which consists of myself, one other American student, and three German students, is doing a project comparing Holocaust memorials in Berlin and New York (very uplifting project, I know). You can read about it here!
What is interesting about the course is that it is not actually about the Holocaust (of course, we did read a book on the history of the Holocaust for background information), but is more of a theoretical study on the memorials themselves. I think it's a cool topic (in a depressing sort of way) because the way things are remembered was never something I had considered before, but now I find myself analyzing memorials all the time, for better or for worse. [Insert joke about Holocaust memorials here---yeah, not easy to make funny.]
So yeah. I'll try not to flip out completely this weekend and keep you updated on whether or not the final draft of my thesis makes sense. Yikes!
Showing posts with label senior thesis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label senior thesis. Show all posts
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
We All Live In A Yellow Submarine....
Today was the moment I'd been waiting for (perhaps dreading is a better word) since the start of the semester--the moment that my thesis was due. By moment I mean a block of approximately 2 hours, but knowing both myself and my classmates, that thing wasn't turned in until at least several minutes before noon, which was the official deadline. As for me? I think I was the only person who didn't have a cover page for the draft (woops) but at least I had a bibliography, which is more than I had on Friday when I finished my last chapter. I think tonight calls for a screening of Star Wars (original trilogy only, please) and a milkshake.
In other news, Theodore Bikel is coming to my Legacies and Memories of the Holocaust class on Wednesday. Okay, I'll admit I'd never heard of him before last week, but I read his autobiography for class and he seems like a pretty cool guy--or at least as cool as you can be for 83. He is a film and stage actor (he tends to do the musical thing) and is also really big into activist movements, like the civil rights movement of the 1960's. Apparently he played Captain Von Trapp on Broadway for The Sound of Music and has been in a number of movies, notably, The African Queen (I think that's on the AFI Top 100 list). He was also in a movie called "The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!" which I'd never heard of before, but they screened it in the theatre on campus Saturday night and it was great. Oh, and he has an awesome beard.
So I decided to drink a cup on chamomile tea to relax after turning in my thesis draft and now I'm getting sleepy. I can't win.
The Founder's Day committee, which I join every year for some reason, is having it's first meeting tomorrow night. Founder's Day, in case I haven't explained it yet, is basically the super campus holiday with a theme (one of the past themes was Alice in Wonderland) where the college books amusement park rides, bands, off-campus food vendors (yes!), and free beer (those over 21 only, like me!). To make a long story short, the Founder's Day committee plans everything for Founder's Day and for some reason I join every year, which means that I have to help out with the event that day. Last year I said I wasn't going to join it again, but now I'm getting that feeling that if I don't join, the whole event will be sabotaged, which is absolutely not true. What can I say? I'm paranoid. Anyways, right now we're working on picking a theme and I totally think the theme should be Yellow Submarine. That would be awesome.
In other news, Theodore Bikel is coming to my Legacies and Memories of the Holocaust class on Wednesday. Okay, I'll admit I'd never heard of him before last week, but I read his autobiography for class and he seems like a pretty cool guy--or at least as cool as you can be for 83. He is a film and stage actor (he tends to do the musical thing) and is also really big into activist movements, like the civil rights movement of the 1960's. Apparently he played Captain Von Trapp on Broadway for The Sound of Music and has been in a number of movies, notably, The African Queen (I think that's on the AFI Top 100 list). He was also in a movie called "The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!" which I'd never heard of before, but they screened it in the theatre on campus Saturday night and it was great. Oh, and he has an awesome beard.
So I decided to drink a cup on chamomile tea to relax after turning in my thesis draft and now I'm getting sleepy. I can't win.
The Founder's Day committee, which I join every year for some reason, is having it's first meeting tomorrow night. Founder's Day, in case I haven't explained it yet, is basically the super campus holiday with a theme (one of the past themes was Alice in Wonderland) where the college books amusement park rides, bands, off-campus food vendors (yes!), and free beer (those over 21 only, like me!). To make a long story short, the Founder's Day committee plans everything for Founder's Day and for some reason I join every year, which means that I have to help out with the event that day. Last year I said I wasn't going to join it again, but now I'm getting that feeling that if I don't join, the whole event will be sabotaged, which is absolutely not true. What can I say? I'm paranoid. Anyways, right now we're working on picking a theme and I totally think the theme should be Yellow Submarine. That would be awesome.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Books Are My Master
Quite miraculously, I think I managed to come up with a senior thesis topic. Even more miraculous? I think the topic might actually be good.
As the story goes, I was probably one of ten people who spent Saturday night in the library. Don't let the aspect of Saturday night in the library scare you-you know I definitely left at ten o' clock for a late night Stop & Shop run which eventually resulted in baking pumpkin pie-but sometimes it's kind of nice to chill out and go on book hunts instead of going completely haywire at some sort of Vassar concert. The best part is that you always feel like you did something productive after you leave, whether you actually did work or not. Don't believe me? Try it:
Cool Friend #1: Hey, where were you Saturday night?
Cool Friend #2: Yeah, seriously. There was a killer concert in Main featuring the Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Clash!
Me: Oh, I was in the library sleeping, I mean, SLAVING over books.
Cool Friend #1: Wow! You have so much motivation!
Cool Friend #2: I wish I could be you!
See? That's pretty much exactly how a conversation between my friends and me would go. By the way, The Clash actually did play at Vassar back in the day. No joke.
But Saturday was dedicated to finding a thesis topic. I had an idea of something I wanted to do along the lines of new media (such as the Internet, YouTube, Facebook, etc.) but I wasn't sure exactly what. Then, after leaving the library, I was talking to my friend about what a sociologist might write a thesis about when the words literally came out of my mouth, "Something like, I don't know, activism on the Internet...Wait a second... WHOA."
After researching the topic briefly, I realized that the topic had been researched just enough-not too much or too little for me to write about it. Now all I need is a 1-2 page summary of the topic, a projected outline and annotated bibliography for Monday.
T minus four days until my proposal is due-I'm in the clear.
As the story goes, I was probably one of ten people who spent Saturday night in the library. Don't let the aspect of Saturday night in the library scare you-you know I definitely left at ten o' clock for a late night Stop & Shop run which eventually resulted in baking pumpkin pie-but sometimes it's kind of nice to chill out and go on book hunts instead of going completely haywire at some sort of Vassar concert. The best part is that you always feel like you did something productive after you leave, whether you actually did work or not. Don't believe me? Try it:
Cool Friend #1: Hey, where were you Saturday night?
Cool Friend #2: Yeah, seriously. There was a killer concert in Main featuring the Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Clash!
Me: Oh, I was in the library sleeping, I mean, SLAVING over books.
Cool Friend #1: Wow! You have so much motivation!
Cool Friend #2: I wish I could be you!
See? That's pretty much exactly how a conversation between my friends and me would go. By the way, The Clash actually did play at Vassar back in the day. No joke.
But Saturday was dedicated to finding a thesis topic. I had an idea of something I wanted to do along the lines of new media (such as the Internet, YouTube, Facebook, etc.) but I wasn't sure exactly what. Then, after leaving the library, I was talking to my friend about what a sociologist might write a thesis about when the words literally came out of my mouth, "Something like, I don't know, activism on the Internet...Wait a second... WHOA."
After researching the topic briefly, I realized that the topic had been researched just enough-not too much or too little for me to write about it. Now all I need is a 1-2 page summary of the topic, a projected outline and annotated bibliography for Monday.
T minus four days until my proposal is due-I'm in the clear.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Senior Freak Out...I Mean Thesis
As a senior, it's getting to the point where I have to face my biggest fear: my senior thesis. Contrary to popular belief, being a senior doesn't necessarily mean I can write a thesis, and somehow I'm expected to turn in a research proposal in exactly two weeks from today. Following a brief freak out session last week, I decided to pay a visit to my advisor and see what exactly I need to do for my thesis, and how far along in the process I should be at this point.
A senior thesis is a long paper written by seniors who majored in certain fields, such as sociology. In fact, I believe that a majority of students at Vassar will either write a senior thesis or create a senior project, depending on their major, during senior year. For example, out of my housemates, I am writing a senior thesis, my housemate who is a music major is performing a senior recital, and my housemate who is a media studies major is creating a senior project. Now don't get me wrong-the senior recital and senior project both require a great deal of work like the thesis-but personally I think the senior thesis sounds the scariest. Upon coming to college, I was so intimidated of the aspect of writing a senior thesis that I attempted to major in a field that didn't require one for graduation, such as psychology or political science. But my love for sociology foiled my plans, and I am now sitting here scared out of my mind.
First of all, I have a hard time getting it through my head that a senior thesis is just a really long paper. From what my advisor said, it's generally between 50 and 60 pages for sociology majors, but I should think of it as being more like four twelve page papers, considering the thesis will probably have four chapters. Okay, so maybe it really is just a long paper, but how can I think of it in those terms when it gets a title like, "senior thesis," which provides no indication of just being four papers. For me, that's very intimidating.
Second, how am I supposed to think of a topic that will interest me for an ENTIRE year? Personally, I think I'm a bit of a flake at most things that I do in the sense that I like a lot of things, and sometimes get really into things, but personally I have no real burning life passions that make me want to say, "Wow! I really wish I could spend a whole year writing about this!" No way Jose.
For me, the "SENIOR THESIS" was a BIG deal. But speaking to my advisor informed me that it's pretty much just like taking a class, but something that is sort of self-instructed (as if I have self discipline).
Here's the abbreviated version of our conversation:
Me: So about this senior thesis.... I hear the proposal is due on September 25th, but I have no idea what I'm doing!
My Advisor: That's okay. Most students have no idea what they are doing, and many of them will actually find a focus after they turn in the proposal.
Me: About the proposal.... can I write it up the week before, have you check it, and then fix it and turn it in on the 25th?
My Advisor: Huh... I suppose you could do that.... but I think a lot of times students write it the night before.
Me: Wow... I thought it was a really big deal?
My Advisor: Brooke, it's just a really big paper. Don't worry about it so much. If you're really worried, feel free to check out the sample theses in the Sociology office.
Wow! Sample theses?! I wonder if any of them are old enough that the professors in the sociology department wouldn't remember them being written.... Not that I would ever do that, of course.
But in all seriousness, creating a research project of my very own could be kind of cool-you know, the opportunity to conduct actual research and write up the results and say, "So THIS is what I found. Aren't I soooooo awesome?" Okay, obviously I wouldn't say that, but you get the point.
Now, to find a topic.....
A senior thesis is a long paper written by seniors who majored in certain fields, such as sociology. In fact, I believe that a majority of students at Vassar will either write a senior thesis or create a senior project, depending on their major, during senior year. For example, out of my housemates, I am writing a senior thesis, my housemate who is a music major is performing a senior recital, and my housemate who is a media studies major is creating a senior project. Now don't get me wrong-the senior recital and senior project both require a great deal of work like the thesis-but personally I think the senior thesis sounds the scariest. Upon coming to college, I was so intimidated of the aspect of writing a senior thesis that I attempted to major in a field that didn't require one for graduation, such as psychology or political science. But my love for sociology foiled my plans, and I am now sitting here scared out of my mind.
First of all, I have a hard time getting it through my head that a senior thesis is just a really long paper. From what my advisor said, it's generally between 50 and 60 pages for sociology majors, but I should think of it as being more like four twelve page papers, considering the thesis will probably have four chapters. Okay, so maybe it really is just a long paper, but how can I think of it in those terms when it gets a title like, "senior thesis," which provides no indication of just being four papers. For me, that's very intimidating.
Second, how am I supposed to think of a topic that will interest me for an ENTIRE year? Personally, I think I'm a bit of a flake at most things that I do in the sense that I like a lot of things, and sometimes get really into things, but personally I have no real burning life passions that make me want to say, "Wow! I really wish I could spend a whole year writing about this!" No way Jose.
For me, the "SENIOR THESIS" was a BIG deal. But speaking to my advisor informed me that it's pretty much just like taking a class, but something that is sort of self-instructed (as if I have self discipline).
Here's the abbreviated version of our conversation:
Me: So about this senior thesis.... I hear the proposal is due on September 25th, but I have no idea what I'm doing!
My Advisor: That's okay. Most students have no idea what they are doing, and many of them will actually find a focus after they turn in the proposal.
Me: About the proposal.... can I write it up the week before, have you check it, and then fix it and turn it in on the 25th?
My Advisor: Huh... I suppose you could do that.... but I think a lot of times students write it the night before.
Me: Wow... I thought it was a really big deal?
My Advisor: Brooke, it's just a really big paper. Don't worry about it so much. If you're really worried, feel free to check out the sample theses in the Sociology office.
Wow! Sample theses?! I wonder if any of them are old enough that the professors in the sociology department wouldn't remember them being written.... Not that I would ever do that, of course.
But in all seriousness, creating a research project of my very own could be kind of cool-you know, the opportunity to conduct actual research and write up the results and say, "So THIS is what I found. Aren't I soooooo awesome?" Okay, obviously I wouldn't say that, but you get the point.
Now, to find a topic.....
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