Fitting In, Moving Forward

This has been a somewhat turbulent and interesting week so far, and its only a little over half over.

First of all: at this point I am enrolled in no courses that are directly taught by the sociology department. I’m really not sure what to think about this. The course I was originally in wasn’t taught by sociology faculty, but was merely cross-listed with our department. The course originated in Religious Studies (Social Theory in Religious Studies was the course). I really have no strong academic interest in religion, except as a secondary factor of social status and the maintenance of hegemonic control over society. My coursework toward my degree this semester is a Survey Methods course taught by Educational Research, which I think will be extremely helpful in the construction of my thesis study, and Philosophical Methods which I am using as an elective. I don’t know if Philosophical Methods will help me a lot with things, but I feel like it might help me center myself academically by returning to the roots of where my academic curiosity began.

Second: I took an interesting dive this semester. I am enrolled in 6 hours in my secondary program (MS IT).

I started my week by going to the religious studies class. I decided after going into it that it really isn’t for me, it isn’t covering anything that will help toward my thesis or my greater academic understanding. I just am not academically curious about religion. The final stake in the heart of me taking that course was a single seat opening up in ITIS 6112, Software System Integration. I had considered the course before and the only thing stopping me from taking it was the religious studies course in the same time slot and my previous commitment to a cohort-mate to take the class with him. With the cohort-mate deciding that he would rather be in social stratification and the opening of the other class, I just had to take it.

On Tuesday I went to my first meeting of Philosophical Methods and Analysis. I was greeted by other members of the class who already knew me and the instructor who I had only met once also greeted me by name. I was very much at ease. The discussion for the class centered around the question “what is philosophy?”. Part of that discussion addressed the idea that philosophy is the origin of all other disciplines and that philosophy still functions as a medium between the disciplines. This is the sort of thought that reassures me that I am not as confused about what I want to do with my research (or life) as I thought, I just take a philosophical approach.

Wednesday was another one of those very unusual days. I started my third ever graduate-level class taught by CCI faculty. While most classes in sociology are taught close to the same way, CCI contains a mix of teaching methods by instructors with diverse backgrounds. I was somewhat anxious when reading the class roster because I was concerned about being a minority in the class. My previous CCI classes had been in flat classrooms not in lecture hall style arrangements or in a tiered lab setting like this one. Going to the class wasn’t bad at all and I actually felt like I fit in pretty well, as the class was fairly diverse. The subject matter of the class wasn’t unfamiliar either, it felt quite comforting to be back in IT for such an applied technical learning sort of way. Oddly, several sociological issues were raised during the class, such as unequal access to Internet connectivity and the role of privilege in how applications are designed.

Thursday evening my emotions and thoughts swung around the other way. I went to Survey Research Methods and found myself drawn back in to the possibilities for social research (even if this class is focused on the educational outcomes aspects of society). I can’t say that I am highly moved by the course, but I do believe it will be fun and might help get me back on track in my pursuit of sociology as well.

This week has been a battle between two parts of my intellectual curiosity trying to unify and become one. I do think that I will find a way to make it work, especially since my current course schedule has me doing equal work in both of my degree areas.

One thing I am realizing is that I do need to put my gender and sexuality academic interests aside when it comes to my degrees, but I need to do what I can to become professionally engaged with that side of sociology. The scope of sociology as a discipline is pretty wide, but each department takes its own corner of that larger discipline. Mine is pretty limited, but that won’t stop me from being engaged in both my own department and the wider discipline. The biggest thing I need to do is return to writing. I don’t write nearly enough for my own personal reflection or to articulate little thoughts that enter my mind that are of academic, ethical or philosophical importance.

So, next week I will begin my modified schedule which will have me directly alternating between social science/humanities and information technology courses each day:

  • Monday: Software Systems Design and Implementation
  • Tuesday: Philosophical Methods
  • Wednesday: Network Based Application Development
  • Thursday: Survey Research Methods