axver: I've had this rant before, but right now

Axver (

axver) wrote,
@ 2008-04-04 23:53:00

Current music:	'Remember Me As A Time Of Day' by Explosions In The Sky
Entry tags:	frustration, university

I've had this rant before, but right now I'm too pissed off to care. I've frustration to vent.

I am thoroughly sick and tired of the undergraduate level of university. There needs to be a serious restructuring of the History and Political Science majors, because at this point, it is maddening. Right now, in my third year, I am doing exactly what I did in my second year, and it boils down to nothing more than regurgitating the arguments of others for the sake of a mark. The thin veneer of originality expected from the best essays is at the best of times a joke, and always a complete sham.

I've already thoroughly demonstrated that I can go beyond the course reader and employ independent research skills to access sources and bring them together cohesively. Frankly, nobody should pass the first year if they are incapable of doing that. It really isn't asking much to be able to do research beyond your course reader by visiting the university libraries or using online databases. If you are even vaguely computer literate and can't use JSTOR, you could probably be outsmarted by a donkey. Personally, I'm the guy who writes 2,000 word essays with 30 unique sources and feels my research is still inadequate. Furthermore, I have beyond adequately shown that I am capable of formulating an argument, placing it within a broader context on the topic, and coherently proceeding to sustain my argument throughout a piece of work with all necessary references to evidence that supports my assertions. Again, you shouldn't be able to pass the first year if you can't do this.

So why am I still sitting here in my third year doing this? Why am I churning out drivel with no purpose beyond getting some mark that assesses a narrow set of skills I have already demonstrated I possess and can use to a high standard? I'm not being challenged. Accordingly, my work is suffering. I don't care about what I'm doing, I've done it before. Oh, sure, the specific subject area may be a bit different, but change the key terms and you'll have every other bloody essay I've ever written. I'm not acquiring any new skills here, I'm not being tested; I'm just writing complete junk for no good reason.

I want to at least do something that challenges me. Something that requires me to gain new skills. Something where I have to produce work that is genuinely original. Something that I don't just hand in for a mark and say "thank fuck that's done". As it stands, this third year is a farce and a complete waste of my time and energy. I'm sincerely afraid I'm going to receive terrible marks because I just don't care.

I'm going mad. Certain people may get very carefully phrased e-mails full of measured frustration if this doesn't improve. I don't know what I'm doing here. I'm wasting my time. I want to move on already. I'm starting to have flashbacks to how frustratingly mindnumbing and intellectually unfulfilling high school was, and that cannot be a good sign.

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ladyphoenixia
2008-04-04 11:07 pm UTC (link)

You would be suurprised - or maybe you wouldn't - how many people manage to scrape through to second and third year before learning how to write a proper scientific report with searching for references etc. Just because you know what you're doing... I wrote my lit review the other day, same as I've been writing for the past few years, and was told that I write at a level better than later-year PhDs, so I suppose it doesn't change, either.

I guess it's different in science, where, although developing more sophisticated writing skills is important, it's also structured so that third year involves studying much harder concepts nd building of your knowledge-base etc... I never really understood how arts/history decided which subject went in which year, though, because they don't HAVE that progression of difficulty (I don't think).

That sucks that your work is suffering for it, tho. I would've said just keep doing the best you can, even if nobody really appreciates it. Because then, afterwards, you get into postgrad and you're researching whatever it is YOU want to do. Also, in what sense do you consider they should be making it more challenging? Because, once you've mastered the Way of writing them, which takes some people more practice than others, isn't the rest of life about utilising these skills on different topics, how can it be made harder?

Excuse my rambling. I'm counting down the months until everything I do is pass/fail, and no marks ever again.

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axver
2008-04-05 11:37 am UTC (link)

I've been stunned by the people who cruise through university in an apparent state of cluelessness. A couple of people have admitted to me that they don't even know how to use the library catalogue. How hard is it to go to the library's website and do a keyword search? Bloody hell, people.

In History and PolSci, I do not perceive any difference between second and third year - perhaps third years get marked harder, but even on that point I'm not clear. It's rubbish, it really is. I suppose part of the problem is the wide range of choice; the courses are structured so that the only compulsory subjects are the introductory first year ones, and then you can go off and specialise in second and third year. Which is all well and good until the subjects turn out to be pretty much the same in what they ask you to do. Sure, there's plenty of knowledge building going on, but for the most part it's 2,000 word research essay after 2,000 word research essay.

I think it could be structured much differently and introduce a serious progression of difficulty. First year should stay as it is (as mindnumbingly boring as it was for me) - broad overview and theoretical grounding. I do think historiography needs to be emphasised more within the History faculty. At this stage, work is mainly with secondary sources. The second year too should stay relatively as it is, with more detailed study and analysis of more specific topics and the introduction of primary source material. But the third year needs to bring in a much higher degree of research and engagement with primary documents. I would suggest less subjects so that more time can be devoted to pursuing original work and research in the field. Obviously, such a third year is clearly what I envisage from History more than Political Science, but I have no passion for PolSci any more. I'm only doing it this year because I'm so close to the major that I might as well get it - I can't double major in History as it is (well, I probably could, but only through doing subjects that sound horrendously dull and well removed from my interests).

All I hope is that Honours next year does not disappoint me.

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chariadeone
2008-04-05 01:01 am UTC (link)

When I was in undergrad at the start I could barely keep up let alone hope for a challenge, but there were many reasons for that (long travel times, crazy competition, lectures with uninteresting topics, not having a real goal, etc.). It got better for me in 3rd year though (that's when I really started to like uni), but that's different than your situation.

I was also taking sciences which meant few essays, doing very different things in varied subjects, and I was mostly happy because the classes were getting smaller.

Right now though, I can understand the need to do something you enjoy and getting joy from the challenge. Perhaps you can offer to do some additional work that you would find rewarding that you could do to accommodate your studies. Tutoring, research assistance?

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axver
2008-04-05 11:51 am UTC (link)

Part of the problem for me is that I've gone into history and politics with a stack of knowledge already. Essentially everything we did in the first year, I already knew. And what's proving especially frustrating right now is that one course I am doing feels like a first year Democracy 101 kind of course. Reading the course guide indicates it improves and goes much more into depth about democratic theory, but that doesn't do much for my attitude towards it right now!

At the end of last year, I asked my favourite lecturer about tutoring and research assistance. His response for tutoring was that the university already has too many underemployed postgrads for an undergrad like me to be considered, while for research assistance it is again mainly postgrads, and those undergrads who get into it do through lecturers they know. And aforementioned favourite lecturer left at the end of last year, so I'm not exactly going to get any research assistance role with him!

I do get on rather well with one of my tutors this year though, so I may have to talk to him and see if he has any suggestions.

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chariadeone
2008-04-06 12:01 am UTC (link)

Sometimes the beginning of the year tends to be a bit breezy because they are introducing/reintroducing a theme so perhaps it will get better as the course continues. Asking the tutor sounds like a good idea. Is there a newspaper on your campus? Would you be interested in writing for that? My experience with it wasn't particularly great as the editing sometimes annoyed me, but it does give you something to try out if you like.

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fugebabe8819
2008-04-05 01:17 am UTC (link)

I'm four weeks from the end of the semester, and boy do I feel your pain! I'm enrolled in English 300 right now, and we're "learning" how to write a research paper! Something we learned how to do freshman year! I never go to this class, unless something is due. I feel marginally bad, because I never do this, but it drives me up a wall. I feel like the curriculum should be for a remedial 100 class, not an Honors 300 course. I've pretty much lost all motivation to do any work in my other classes as well. I'm ready for a short break, and a new round of classes! Or maybe just a break. Heh.

Is it just me, or do you hate it when you're assigned a topic as well?

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axver
2008-04-05 11:58 am UTC (link)

Oh, that just sounds irritating. I'm on the verge of skipping lectures for one of my classes, as it's really just some sort of Democracy 101 right now. The course guide indicates it'll get better, but in the meantime I'm falling asleep in lectures.

As for being assigned a topic, it depends. I mean, if I were in a course such as Holocaust & Genocide and were told simply to do a 2,000 word essay, I might wonder where the hell to begin. I always appreciate lecturers who give a fairly lengthy list of broad topics that you can then narrow down yourself - the topic just acts as a signpost to guide your research. But when the topics are all narrow, like they unfortunately are in Holocaust & Genocide, it's maddening and feels restrictive. What bugs me the most is that it does not contain an option to do a custom topic with the lecturer's permission. Almost every course I've done has had that option - and I've taken it up a few times when nothing from the provided list leapt out at me.

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dysprosium
2008-04-06 04:24 pm UTC (link)

I think the main problem with the undergraduate level is that a lot of students are utter idiots who think they can coast through university without doing a single iota of work. I'm reminded of this entry, for instance: http://dysprosium.livejournal.com/336301.html

How can you possibly make it into a third year English course without knowing that you have to make inferences about the material that has been studied? HOW? I sometimes feel like this sort of thing actually causes professors to lower their standards. They don't expect students to produce good work, so they don't give you many opportunities to at least try to. My fantasy literature/Lord of the Rings professor is a good example. For our final essay, she told us not to do outside research and to simply write a paper based upon her lectures. What is the bloody point of that? Does she honestly want to read her own thoughts vomited back at her in 1,000-1,500 words? She didn't even give us the option of choosing our own topic.

Luckily, I have had some professors who aren't like that. My Middle English/Chaucer professor looked like he was going to burst into tears when I approached him and asked if I could write about something that wasn't on his essay topic list. He told me that people hardly ever express enough interest to actually want to come up with their own research topics. He gave me free reign, which was great. I had an absolute ball writing my paper.

Anyway, I guess all any of us can do is to wait until the graduate level. I doubt it will be as bad as the undergraduate level. Do you have to write an honours essay in your 4th year? If so, that will enable you to be at least somewhat creative and original.

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