Fall 2010 in Review

As you probably know, the semester that just ended was my first semester of graduate school. I think that I will give a review for posterity about my thoughts of my classes from this semester.

German 1010 - Ich mag Duetsch sprechen. It was a fun class. I took German because I was mad at Espanol (for an MA, you have to test into a 3000-level language class. After 2 years of all A's in Spanish, I was placed in 1020. No good.) German was so much more fun than Spanish, especially because I could practice it at home mit mein Mann (with my husband). However, I realized that starting over with a new language was not the best idea, so I'm going to study Spanish very hard and try the test again. The best thing about my German class (as opposed to my Spanish classes) was that I felt like I actually could say some things, and if I were dropped in the middle of Germany, I would be able to get help, order food, ask for directions, and describe my hobbies.

American Immigration History - Good, interesting class. As a grad student, I had to do a historiographical project about my thesis. My project is not what I plan to do my thesis on, but it has helped me formulate my thought process about racism and government policies.

The Writings of John - I enjoyed taking this class with Andrew. I really liked when we learned about the Book of Revelations. At the end of the class, I could see why Joseph Smith said that if you understand the Gospel, this is the simplest book to understand. I should read through it again and write my own notes while it is fresh in my mind.

Aerobics - I loved this class! I loved that we did different things each day. We did kick boxing, pilates, circuit training, step aerobics, interval training with weights and cardio, and Zumba. It was especially fun because I took it with my cousin Greg and my dear heart Andrew. Greg was funny cuz he made fun of the moves we did. Andrew was funny cuz he is so uncoordinated.

American Studies Theory and Methods - This was an ok class. I decided that I am really glad I did not go into the American Studies program. As silly as it seems to get an advanced degree in History, I think that AS is even more ridiculous. But, I did have practice doing a presentation in front of my peers. I presented on War Relocation Authority photographs of resettled Japanese American women. I'm glad I have it ready because I am going to a conference in March.

History Theory and Methods - This was a very good class. My professor, Dr. Nicholls was very funny, especially when he said, "HOLY HELL!" We also did a transcription assignment of a document that I really enjoyed. I transcribed a letter by Bernard DeVoto. Later, we wrote very rough thesis proposals. The best thing about Methods was how excited I was to be a historian after each seminar meeting.

And that was my semester! I was so busy, but I enjoyed it. I hope that next semester goes well. I need to figure out my thesis committee. I feel very undecided about it in many respects.