Back at School...

My studies…

Obviously life has been busy if it has taken me this long to write an update. It has been a bit of an adjustment being back at school since the Easter break. It was a bit of a premature break because it happened a third of the way through our studies instead of half way through, so this term will be a long one and I am feeling it already! Just to give all of those who are interested a background on my studies I thought that I would tell you a bit about my classes. I am enrolled in a Masters Program here in International Studies. It is part of the politics department so many of my classes are in international relations. I only have three classes that are required and in order to expedite my studies I decided to take all three this semesterJ That was a good idea for quickness, but perhaps not a good idea for saneness. Each of my classes meets once a week, and for each I have a lot of reading and writing. I am fairly good at the former and miserable at the latter! I think I am getting better, but we’ll have to see if my marks improve to tellJ

On Tuesday I have my International Relations Theory Class. The highlight of this class has come in the past few weeks as we have been able to talk about how international politics influenced by transnational corporations (i.e. large NGOs like Amnesty International and campaigns like the STOP THE TRAFFIK campaign) effect world politics. I gave a presentation on this topic a couple of weeks ago focusing on the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and its effectiveness in swaying governmental position on humanitarian issues. It was fun – especially since I was able to meet Jody Williams (the long time head of the ICBL and the co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize with ICBL) – thanks Peace Jam!!!

On Wednesday I have an International Relations during the Cold War Class. It is also interesting and in honor of my nuclear engineer husband to be – I did my first presentation on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Movements of the Early Cold War. One thing I would encourage everyone to look up is the Atoms for Peace Speech made by Eisenhower in 1953... it is pretty interesting.

On Thursday, I have a class called Freedom and Domination. I can sum this class up by stating that I feel like I am being dominated by political philosophy, Gramsci, ideology and hegemony. The consolation prize for the pain that this class puts me through is twofold: 1. Making it through and having a new found respect for anyone who can do philosophy (I do believe that it is an art in which I am inept)… 2. Having a new vocabulary to take about social issues (ideology, hegemony). I did find a new good way of explaining this class and my struggles - I decided that to me philosophy is like trying to find Waldo when you’re colorblind.

On the rest of my days of week I read, write and attempted to take breaks whenever I can… in summary being in school is not as easy as I remembered it.

The highlight of my time is spent on my thesis with my very helpful thesis advisor. This is good since it take up the entirety of my time come the fall. My topic: The NGO response to child soldiers in Subsaharan Africa. I am excited to see how much of it I can get done in the fall months before I come back home in six months!!!