I, Curtis

I began my adventure into graduate-level coursework with a simple plan: take a graduate certificate in cognitive science, complete a Master’s degree in Clinical/Community Psychology, and then get my Ph.D. in Clinical Health Psychology.

Every bit of this plan has been skewed. Initially I was rejected by the cognitive science program because I did not have a clear plan of what I wanted to accomplish with it, then I decided that the Clinical/Community Psych program was basically for stiff over-achievers, which also nullified the Clinical Health Psych Ph.D. idea for me.

What has now occurred is I was admitted to Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies (WGST) instead of Cognitive Science (GCOG), then I was admitted to Cognitive Science as well. Now I am in both programs and intend to complete both of them. The hole this leaves open in my plan is that I no longer have a narrow focus. I was originally going to primarily focus on the human cognition side of cognitive science, as I had long ago left computer science behind, and then move on to a mental health field. Now, the WGST program has exposed me to so much social science and social issues material that I don’t want to work on Cog Sci from the perspective of a humanities program, I want to approach it from the computer science side a bit, although from more of an information systems perspective than true computer science. Also, WGST has renewed my interest in social sciences, but not necessarily from the perspective of psychology (which tends to be an overly general field of science). After all of these changes, what Master’s program do I need to be in? Where do I fit?

I have been asking myself that question for the last several weeks as admissions deadlines have become closer. I have applied to counseling and sociology, and I know I could be happy in either of those fields, but I worry about my chances of being admitted as well as my level of fit with the programs. For counseling I will know by the end of the month if I have been rejected (but I won’t know until March or April if I have been accepted). For sociology, I guess it is up to Dr. Moller to decide when I will know my fate. As for my other concerns, I have been looking into several different programs, trying to determine where I fit in and what will work best for me.

• Master of Arts in Counseling – this program is the first that came to mind after giving up on C/C Psych. It encompasses everything that I like about psychology, but leaves out some of the more morally concerning aspects (such as dependency on diagnostic labels). My fear with this program is that it is practicum based, not thesis based. I can complete a thesis if I like, but the program is not designed for that outcome. I fear I will have to give up my research interests for a purely instructional education style. Also, there are rules for the program requiring “professional dress”. I think this is an interesting thing coming from a counseling program. I am all for dressing cleanly and presenting a positive image, but I do believe that ultimately in a graduate program, we are just students and should not be subjected to that type of requirement.  The final concern I have is that the program is 60 credit hours. That is a lot of hours for a Masters program. Most are from 30-45 hours. In the time it would take me to complete the MA in Counseling I could complete 2 other programs, or a single MA and have a strong start on a Ph.D. program.
• Master of Arts in Sociology – this program became option #2 after I started getting into gender studies and things of that sort with the WGST program. It will allow me to engage in thesis research and follow topics of personal interest in the field of sociology. I feel like I am a good fit for the program, but the low number of seats available makes me question my chances of being admitted. Still, I desperately want in to this program. It seems like the best place for me with the highest chance of me completing with my personality intact.
• Master of Science in Information Technology – this program is sort of funny for me. I ran from this department (Software and Information Systems) in 2007 and didn’t look back. I did not enjoy my initial time in the department, but this program grabs my eye. It is interesting and covers primarily topics that excite me, such as Human Computer Interaction and Software Design. The program is very flexible, with the option of completing a concentration or a thesis. It is conceivable that I could complete this program with a concentration of cognitive science (using the thesis option) and build upon the graduate certificate.
• Master of Arts in Liberal Studies – this program is and has been defined for a long time as my backup plan. If all else falls through, this is where I can put my effort. This program is open-ended. I can design my program however I want and fill it with whatever courses I want. The program is completed with a thesis or a project, so that works out, but I’m not entirely sure where it fits in my overall plans. One thing I have considered with this program is applying to it even if I do get accepted to another program, having it as a place to put my special interests. If I am admitted to sociology or counseling it is a place to put an extension of my work in cognitive science, if I am admitted to Information Technology it is a place to put an extension of my work in gender studies.

There is a sense of urgency for being admitted to a program. Most programs admit only once per year, in Fall, and there is a concern regarding the number of hours I accumulate. I am only allowed to transfer 6 hours into any program that I am admitted to, even though it is at the same institution. The good news is that if I am admitted into 2 programs, I can transfer 6 hours into each program, but at 9 hours per semester, that doesn’t go very far. I am prepared to accept that each of my certificates will hold 6 hours that do not get allocated to any other program, so that’s 12 hours I don’t have to account for, but by the time I have 24 graduate hours (12 + 6 for each MA)  I need to have a clue what I am doing as far as a Master’s program. Another concern, although more minor, is that I only have 6 years from the first credit earned toward a program to complete the program. As I have already completed hours toward sociology, electives for counseling and have started on hours toward the IT degree the clock is already running on my hours. Additionally, any hours that I wish to transfer to a doctoral program must be used within 8 years of being earned, but that is a lesser concern because they will likely be upper level hours completed in a master’s program.

Posted from Bessemer City, North Carolina, United States.

I am two weeks into my “theoretical approaches to sexuality” course, and I find myself troubled by the base layer of theory being used in the course. Critical Theory is central to the course’s material. To me, Critical Theory is a little too much like metaphysics for the social sciences. I accept the basic premise that there can be no such thing as academic Truth and that there is only a culturally and temporality relevant perception of Truth. From what I understand of the history of the theory itself, it was created out of squabbling between academic departments over who is “right”. I find the fact that it required the creation of post-modern critical theory to allow interdisciplinary studies to come into existence to be absolutely disgusting. Perhaps I am just a bid jaded by the fact that I come from an academic background of philosophy, art, computer science, psychology and sociology. Art, computer science and the collective remainder do not interact or overlap in their areas of study, so perhaps I didn’t notice from that. As for philosophy, psychology and sociology, I find the disciplines to interact peacefully and not have many conflicts over teachings. There is the concern of “Social Psychology” and “Psychological Sociology” (sometimes “Social Behavior”), but that is merely a minor issue of what to focus on.

The key component of post-modern critical theory seems to be the rejection of a unitary theory of the whole. I am totally OK with that aspect, I think we (collective academic we) can all agree that there is no single theory that covers everything or that is acceptable to everyone. I also accept that any “truth” in academics is merely a consensus of enough heads in the subject area. My problems with critical theory begin with the fact that we loose valuable information as a society or culture as a result of abandoning those Truths of consensus. I believe that throwing out all existing theories as a result of their non-compliance with the anti-bias rules of postmodernism is irresponsible. Our current “Knowledge” and understanding has been created from the movements that began during the Enlightenment. While it has been a long time since the beginning of the age of reason, those values are still in use and are still important to our understanding of the world around us. Abandoning those ideas pre-maturely seems like something that could throw society into another dark age. One of the key questions I have seen in postmodernist writings is “how do we write about the world now?”. There have been plenty of writings on the topic, but it is mostly critical theory being used to analyze itself, essentially getting us nowhere. I do believe that human modes of inquiry must evolve, but I do not feel that we have evolved enough academically or even reasonably to begin to move toward the type of intellectual inquiry that critical theory asks us to use.

Still, the class is being taught using that method of inquiry and I must go along with it. I shall keep an open mind as I always do in an academic environment. I just feel that time could be better spent exploring the depths of sexuality and not just establishing this new field of inquiry. As pointed out by Dr. Jane Flax, there are numerous modes of inquiry already in existence that can be used to compliment each other to develop a tangible understanding of sexuality and gender issues.

I had gotten very used to having the option of renting textbooks at Fayetteville. It was a very nice system. I pay a flat fee every semester for my texts and they are shipped to me. Now that I am fully back at UNC-Charlotte I am reminded of the horrors of buying textbooks. There seem like so many options and there are so many logistics to consider when buying textbooks.

My original goal for the semester was to buy only digital books, from either the Kindle store, or from CourseSmart. At least three of the required texts for my courses are not available in either format. Luckily, I will likely only keep either CSLG or RSCH 6101, but not both, so that does make it a little easier, but still, that’s 2 physical books to keep up with in addition to my laptop and other materials that I need in my bag (such as notebooks, since most of my classes are physical). On the positive side, there is a course that doesn’t have any textbooks and another course for which I have the option of selecting my own textbooks. Also on a positive note, my textbooks for all courses requiring them will still be less than $275, which is far less than the $400 I became accustomed to spending when I was an undergraduate at UNC-Charlotte.