Monthly Archives: August 2010

The Day Before…

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Today, I have been getting everything ready for tomorrow.  You know, the usual back to school things.  Packing the backpack with notebooks, pens, pencils, charging the iPad and iPhone, breaking out the new shoes, etc.  I feel ready and I am looking forward to starting school…however, there are a few things I need to update…

Friday at 3:30 I attended orientation for the History Department.  This was a great opportunity to meet the other students in the program.  Several professors were there as well.  All in all, there was not a lot of new information presented.  Again, the fact that as grad students we are considered faculty by the university and by the professors of the department was stressed.  This was solidified when I was given a key to my office and was given a key to the classroom that I will TA.  Having a key somehow makes everything legitimate!

Jackson Hall – The Department of History

Anyway, during the meeting we were given general information, much of which I have heard many times.  Graduate courses are different from undergraduate courses and there will be more work required.  What will be difficult to get used to is having courses in the evening and only once per week!  That means more information in a class meeting, but more time outside of class to do course work and research.  The professors also explained the expectations for TAs, which I heard on Monday.

The most important piece of information I received during the hour meeting was the course outline for the Public History program.  Here is the plan I will follow:

-FALL 2010 – HIST 671 (Research Methods), HIST 653 (Patterns of World History), HIST 592 (American Material Culture)

-SPRING 2011 – HIST 673 (Advance Research Methods), HIST 696 (Intro to Public History), Elective

-FALL 2011 – HIST 700 (Thesis), HIST 640 (Internship), Non-US Elective

-SPRING 2012 – HIST 700 (Thesis), Elective, Elective

Of the 12 courses I am required to earn my M.A., I only get to choose 4!!  I have looked at the graduate catalog and really want to take the four other Public History courses they offer as long as they are available!

On a surprising note (or perhaps not), I have heard the two most unpopular words at MSSU: hiring freeze.  JMU also has a hiring freeze in effect and there have been deep cuts in the budget.  Despite this, we were assured that if we needed money for research or for conferences, they would get some, maybe not 100%, but some money together to help with expenses.  The History Department is one of the largest department on campus (YES, I did type that correctly!!) and has access to funds.  I plan to take advantage of this because the documents I need for some research are in New York City and Washington D.C., but I will keep everyone updated on that!

As I said, tomorrow is the first day of courses.  I have the course I am TA for at 12:20 PM and HIST 671 at 6:30 PM.  Monday, however, is when I have office hours from 9 – 10 AM and will probably get to campus about 8:30 to avoid the traffic.  I know where I WANT to park, but that does not guarantee anything!!   The parking sticker I paid for is jokingly called a “Hunting Permit” by the students.  Meaning you are allowed to look for a parking spot, but not guaranteed one!  The good news, however, JMU recently purchased the old Rockingham Memorial Hospital campus which has two parking decks and several parking lots (with 700 parking spots) and four major buildings.  This area has been renamed North Campus and has added about 50 acres to campus.  I have parked in one of the new parking decks my last two times on campus and it is very close to the quad, which will make it very popular!

I will update next weekend with stories from my first week as a grad student. Until then…

-Eric

World History Since 1500 & Me

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Most graduate students have a Graduate Assistantship (GA) (working in an office, computer lab, Chemistry lab, ect.) or a Teaching Assistantship (TA).  Some TAs (like myself) have little control over the class and are simply assisting the professor while others have their own section of a course to instruct.  I should have that opportunity in the future, but this semester is simply a chance to gain experience.

I have met with Dr. Chris Davis three times to discuss the course in which I will be assisting and I got a copy of the syllabus yesterday.  One of the most surprising things I have learned is that classes at JMU only run fourteen weeks plus a finals week.  Therefore, there is little time to waste.

The course in which I am TA is GHIST 102 World History Since 1500.  It meets MWF from 12:20 – 1:10 PM.  There are 110 students in the course and my primary duty will be to police the class from the back of the room.  In addition, the students will 12 quizzes that I will grade (that is 12 X 110!).  Students will also be assigned three papers (2-4 pages) and two exams (mid-term and final).  Students will be graded on their attendance and participation in the six discussions spread throughout the semester.  Dr. Davis has assured me that I will get to grade some papers and exams based on his guidelines.  This will be great experience for when I teach my own section of a history course and into the future.  Most of my tasks with the course will be grading, but I was given the option to give a lecture of my choice.  I jumped at the opportunity!  After looking over the outline of the course, I have decided to lecture over “Culture and Society in the Cold War Era.”  I feel comfortable teaching this topic because of the Cold War course I took at MSSU.  I will pull out the books and my notes from that course to improve the quality of my lecture.  I may even contact Dr. Wagner for a refresher on the movie clips he used in class!  I will be in front of 110 students discussing the culture of the Cold War on November 10.

One requirement for TAs is having one office hour per week for student access, but I suspect most students will contact Dr. Davis. Most likely students will only contact me if they have questions with the content of the readings.  The students have been assigned five books (I will read them as well, and was given free copies by the department).  The books assigned for the course include (I will talk about all my books in greater detail as the semester progresses):

-Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources: Volume 2, Death of the King’s Horseman, Robinson Crusoe, A Discourse by Three Drunkards on Government, The Complete Persepolis

Well, now you have the complete picture of my semester.  Coming up…  I have History Orientation on Friday and I will write about that this weekend, and I will update again after my first week of courses (next weekend).  Until then…

-Eric

Orientation Day

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Yesterday (Monday, August 23) I got my first taste of grad school and what it is going to be like being a Teaching Assistant (TA).  I attended the Grad School Orientation which was held in the Health and Human Services building on East Campus (east side of I-81).    After finding the auditorium (HHS is actually three buildings in one!), I listed for three hours about the policies of the grad school ranging from the Honor Code to Financial Aid.  Assistantships were discussed, but we primarily listened to the Dean of the Grad School tell stories from his life!  The most useful part of the orientation came in the final 45 minutes when a panel of ten second year graduate students discussed life in grad school.  It make me realize just how different grad school will be.  Students have on campus jobs and, in most cases, are considered colleagues by the faculty.  This is what separates undergrads from grad students.  The group of students talked about everything from what to expect as a TA to the best places to get a beer in Harrisonburg.  It was a very open conversation.  That being said, I was surprised by the low turnout.  JMU has approximately 1,800 grad students and I would assume about half are new while the other half are finishing up.  There should have been 900 students at orientation, but in reality there were less than 100. In all honesty, I could have found everything that was discussed online, but the last 45 minutes were the most important.

After chowing down on a lunch provided by JMU, TAs were allowed to attend several workshops designed to help with various topics.  I attended the three (50 minutes each) that I thought would be most helpful.  First, I attended “‘There are so many of you’: Effective Teaching Strategies for Large Classes.”  As many of you know, the class I am TA for a World History course with 110 students.  The workshop offered various solutions and methods to make such a large class feel smaller.  The professor who instructed the workshop suggested small group activities to breakup the monotony of lectures.  I gained several great ideas for this workshop and have discussed a few with my TA professor.  The second workshop I attended was “Grading Using Rubrics.”  This course was strait forward and let us know that JMU has a “standard” rubric that can be used and/or modified for our courses.  Rubrics simply ensure that every essay is graded equally.  It also informs students as to what the professor is expecting.  Finally, I attended “How can JMU Libraries Make your Life Easier?”  I only attended this because I missed the tour of the Library they were going to give at 1 PM because of these workshops.  I did learn how to use the online search for books, articles, etc. and also a new service called RefWorks.  This enables users to export listings for books and articles from JMU’s catalog right to the program.  You can organize these resources by topic or paper and then have the program build a Bibliography for you.  I have played with it and it works great with Turabian and will save A LOT of time!

After I left JMU, I picked up my new iPhone 4, but that is for another post!!!  On Friday I will attend Orientation for the History Department and will write about that this weekend.  I also intend to write in more detail about the course for which I will be TA.  I met with Dr. Davis today and we discussed the syllabus and know what to expect!

-Eric

A History of Harrisonburg

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It is the believed the area what is now Harrisonburg was first explored by the English in 1716.  The town was originally called Rocktown until it was renamed for Thomas Harrison who in 1779 deeded two and a half acres for the construction of a courthouse.  In 1780, a deeded an additional 50 acres which makes up the Historic Downtown District of Harrisonburg today.  This historic downtown is in the process of revitalization (not unlike that of Neosho, Carthage, and Joplin).  Harrisonburg was incorporated as an independent city in 1916.  During the American Civil War, there were battles fought near Harrisonburg in 1862 and 1864.  When the slaves were freed after the Civil War, many banded together to form a city near Harrisonburg called Newtown.  This area was annexed by Harrisonburg in 1892 and was the primary residence for the city’s African American population during segregation.

Sign in Historic Downtown Harrisonburg

Harrisonburg is the county seat for Rockingham County.  The population of Harrisonburg in 2000 was 40,000 and it is believed to be 45,000 now.  Harrisonburg is home to three higher education institutions.  JMU (of course), Eastern Mennonite University (a private institution) and Blue Ridge Community College (a branch campus).  In addition, Harrisonburg’s public school district serves approximately 4,400 students.

As my friends in Missouri know, Newton and Jasper counties are a center of Methamphetamine.  Well, Harrsionburg is considered by many to be the Meth capitol of the East Coast.  Therefore, I will not be surprised when I hear about Meth labs on the evening news!

Despite the drugs, Harrisonburg is a clean town and has a wide variety of stores.  This is due to the high concentration of students.  I look forward to exploring the history of Harrisonburg, the Shenandoah Valley and the surrounding area.  Montpelier (James Madison’s home) and Monticello (Thomas Jefferson’s Home) are about an hour from Harrisonburg and I plan to make a trip to each very soon!

I will update my blog next weekend!  This week I have a busy schedule.  Monday I have Graduate School Orientation as well as Orientation for TAs.  (Monday is also the day I get my iPhone 4!!!)  Tuesday, I will meet again with Dr. Chris Davis (the professor for whom I am TA) and discuss the course and I should get a copy of the syllabus.  Finally, on Friday I have Orientation for the Department of History.  It is going to be a busy week!

-Eric

JMU: A History

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As a historian, I cannot go anywhere without knowing the history of the area and James Madison University is no different.  I recent read the history of JMU and thought I would share what I learned!  JMU is a public university that was founded in 1908.  JMU began as The State Normal and Industrial School for Women which was changed in 1924 to State Teachers College.  The name stuck until 1938 when it was named Madison College in honor of James Madison.  When Madison College achieved University level in 1976, the name was changed to James Madison University.

The quad (where Jackson Hall is located) makes up the original buildings on campus.  These buildings are constructed of Virginia Blue Stone which is native to the Shenandoah Valley.  There have been many structures added to the campus and today there are 102 major structures on campus.  This does not count the recent purchase of Rockingham County Hospital.  This adds 700 parking spaces and several buildings to campus.  The final takeover of the former hospital property will not take place until January 1, 2011.  On the subject of parking – JMU has several parking lots and four parking decks with five levels each.  Commuter students have parking reserved for them in each parking deck and there are several commuter student lots around campus.

JMU in 1937

JMU has a very unique campus.  The views of the Shenandoah are breathtaking, but there are also a few other interesting features.  The one thing that is hard to miss is I-81.  It divides campus in half!  It makes getting across campus difficult because there are few places to cross the interstate (there are only two crossing points, a bridge and a tunnel).  There is also a major railroad line that goes through campus as well.  It is bizarre seeing railroad crossings on sidewalks!  Another major site on campus is Newman Lake.  The lake is man-made, but it adds a level of class to the campus!

JMU has a reputation for sports!  They have teams for football, basketball, soccer, women’s swimming, diving, women’s volleyball, baseball, women’s lacrosse, field hockey, golf, cross country, track and field, and softball.  The mascot is Duke, the Bulldog and he is dressed in royal purple.  Personally, I am looking forward to JMU football games, although the stadium is currently under construction to add a level of suites!  Speaking of reputation, JMU has a reputation as a party school.  With so many students living off campus, there are complexes in town that are known for their parties.  Last semester, a riot broke out during the annual Springfling, police and students clashed.  A similar instance occurred in 2000.  The party flavor is fueled by the 2002 Party School Rankings by Playboy which listed JMU.

Duke Dog

JMU also has been ranked positively, however.  JMU has been ranked #1 in the region (South) for the past 17 years by US News & World Reports.  JMU is also listed 3rd overall (these are the 2011 rankings).  In addition, Forbes has ranked JMU 22nd in the nation among public institutions.  So, it is possible to get an eduction at JMU between the parties!  There are have also been a number of “famous” alumni from JMU and for a list you can click HERE.

Today, JMU is set on 655 acres and is in the center of Harrisonburg, Virginia.  The school colors are purple and gold.  There are 2,600 faculty members and approximately 18,500 students (both graduate and undergraduate).  This means there is a 7/1 student-professor ratio!!  That is a number expected at a private institution, not a public school!

I am looking forward to the beginning of school next week and will keep the blog up to date to the best of my ability!

In my next blog – I plan to give the history of Harrisonburg itself!  Remember, the Civil War was largely fought in the Shenandoah Valley and Harrisonburg has a rich history!

-Eric

Photo log

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View of Ozark Mountains – Missouri
Mississippi River
Nashville, Tennessee
Tennessee Mountains
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol from the Owner’s Suite
Bristol – 30 Degree Banking
Hampton Inn – Lexington, Virginia
Hampton Inn – 1700s Cabin – used as Board Room
Shenandoah Valley
The View from my Window

-Eric

Life Reduced to Boxes

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The move was a success!!  It was a quite a week and here is the briefest of overview (click the links for more information):

My parents and I left Neosho Tuesday, August 10 and drove 535 miles to Lebanon, Tennessee.  We drove Highway 60 across Missouri.  The scenery was amazing.  It was easy to forget we were still in Missouri!   After lunch we crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois.  We were in Illinois for only two minutes before crossing the Mississippi River again into Kentucky.  We drove on two lane highways until we got to Paducah, Kentucky and it was interstate the rest of the way!  We got into Lebanon about 4:30 after driving about nine hours!  Keep in mind, ABF moved my books and furniture for me, so we only had two cars.  My Mustang got 28 MPG despite being loaded and running the air conditioner.

On the 11th we had a much shorter driver.  We drove from Lebanon to Lexington, Virginia (an hour south of Harrisonburg).  The 451 miles drive went by much quicker.  We stopped in Bristol, Tennessee for lunch and to refuel.  If Bristol sounds familiar, it is the home of Bristol Motor Speedway.  I knew we had a shorter drive and asked my mom to call the speedway to find out if tours of the track were available.  They offer tours daily!!  For a measly $5 per person, you get to tour the suites, view the track from the owner’s suite, and walk on the track!   It was quite an experience and I look forward to going to other tracks in the area!

The mountains in Virginia are amazing!  The Smokey Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are beautiful.  Pictures do not do them justice, but I will post some later today.  We got into Lexington about 5:00 and stayed in a Hampton Inn (click the link to see the Hotel) that is an Antebellum mansion.  The mansion is the lobby area and there are 5 rooms that are decorated in the Antebellum style.  Lexington is a historic town. It is the home of Washington and Lee University which is the burial site of General Robert E. Lee.   In addition, General Stonewall Jackson is buried in town.  We were unable to see these sites since we spent an hour at Bristol, but Lexington is only an hour away and I will go back!

On the morning of the 12th, I knew the next few days would be busy.  ABF was supposed to deliver the trailer to my apartment at 11 AM, but when I called they told me it would be around 9:30.  We got on the road at 8:30 because we had an hour to drive.  We entered the Shenandoah Valley and I got my first glimpse into the scenary that will be outside my window!  We got into Harrisonburg and to my surprise, the end of my road is torn out and we had to find an alternate route in.  Our cars got separated, which made for an interesting twenty minutes.  In the meantime, ABF delivered the trailer and I got the key from my landlord.  We were ready to move in!  It took us less then an hour to get everything inside the apartment and my parents helped get everything setup.  By the time my parents left Saturday morning, everything was setup except for my books.  The books did not take as long as I thought it would! Now, everything is setup and my apartment looks like….home.

I am glad my parents were here to help, or I would still be unpacking and putting things away!!

I will post some pictures from the trip later today, but looking back it was strange seeing my life reduced to boxes and I am glad everything is back to “normal.”

-Eric