Yesterday was the last day of my two grad classes for Spring I: Methods for Communication Research and Topics in Mass Communication (the study of the communication of social movements). I have to admit that at first I was a little anxious as to whether or not I was going to enjoy studying the science of communication (as I’m more of a ‘hands on’ learner), however now I can firmly say that I absolutely love it. I love the fact that the first few classes are spent studying theories and reading research papers, and then the rest of the classes are spent applying the theory. We can choose to apply the theory to any aspect, for example, in my Social Movements class, I applied the theory of the rejuvenation of the public sphere to the Green Movement. It was actually quite interesting because the theory I chose was actually the theory that my professor of the class, Dr. Fabj had devised in a published research paper! And the other theory I applied was Thomas Goodnight’s theory of the three spheres (and Thomas Goodnight was Dr. Fabj’s professor in college!).

Dr. Fabj follows a tradition that Thomas Goodnight used to follow in his classes. On the last day of class, he would have all the students over to his house. All the students would bring a different meal or food, they would sit around the fire, and give a casual oral presentation of their research paper. So, yesterday was the last day of class, and all 13 of us went to Dr. Fabj’s home. Laura and I made kebabs, which we barbecued. Other students made things like German potato salad, caramel fruit dips, pasta, cakes, and even an exotic array of pastries! It was so interesting to hear which theories the students applied, and also to learn something about different movements, such as how they started etc. The evening, although very long, was an absolute success! I really really enjoyed myself. We started by sitting around the fire pit outside… but after about 20 minutes, hypothermia began to set in and we moved indoors. It was such a wonderful way to end the class, and I truly hope Dr. Fabj does that in all her Grad classes… I can’t wait till the next one!