Trivial Matters

I had my Middle East History class earlier today. In each class we discuss two published research papers that have to be read prior to coming to class. The first half of the 4-hour class starts with a single-question essay quiz on the first paper, and the second paper’s quiz is done after the break.

I had some trouble earlier this week accessing the second paper. It was not in the database that the instructor said it would be, so I posted to the class message board to see if anyone else had it. When I got no responses after a day, I did some digging and found a copy on the journal’s website. Being the nice guy that I am, I posted the link on the message board, hoping to help some people out.

As it turns out, some of them waited until the last minute to read the dammed thing and came up short. (And, of course, that’s when the message board went down.) So when I got to class today, I was immediate asked if I had been able to find the paper, to which I replied that they should not have waited till the last moment to, at the very least, download it.

Anyway… It turns out that the instructor was using the database (JSTOR) from the other college he teaches at, and apparently they have more papers on file (or something, we’re not really sure yet). Still, it was an interesting way to start the class.

When we got to discussing the first paper, which everyone had, even if they, like me, didn’t understand much of it, things started clicking in my head. Once I deciphered all of the 20-dollar words, and made the right connections, I realized that I was correct in my assumption that the author did not prove his thesis, even though it was for the wrong reasons. When I started to press the matter with the instructor, he challenged me to write my own paper to illustrate the theory that I had formed in the process.

His challenge was not rhetorical, either. It is not like he was trying to shut me up, or put me down. He actually thought I had a valid case that just needs to be fleshed out. I decided to take him up on the offer to help, but not until after the term is over. My guess is that I’m going to be taking a bunch of math and science classes when I get to OSU and continuing this branch of study would be a welcomed distraction.

Plus, it would be nice to have something I’ve written published in print, with my name on it (if it ever gets that far).

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