Sean Bossinger’s Doings

In part explaining my infrequent posts, and more frequent absences from this forum, I am enrolled in two graduate seminars this term: Foreign Policy Analysis, and Space/Place/Identity. I am, in case you are wondering (or have forgotten), an International Relations grad student.

Part of the work in the FPA class is that we had four policy reports to write about a target country. My target country, Germany, was selected because it is the nation I am most familiar with.  These reports are difficult to write, by virtue of the fact that we have to be extremely detailed, yet contain our reports to two pages, maximum.  The report that I turned in three weeks ago was returned yesterday.  I received a grade of B+, and was quite pleased with myself, since I did the report in two hours.

Others in my class, however, were not happy. 

One student worked for DAYS on it, running the report past a couple of professors who are specialists in the topic about which we were writing (Game Theory and Strategy).  She also got a B+.  She has gotten a B+ on every report thus far.  B+ seems to be the overriding grade that most of the class has received.  The professor in the class has EXTREMELY specific requirements in order to nail an A.  Basically, to get an A, your work must be absolutely perfect according to the professor's criteria.  Unfortunately, he's not specific in the criteria he expects.  However, in the Foreign Policy business, part of the game is that you kinda need to do some guesswork as to what your client is expecting.

The class is interesting… if only for the times when a woman you only know through academic acquaintence comes up to wish you a happy Thanksgiving, and denounces the prof as a “fucking prick”.