Welcome back to the chronicles of SpaceDogs! Semester 5 has begun and I feel like it’s going to be a doozy of a semester. Actually, these last few semesters will most likely be hectic as I am hoping to finish my undergrad by the end of of next year (2025), so I can do my masters in 2026 and swiftly move on to my PhD. Yes, I have my near future somewhat planned out.

I am taking four courses this semester: 3 History and 1 Political Science. I only had one class today, while the other three are tomorrow. Today I had my Research History class; tomorrow will be Early Europe, Modern Europe, and Canadian Policy. So let’s just move on to what happened today.

While I love the autumn weather and aesthetic (it’s my favourite season, I can wear my nice clothes without overheating although right now it still feels like summer) I absolutely despise fall term, why? Because it is the busiest one of the year, winter is also busy but not too bad, spring/summer are chill. So many damn people walking around, it’s like a stampede wherever you turn, it’s an absolute nightmare. I also go to a small university but it’s still packed. Anyway, class time. We, unfortunately, began class with icebreakers just like last time I had a class with this professor. For those who don’t know the professor for this Historiography class is the same professor who taught the Genocide class from semester 3.

The icebreakers went like this: give your name, why you like history (since this class is a history major requirement), and what you did over the summer. When he got to me he actually called me out by my name (I’m a bit surprised that he recognized me). He literally went “alright SpaceDogs, can I call on you directly?” And I couldn’t help rolling my eyes because I know he knows I absolutely hate icebreakers. So I gave my name, said ”I like history for a lot of stuff,” and ended it with “I did a few interesting things over the summer.” I was hoping he wouldn’t push me on it since he did with the student before me, if they weren’t specific enough he’d push for more info. When I finished he laughed and told the class that for our essays he will scrutinize the use of words like “stuff, interesting, and fascinating,” he then said he’d let me go this time and continued with the rest of the students. I was a little embarrassed by this because I do know how to use other words and I don’t think I’ve ever used “stuff, interesting, and fascinating” in my essays because I know I have to be specific. Whatever, we both know I hate icebreakers so I guess thats the context for that interaction. I was very very annoyed throughout the whole ordeal, I don’t want to be a dick to my professor, despite our differences (that he’s probably not even aware of, to be far), I just hate this.

While my reactions were a bit overblown I will give a little more context as to why i acted this way: before class I skimmed the syllabus and I saw that there is a group presentation we have to do, as in I have to partner up with a fellow student and do a presentation together. This fact, plus the icebreaker, made me die inside and I felt miserable. I was already on edge because I had another class with this professor, but now I have the impending doom of a group presentation weighing on my shoulders alongside a damn icebreaker. Wow. I am also aware that it is very silly and contradictory for me to be a Communist and an anxious introvert.

This whole class was just the icebreaker, his own introduction, and then going over the syllabus. This class is less about “cool stories” and more how history became a profession and the shift in how history is studied/written. It’s a class about Historiography and, again, is required for the major. My professor goes on to say that this is a “removed of a class” and it is quite difficult because of how focused it is on analysis. This course is also a rite of passage for history majors.

Theres nothing else much to say as this class was just basic first day stuff. While it is going to be mostly analysis, there are historical events that will be covered. From what is on the syllabus we will cover different forms of history and how it evolved, for example we will learn about the Annales and Mentalités, emergence of social history (will cover Marxism), cultural history, gender and sexuality, etc. This is also the first class that requires a school exclusive workbook which means I have to actually buy something for class rather than finding them online. When I went to the bookstore to go and buy said workbook, there was a giant line outside, so I just needed up buying it online and will pick it up in store hence available because my ass was not going to stand in line for that long, I just wanted to go home.

That was my first day, nothing super noteworthy so I apologize to those who read this hoping it was going to be interesting but really it was just me whining. I honestly don’t know what to expect from this class, it’s probably going to be my most anxiety inducing one considering I am being forced to do a presentation with another human being. I already struggle with this in general but to have to interact with another person, I don’t know… it makes me scared as hell. I might see him in office hours to talk about that project a bit more and maybe he can give me something. Then again, I may have made him hate me due to my attitude. Who knows.

Day 2 will most likely be more introductions and syllabus reading but it should be longer and maybe more interesting considering it will be three courses in a day rather than one.

Note to self: pick a better alias than “SpaceDogs” to use in these posts because it sounds awkward as hell in dialogue.