Michaelmas Week 1

Week 1 was the first week of classes. Lectures started, hall dinners started, and we matriculated (that will get its own post), played some poker, and tried to make sub-fusc "sexy." The photo above is some OIIers the afternoon of matriculation. More details after the jump.


Classes:
I take 4 classes, all of which are required: Social Research Methods, Social Statistics, Social Dynamics of the Internet, and Internet Technologies and Regulation. Each class meets 2 hours per week. We also have an optional 2-hour stats lab when the TA will answer questions about the homework, and every other week we have an extra Methods session led by a Dphil student. Sometimes the Social Dynamics teacher will hold an extra section for more discussion.

Topics of the Week: approaching social science research // social statistics packages (we'll be learning to use Stata), Internet in everyday life // domestication and globalization // history and development of the Internet

On Thursday, I had my first meeting with my thesis advisor.

Lectures:
Monday: I attended a lecture at Nuffield College called Social Capital and Connectivity on Facebook.
Tuesday: Christ Church press lecture by Mark Thompson, director general of the BBC. He spoke about investigative journalism.

Social:
Monday: I went to a free trial zumba class held by the Dancesport club. It was packed. I spent most of it making sure I didn't topple over somebody.

Wednesday: My junior mentor (a returning student) group from St. Cross went out to dinner at an excellent Lebanese restaurant in Jericho, a neighborhood in Oxford.

Friday: My classmate Janine hosted a poker night at her house.

I forgot how to play since last time I played during Mike's Copley poker nights last fall. After getting some help, I did pretty well on my own.

Saturday: We picked up some dinner at the grocery store and then brought it with us to have while we queued up around 7:15 (the bop started at 9, but is incredibly popular and requires waiting for) outside Linacre College for the "sexy sub-fusc" bop. Sub-fusc is the black and white outfit we have to wear for matriculation, which was earlier in the day.

The boys seemed to be way more into the theme of the bop than the girls. One guy showed up in a candy thong. Apparently he was told to go home and put some underwear on, so he came back with a thong underneath it.

Hall:
STX Week 1 hall was Bollywood Hall. Hall dinner is always followed by tea/coffee in the common room. Dress code is academic gown over regular daily clothes.
Appetizer: Spiced Dhal Soup
Entree: Chicken Biryani with Spiced Vegetables and Poppadoms (veg option was Pumpkin Aloo Tarkari)
Dessert: Chilli Kulfi (it was basically like spiced ice cream)