In a couple of minutes, Jude will defend his Masters thesis. Short of webcasting it (he forbade me to bring a camera...), giving a running commentary is as close as I can get to to documenting this event. The turnout is pretty good. He's the first Masters student at his school to choose the thesis option so everyone has turned up to watch. I had to fight tooth and nail to get him to let me come. And he let me only if I agree to sit in the corner away from his line of vision because I'll make him nervous. I'm hiding behind a TV. The defense is actually being broadcast so that people in the North Campus can watch it as well. So basically, this is a BIG DEAL, despite what my husband chooses to believe.
HIs advisor has just given the preliminary introduction- he just called this event "historic"- my husband is historic!! :) I can just feel his nervousness radiating, but he's hiding it well. He's wearing his Paul Frank "Everything's Cool" tie in a bid to diffuse the anxiety that has been been nothing but building up these past two weeks. I think there hasn't been a night that he's had more than 4 hours of sleep.
Everyone's giving him their rapt attention- good sign. Either that or the cookies we're serving must be real tasty. He's talking about blogs right now. His whole argument is about how blogs enable learning to take place in a collaborative way where other forms of learning technology have only been interactive. Basically, his thesis "proposes that the use of group authored narratives (i.e. Collaborative Narratives) in a Blogosphere represents a reconceptualization of how knowledge is created, shared, recreated and disseminated."
Someone just asked him a tough question about what narratives are and I think he answered it beautifully. And with minimal hesitation too. His definition of narrative is broad- any kind of ordering of information can be considered a narrative and the professor just asked then why define narratives if it's eveything and anything which we verbalize and articulate. My wonderful husband came back with a smooth response; that narratives are actually very specific articulations. They are differentiated from mere logs: "The king died. The queen died." That's just a log of information. "The king died and then the queen died." That's a narrative. It involves sequencing and ordering. It suggests a relationship and is an attempt to make sense of what was otherwise just information.
People are laughing. Another good sign. I think if these defense things are taken less seriously and more in the spirit of academics sharing their research, everyone would enjoy themselves more. I see our friends nodding appreciatively. I love them. And Jude's trying so hard to not look in my direction. And not to smile. Too cute...
That professor is asking him a question again- what's with that guy? Jude's doing great though. Not letting that faze him. I think he's drama training is doing him good in terms of speaking in public. I think having taught helps too.
More nodding. Good job Jude. I think it's always important when speaking to large groups to get some kind of affirmation, any indication that people aren't actually thinking about how much more they would rather be outside with an ice-cream cone than here with a roomful of stuffy professors (ok, maybe not so stuffy, but you know what I mean about the ice-ceam cone...)
More questions, and more good answers from Jude. He's prepared man... And here I was worried for him the whole of today. He was convinced he was going to have to flubber his way through but he's doing good do far. I'm really proud of him. It hasn't been an easy process and I think he's risen to the challenge superbly. The cognitive dissonance that we've both encountered here has actually been great for our intellectual development and I think this is one of the biggest reasons why being in a good university like U-M is such an awesome experience. You're really pushed to be bigger, better and brighter than you've ever thought you could be.
He's explaining (ok, trying to explain) the regression analysis that I helped him with and admitting the fact that I had a part to do with it. Everyone just turned around to look at me. Great, so much for being unobtrusive. Thanks Jude. Good job going through the regression results though. Yes, you got those variables right. No matter, that's what our summer is going to be. He's doing a couple of classes on statistics in the social sciences, and I have a course in Hierarchical Linear Modelling (I know, I know, why do I do this to myself??...)
That professor is at it AGAIN! Dude, get a grip! Stop giving my husband a hard time! Apparently he's gay and has made passes at some of his male students. There goes any semblance of professional protocol... Ooh, cool, another professor just jumped in and defended Jude's point. Thanks Mick. This professor has the same academic background as Jude: both of them have had experiences with experimental theatre, music, and both switched interests totally to look at cognition and technology. He's cool. A little odd and socially awkward (a trait he DOES NOT share with Jude thankfully), but cool nonetheless I guess.
Ok last leg- he's going through the future implications of this research and potential applications. Looking good. Final thanks now. Hey! My name is on the PowerPoint! He just acknowledged me. I think I'm going to cry...
He's fielding the questions. Wow, many hands. Please, be nice guys. I promise I'll make good food when you next come over... "What do you mean by scaffolding?' C'mon Jude, you know this. Lev Vygotsky. Give them the whole Zone of Proximal Development spiel. Interesting use of rubber band analogy, that you have to be stretched in order to learn optimally, but that this stretching has to take place with constructive support.
HIs advisor is giving the closing statements now. He just commended Jude on his intellectual curiosity and drive. That's nice :) Ok, it's over! Three rounds of applause- woah! :) I think it was well-received on the whole. We're all going to Grizzly Peak for dinner and drinks to celebrate. Jude is now officially a "Master of Information"!
My husband rocks! :) This has been a lot of hard thinking and hard work, and it's paid off. Now, on to the PhD. Four more years, and I'm be blogging about his dissertation defense. I can't wait.
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