Dec. 15
Today was our last SAPE faculty meeting of the semester. There was a big argument about requirements for the MA students: research and methods, advising for the thesis, language requirements, etc. Again I’m amazed that they have not figured this out before, but Scott in political science said that their department is having the same problems. We agree it is probably growing pains not unlike UHCL: when small, policies can be informal since there is a high degree of unity among the small number of faculty. As you get larger, you need to formalize (Weberian bureaucratization!!), and this is the problem SAPE is facing.
Dec. 16
I met Amani at a Coffee Bean and Tea Leave café tonight next to the Nile Mall, and did a terrible job of remembering my vocabulary.