Um...I'm surviving. I'm really enjoying graduate school so far, even though I can't actually physically keep up with the reading, try as I may. The people I've met have all been great. Really great.
I'm realizing now how little I actually know about the field I'm entering. For one, I haven't ever written a 'normal' history paper. Almost anything I ever wrote was a sort close reading of a text in a historical context, or a comparison of two texts on an issue. Also, I don't remember much of the details of US history...so that is interesting in class discussion. I'm trying not to feel like the stupid kid in class. It's not really working. Oh well.
The only thing I seem to do moderately well is think about historical theory. Theory is like philosophy, but for historians. I like philosophy, and thanks to my interest in existentialism and my modern philosophy survery courses, I generally know about a good number of the people mentioned in these theory classes. Except Foucault. I have a shocking lack of Foucault (who isn't exactly a philosopher anyway). Oh and Derrida.
I kind of miss philosophy classes, and I actually began reading Kierkegaard again yesterday for old time's sake. He's a dear.
I turned 24 on Wednesday with little fanfare. I had class in the evening that day. Thursday my parents came to town, and they took me out for Thai food along with Ben and Lucy. Yesterday my parents treated me to one day of ACL. It was really fun! Today I'm catching up on reading and preparing my apartment for a little birthday get-together. Woo!
Hope all of you are well!
5 comments:
To Rachel,
If you can spout theory, you're 1,000 miles ahead of everyone. I just read Foucault in class the other day for the first time (who knew it was "Foo-caux" and not "Faux-calt"?). Have yet to read Marx, Heidegger, or any of the others, whose names I'm too intimidated to try to spell or pronounce. No worries!
From,
Rachel
PS: Hi, I read your blog.
Hey, Rachel--
I dunno about 'spouting' theory, more just like nod along and convincingly mutter words like 'Kantian' and 'Hegelian'. I wouldn't stress about Heidegger; he prizes Being over Becoming or something like that. ha.
Rachel.
PS WHOA! Someone reads my blog! :)
who did you see?!
who did you see?!
who did you see?!
Don't worry. In my humble opinion, you're missing nothing (and gaining heavily) from never having properly read either Derrida or Foucault. Both are largely unreadable and most (if not all) of what they write is, again in my opinion, either deeply silly or trivially true (in either case, it's things not worth saying).
The highlights of the day were definitely Spoon and the Killers. I also saw Crowded House and LCD Soundsystem. It was a fun day!
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