First Day of School!

[elpollodiablo]

That's Miami University's other claim to fame--being named "Miami"

[Ignatius]

Also Roethlisberger

[elpollodiablo]

I heard on the radio today that he was at commencement on Sunday to get his BA in education

[Ignatius]

No one should be surprised by Roethlisberger going back to school. It only takes a few games to realize he's a determined guy. Whether it's a broken bone or a 300-pound defender trying to break one of his bones, few obstacles stop Roethlisberger once he sets his sights on something. This time, he was four courses short of graduation. He completed those credits over several years before finishing this spring.

Four courses in eight years. That's determination.

[mixed cats]

He should come to TCNJ and get a masters in getting punched in the face by me

[hannah]

The six-day extravaganza known as PhD qualifying exams begins in 1.5 weeks. I've been reading and taking notes like a maniac. Almost done, but I started to get carpal tunnel last night. Fuuuuuuuck.

Anyhow, I'll be so glad when this shit is over with and I can get down to dissertatin'

[elpollodiablo]

I wish you good luck needlessly, because I'm fully confident you could probably knock that shit out right now no problem. My own exam prep has been, shall we say, devil-may-care. I have 20 novels and maybe a dozen substantial critical & theoretical works yet to read and my exam date is set for Sept. 10. D:

[alex]

Good luck, hannah and pollo!

I'm starting to feel the occasional bout of nervousness about my PhD defense, which is going to happen four weeks from today (with a mock defense coming up two weeks from tomorrow). There really isn't anything that can go wrong, strictly speaking - I can make a fool of myself, of course, but I'll still be a fool with a doctorate - but still, so much pressure! so much attention! It is making me feel slightly antsy. Two things that are providing comfort:
- my thesis looks really fucking pretty, and it's reassuring to just flip through it occasionally and think "damn yeah!"
- my favourite receptionist at the university library promised he'd come

[fishjim]

Anyhow, I'll be so glad when this shit is over with and I can get down to dissertatin'

I think rap has moved far enough along that we can start reclaiming its early slang.

Forthwith, I propose dissin' for dissertatin'

[alex]

Two things that are providing comfort:
- my thesis looks really fucking pretty, and it's reassuring to just flip through it occasionally and think "damn yeah!"
- my favourite receptionist at the university library promised he'd come

and yet I forgot to mention the best source of comfort! edison will be acting as my best man/bodyguard hybrid.

[edison]

- my thesis looks really fucking pretty, and it's reassuring to just flip through it occasionally and think "damn yeah!"

This reminds me that I forgot to thank you for that! It really looks amazing, and getting it in the mail finally made me start to read it, and it's been a pretty great read so far (only two chapters in, so it might get terrible, who knows).

The best thing about all this is the bookmark with my name on it, of course. If not for you I would probably never have had a bookmark with my name on it ever in my life!

As for the thesis defence itself, you will do a great job, and if push comes to shove I can always punch a few people of course.

[silentsigh89]

Two things that are providing comfort:
- my thesis looks really fucking pretty, and it's reassuring to just flip through it occasionally and think "damn yeah!"
- my favourite receptionist at the university library promised he'd come

and yet I forgot to mention the best source of comfort! edison will be acting as my best man/bodyguard hybrid.

I had never heard of this before-- but that is fantastic!!!

[jess]

I've never heard of it either, although my advisor was on a committee for a defense in Norway and reported back that ones there (and I'm guessing ones in Europe in general) are both much more formal and much more celebratory than ours. Good luck to everyone with quals/defenses!

In my dept, we have the option to write a training grant or a substantial lit review or meta-analysis for the written part of quals and then defend that for the oral exam. I'm super grateful to whoever came up with that plan (used to be a standard exam set up). I'm about 95% sure I'm writing a training grant, so will be writing that, another grant and a ton of manuscripts this summer.

[edison]

I've never heard of it either, although my advisor was on a committee for a defense in Norway and reported back that ones there (and I'm guessing ones in Europe in general) are both much more formal and much more celebratory than ours.

Definitely not in France, at least! I'm really impressed by how classy and formal Alex's seems to be, too.

[elpollodiablo]

blargh want to be done with school forever

[Chet]

Haven't chosen my classes for Year 2 yet, and I'm like a kid in a sweet shop.

I have to have an even split of credits between English Lit and American Studies (60 credits each, 20 credits a class, three classes a semester). Also, there is one class that is mandatory and that runs 1st semester which is:

From Jamestown to James Brown: African-American History and Culture

Pretty sure I want to take Writing, Identity And Nation from English Lit in semester 1, which leaves me 1 to pick from:


Aspects Of American Political Culture
The Western in Film
A Gendered History of the United States, 1776-Present
American Literature And Social Criticism, 1900-Present


Writing the 18th Century
Chaucer: Texts, Contexts, Conflicts
Power And Gender In Early Modern Literature

TBH, i'll probably end up taking another American one - the only Lit one I like the sound of is Power and Gender.

If I do choose another American course for the first semester, i'll have to take two Eng Lit classes and 1 American in the second semester. Choices are:

American History Long Essay (this is all independent study with no classes at all, which sort of appeals)
American Film Studies
Twentieth Century African American Literature
The American Civil War

Reading the 19th Century
Anglo-Saxon Woman
Shakespeare: Genre, Text And Performance
Forms of Poetry
Gender, Sexuality And Culture: Freud And After
Medieval Metamorphoses

I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO

[peacocks]

I would take the gender sexuality and culture: freud and after, and power and gender, and 20th century african american literature. is that possible or did I choose too many?

[Little Sixes Little Nines]

yeah, the gender one is the only class I think I could stand from the second semester english lit list, which would mean two american ones. I'd go film studies and black literature. which would make first semester the other gender course and... oh god, chaucer. forget this plan.

[Greg Nog]

I pretty much only took English classes based on whether I'd heard good things about the professor, rather than the subject matter of the class.  All those sound great!

[G.C.R]

^What Greg said. Though the 'long essay' paper - is that like a little mini thesis you get supervision for? Because I'd recommend the hell out of doing something like that. Its sets you up for other stuff later on a treat. I alomst died doing mine in 4th year but it was also just really fucking awesome.

[Bernard]

Agree, take the best professor.

[Chet]

^What Greg said. Though the 'long essay' paper - is that like a little mini thesis you get supervision for? Because I'd recommend the hell out of doing something like that. Its sets you up for other stuff later on a treat. I alomst died doing mine in 4th year but it was also just really fucking awesome.

yeah. a 6000 word essay on a topic of my choosing. and that's what i was thinking too.

my academic advisor teaches writing the 18th century and she is awesome and we have a really good relationship. also, all the classes i have been to of hers have been really fun. so i might take that. i wish it was running in 2nd semester though.

[davy]

This article came at me from a few different directions this morning. I guess I know what the lunch table conversation is going to cover.

http://chronicle.com/article/An-Academic-Ghostwriter-Comes/133904/

[jess]

Agreed with the advice above re: going with the good profs.

Today our semester starts, and it's my last semester of coursework, yay! Only two classes, so not bad on that front, although this semester I will defend my quals/propose my dissertation (will be the same process, thanks to our program being extraordinarily sensible about how it does quals), which will include writing my first real grant, so it will be plenty busy. And oh man, I was not mentally prepared for the onslaught of undergrads and new grad students today. I feel decidedly overstimulated and distracted—miss the quiet, summer campus.

[elpollodiablo]

PROTIP: don't take Writing the 18th Century