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{ Category Archives } Academic life

Inspire yourself

In my PhD methods class, our professor asked us to pick something that inspired us — it could be a song, a research article, a movie, a book chapter — make a brief presentation on it and on how it inspired us in our work. Inspiration can come from unexpected sources and feed us in [...]

A student or a scholar

One of the things I discovered about myself during the past year is that I’m a student, not a scholar. I’ve always thought of myself as a “lifelong student,” but I’m not sure I really understood what that meant till recently. In my view, a master’s candidate is a student, a PhD candidate is a [...]

The end is nigh…

Of my master’s degree progress, that is. I took my comprehensive exam on Friday. At SILS, that is writing 6-8 pages on one of two essay questions that are emailed to you at the start of the day. You have until 3:30pm to finish the task. I started mine at about 10 am and wrapped [...]

Be warned

My friend Hill, a denizen of the Humanities PhD wars, vouches for the accuracy of these first two animations. As for the Simpsons clips, well, why not?

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Summarizing the past year

Sorry to disappoint my skeptically inquiring readers, but I love reading my weekly Freewill Astrology post. Rob Brezsny’s Libra posts for the last three weeks have swirled around the idea of a cycle ending, taking stock, and looking ahead. Here’s how his Aug 12, 2010, reading put it: If you and I were sitting face [...]

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