So, my camera tells me that my "battery is exhausted," despite the fact that it has been charging for a week now. Looks like I need a new battery...? Anyway. I use this as an explaination for why I don't have pictures for you yet. In the meantime, I've had nearly a week of classes already!
It has been absolutely wonderful to be back, and in class again. Again, I have Professor Fraser for two classes (last semester it was European History and Soviet History. This semester I have her for Imperial Russian History, and for her senior seminar on Stalinism, which I will talk more about later), which has been very nice. Imperial Russian History seems like it is going to be a good class: I'm already half-way though a book that I'm not meant to be reading for another few weeks. I have my first essay on this book, and considering all the other work I have to do, I thought I should get as much of a head-start as possible. I have been spending litteraly all of my time with my nose stuck in some book or another, and I have to say it is great. I love feeling so consumed by something that nothing else matters... anyway. This book is actually a memoir by Princess Ekaterina Romanova Dashkova (1743-1810), translated and edited by Kyril Fitzlyon. She was instrumental in the revolt that deposed Peter III and put Catherine the Great on the throne, and was a close friend of the latter. She was very highly respected at the time, and I'm currently reading about her travels in Western Europe, and how she met Voltaire, Diderot, Necker, etc... it's really amazing that nobody remembers her now, actually. Most who know me probably know that I find what is being called "women's history" very boring, and far too political. But I honestly wish historians paid more attention Dashkova: she is absolutely fascinating! I won't give a summary... it would take far too long a time, but really, I would recommend reading her memoirs, if anybody has time for that sort of thing...
The seminar on Stalinism is, I will admit, intimidating. I am definitely the only sophomore there: there are a few juniors, but the majority by far are seniors, as the title of the class would indicate. It's difficult not to feel as if everybody is just waiting for me to drop out at times, but the good news is that so far, I have no inclination to do so. Looking at the syllabus is a bit overwhelming, but it seems do-able. It is only when I think of all the other classes I am taking, and all the other work I need to be doing that I get worried. But I think I'll be able to manage if I stay far enough ahead in my classes, in terms of work. Getting any reading that I can do out of the way will probably be most useful.
As for my other classes... well. I'm taking the Archaeology of Text, which is taught by Professor Arnie Sanders as a interdisciplinary class within the English department. I am absolutely loving it so far. On the first day, we recieved what he calls "cadaver books," which are basically books that we will be studying and working on throughout the semester, apparently the way medical students work with certain cadavers for an amount of time... mine is a little copy of "Paradise Lost," by John Milton, published by Robert and Andrew Foulis in Glasgow, 1766. It has lost its cover, but it is just... beautiful. And I get to spend my time this semester taking it apart and studying it! I didn't know I would be so genuinely excited about this, or the fact that we're going to have labs in this class, but there you are! Speaking of books and archives, etc., I've just come back from an interview at the Goucher Special Collections. The whole process of applying has been... urgh. Well. Let's simply say there were a few miscommunications that were entirely my fault. It didn't matter that much, but it still made me worry, as I tend to do. Anyway. The interview itself wasn't bad, but I really couldn't tell what the woman who was interviewing me was thinking... she took the time to show me around and such, and I got the feeling that she wouldn't have done that if she weren't thinking about hiring me, but... well. Again. I worry. We'll see what happens. But if I do get the job, I'll be helping put photos on the online catalogue, and typing in metadata, which isn't exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for, but if that's what they need done, that's just fine with me. Besides, if I finish, I may get to move on to projects dealing with the really old and interesting stuff. But I think I'm getting ahead of myself here... let's see if I get the job in the first place. I also applied for a position at the Main Library, and I should know about both that and the Special Collections early next week.
I am also taking a class on the American Revolution, taught by Professor Matthew Hale, which I am enjoying very much so far! On the first day, he had us introduce ourselves by giving our name, year, major, where we were from, and a grievance that we have about Goucher. I have never enjoyed a "let's get to know each other" session more. Needless to say, if very quickly became a lively conversation about how Community Living is never open, and how there are never any jobs available for students. Of course, I felt the need to be a bit different, so I said that my grievance was that I was being forced to have a grievance in the first place: despite Goucher's problems, I'm essentially alright with everything.
Professor Hale appreciated that.
My last class is Language Myths, an anthropology course taught by Professor Frekko. I'm not sure how fond I am of her yet, but the subject seems interesting. She has a tendency to turn everything into a Social Justice topic... I suppose that anthropology really is meant to be used for the betterment of humankind, etc., but I'd really like to learn the discipline before I go about applying it. Just saying. I think it would be awful to study anthropology as an undergraduate, and come out of school with only a basic understanding of the subject and an abundance of political opinions to show for it.
... I think there are a few students at Goucher who would argue with me on that, and very passionately. I would have to defer to them: Anthropology is not quite my subject, after all.
But I have to say that a connected problem/question has been bothering me for a while now... all summer, I suppose, but the question was actually put to me while I was in Cambridge, and the fact that I could not answer well is... well. Anyway, the question was "Why bother?" As in "Why bother studying history?"I know the answer I'm supposed to give: "To help humanity work through its darker moments, heal the wounds of the past, and prevent certain things from happening again." But honestly... that is not why I am studying history. If I were going to be perfectly honest, I would say "Because I love it, and because it has been the only thing capable of really holding my attention for longer than a few months." I wish I had more noble motivations. I really do, and I've been trying to find some over the past few weeks, and I've found myself incapable. Mostly. All I can really say in my defence is that history is intrinsically important: I cop-out, to be sure. But really... I must not be the only person who has an overwhelming fear of what would happen if the human species woke up tomorrow morning, and remembered none of it's history... it is so much a part of who we are, and what we do, from our politics to our everyday lives. History dictates (well, perhaps "dictate" is a bit of a strong word) everything from our foreign policies and what language we speak, to what we wear and what sports teams we support, in one way or another. It's one of the most important ways that we understand other cultures: something of increasing importance as people from all areas of the world become more closely connected. But in any case... one of the things that really scares/d me about Stalinism, and actually, about "Nineteen-Eighty-Four," (George Orwell) was the concept of having the past messed about with in general. I think that remembering is important for its own sake... not necessarily for a specific purpose...
...well. I'm still working on that thought. In the meantime, speaking of Stalinism, I have to go talk about the "totalitarian model" in seminar now. My love to all!
Tasha
ps. A photo kindly donated by Kaira...
It has been absolutely wonderful to be back, and in class again. Again, I have Professor Fraser for two classes (last semester it was European History and Soviet History. This semester I have her for Imperial Russian History, and for her senior seminar on Stalinism, which I will talk more about later), which has been very nice. Imperial Russian History seems like it is going to be a good class: I'm already half-way though a book that I'm not meant to be reading for another few weeks. I have my first essay on this book, and considering all the other work I have to do, I thought I should get as much of a head-start as possible. I have been spending litteraly all of my time with my nose stuck in some book or another, and I have to say it is great. I love feeling so consumed by something that nothing else matters... anyway. This book is actually a memoir by Princess Ekaterina Romanova Dashkova (1743-1810), translated and edited by Kyril Fitzlyon. She was instrumental in the revolt that deposed Peter III and put Catherine the Great on the throne, and was a close friend of the latter. She was very highly respected at the time, and I'm currently reading about her travels in Western Europe, and how she met Voltaire, Diderot, Necker, etc... it's really amazing that nobody remembers her now, actually. Most who know me probably know that I find what is being called "women's history" very boring, and far too political. But I honestly wish historians paid more attention Dashkova: she is absolutely fascinating! I won't give a summary... it would take far too long a time, but really, I would recommend reading her memoirs, if anybody has time for that sort of thing...
The seminar on Stalinism is, I will admit, intimidating. I am definitely the only sophomore there: there are a few juniors, but the majority by far are seniors, as the title of the class would indicate. It's difficult not to feel as if everybody is just waiting for me to drop out at times, but the good news is that so far, I have no inclination to do so. Looking at the syllabus is a bit overwhelming, but it seems do-able. It is only when I think of all the other classes I am taking, and all the other work I need to be doing that I get worried. But I think I'll be able to manage if I stay far enough ahead in my classes, in terms of work. Getting any reading that I can do out of the way will probably be most useful.
As for my other classes... well. I'm taking the Archaeology of Text, which is taught by Professor Arnie Sanders as a interdisciplinary class within the English department. I am absolutely loving it so far. On the first day, we recieved what he calls "cadaver books," which are basically books that we will be studying and working on throughout the semester, apparently the way medical students work with certain cadavers for an amount of time... mine is a little copy of "Paradise Lost," by John Milton, published by Robert and Andrew Foulis in Glasgow, 1766. It has lost its cover, but it is just... beautiful. And I get to spend my time this semester taking it apart and studying it! I didn't know I would be so genuinely excited about this, or the fact that we're going to have labs in this class, but there you are! Speaking of books and archives, etc., I've just come back from an interview at the Goucher Special Collections. The whole process of applying has been... urgh. Well. Let's simply say there were a few miscommunications that were entirely my fault. It didn't matter that much, but it still made me worry, as I tend to do. Anyway. The interview itself wasn't bad, but I really couldn't tell what the woman who was interviewing me was thinking... she took the time to show me around and such, and I got the feeling that she wouldn't have done that if she weren't thinking about hiring me, but... well. Again. I worry. We'll see what happens. But if I do get the job, I'll be helping put photos on the online catalogue, and typing in metadata, which isn't exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for, but if that's what they need done, that's just fine with me. Besides, if I finish, I may get to move on to projects dealing with the really old and interesting stuff. But I think I'm getting ahead of myself here... let's see if I get the job in the first place. I also applied for a position at the Main Library, and I should know about both that and the Special Collections early next week.
I am also taking a class on the American Revolution, taught by Professor Matthew Hale, which I am enjoying very much so far! On the first day, he had us introduce ourselves by giving our name, year, major, where we were from, and a grievance that we have about Goucher. I have never enjoyed a "let's get to know each other" session more. Needless to say, if very quickly became a lively conversation about how Community Living is never open, and how there are never any jobs available for students. Of course, I felt the need to be a bit different, so I said that my grievance was that I was being forced to have a grievance in the first place: despite Goucher's problems, I'm essentially alright with everything.
Professor Hale appreciated that.
My last class is Language Myths, an anthropology course taught by Professor Frekko. I'm not sure how fond I am of her yet, but the subject seems interesting. She has a tendency to turn everything into a Social Justice topic... I suppose that anthropology really is meant to be used for the betterment of humankind, etc., but I'd really like to learn the discipline before I go about applying it. Just saying. I think it would be awful to study anthropology as an undergraduate, and come out of school with only a basic understanding of the subject and an abundance of political opinions to show for it.
... I think there are a few students at Goucher who would argue with me on that, and very passionately. I would have to defer to them: Anthropology is not quite my subject, after all.
But I have to say that a connected problem/question has been bothering me for a while now... all summer, I suppose, but the question was actually put to me while I was in Cambridge, and the fact that I could not answer well is... well. Anyway, the question was "Why bother?" As in "Why bother studying history?"I know the answer I'm supposed to give: "To help humanity work through its darker moments, heal the wounds of the past, and prevent certain things from happening again." But honestly... that is not why I am studying history. If I were going to be perfectly honest, I would say "Because I love it, and because it has been the only thing capable of really holding my attention for longer than a few months." I wish I had more noble motivations. I really do, and I've been trying to find some over the past few weeks, and I've found myself incapable. Mostly. All I can really say in my defence is that history is intrinsically important: I cop-out, to be sure. But really... I must not be the only person who has an overwhelming fear of what would happen if the human species woke up tomorrow morning, and remembered none of it's history... it is so much a part of who we are, and what we do, from our politics to our everyday lives. History dictates (well, perhaps "dictate" is a bit of a strong word) everything from our foreign policies and what language we speak, to what we wear and what sports teams we support, in one way or another. It's one of the most important ways that we understand other cultures: something of increasing importance as people from all areas of the world become more closely connected. But in any case... one of the things that really scares/d me about Stalinism, and actually, about "Nineteen-Eighty-Four," (George Orwell) was the concept of having the past messed about with in general. I think that remembering is important for its own sake... not necessarily for a specific purpose...
...well. I'm still working on that thought. In the meantime, speaking of Stalinism, I have to go talk about the "totalitarian model" in seminar now. My love to all!
Tasha
ps. A photo kindly donated by Kaira...
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