A Brand New Future
Happy New Year!
The good news - I passed my Spanish exam with a mark of "excellent." (It's actually only pass/fail, but the grader characterized my translation as excellent, so that's what I'm going with).
More good news - Comps were moved back to January 22. This gives me some breathing space between the two seminar papers due at the end of the fall and the language exam and comps. I now feel like it's all doable and that I'm on track. I've been reading non-stop (well, except for last night, and the minimum family-visiting and friend-socializing I can get away with) since the end of the semester.
After the 22nd my life should be relatively normal again. I'll be working on the thesis, but I don't have any classes, so I can research and write all day. Sounds like fun.
The bad new - My career as a historian-in-training is coming to a screeching halt. The Ph.D program that everyone was so optimistic about is not going to happen. The program will remain masters terminal. Since I have no desire to leave my happy home I will not be applying to any history Ph.D programs.
What this means is that I will probably be ending both Patahistory and my involvement in Revise and Dissent sometime over the course of the semester.
What does the future hold? I'll probably go to library school and work on becoming more active in my community. I am planning a new blog/website/community page, but it will probably be this summer before details can be unveiled.
I also intend to write. I'll probably try my hand at writing some popular history. I have about a half-dozen projects I want to flesh out over the next five months. We'll see if any of them can sustain the attention necessary for a book-length work, and if I have the chops to write something engaging and publishable. I'll have a better idea of how practical a writing life appears later this spring.
Anyway, no matter how good your 2007 was, I hope everybody's 2008 is better than their 2007!
The good news - I passed my Spanish exam with a mark of "excellent." (It's actually only pass/fail, but the grader characterized my translation as excellent, so that's what I'm going with).
More good news - Comps were moved back to January 22. This gives me some breathing space between the two seminar papers due at the end of the fall and the language exam and comps. I now feel like it's all doable and that I'm on track. I've been reading non-stop (well, except for last night, and the minimum family-visiting and friend-socializing I can get away with) since the end of the semester.
After the 22nd my life should be relatively normal again. I'll be working on the thesis, but I don't have any classes, so I can research and write all day. Sounds like fun.
The bad new - My career as a historian-in-training is coming to a screeching halt. The Ph.D program that everyone was so optimistic about is not going to happen. The program will remain masters terminal. Since I have no desire to leave my happy home I will not be applying to any history Ph.D programs.
What this means is that I will probably be ending both Patahistory and my involvement in Revise and Dissent sometime over the course of the semester.
What does the future hold? I'll probably go to library school and work on becoming more active in my community. I am planning a new blog/website/community page, but it will probably be this summer before details can be unveiled.
I also intend to write. I'll probably try my hand at writing some popular history. I have about a half-dozen projects I want to flesh out over the next five months. We'll see if any of them can sustain the attention necessary for a book-length work, and if I have the chops to write something engaging and publishable. I'll have a better idea of how practical a writing life appears later this spring.
Anyway, no matter how good your 2007 was, I hope everybody's 2008 is better than their 2007!
posted by Dave at 9:11 AM
6 Comments:
Those language tests are a terror, you are right to be pleased.
Library school might be a good option, best of luck. I'm sorry you feel your blog must end.
Circle of life! This blog will end only so that a new one can start.
The next iteration will be less about the discipline of history and more about "greening" my hometown.
On the one hand, that sucks -- with regards to the PhD and to Patahistory. History's loss.
On the other, it sounds like you've got plenty of exciting things lined up in your future. As you say, circle of life and all that!
I have to basically say the same thing that Brett said-- while I like that your life has what seems like a very good direction, I have to say that your not (at least immediately) going on to a PhD program is a loss for those of us in (or pushing to get in) History.
Since I began reading your blog, I've felt that Patahistory has supplied an excellent space for approaches to and elements of the work of history that have been elided or neglected in the majority of the discourse of the discipline.
I'll definitely miss reading this space, and I would strongly encourage you to keep it up on the web. (And to think about maybe going on to a doctoral program some day in the future...)
Sorry to hear you're not continuing with history, but I know many, many people who've made the same decision. It's a tough world out there, and, hey, you don't need a PhD to love history.
At any rate, good luck on those last exams, and please do keep blogging, in some form or fashion. :)
Thanks for the kind words.
It's certainly bittersweet. Bitter because Florida is so anti-intellectual that higher education budgets are zeroed out at the slightest provocation.
Sweet because I'm fortunate enough to live in a city and house I don't want to leave.
Blogging will continue in some form or fashion, as will my interest in history. Only now, instead of striving to stay focused on the discipline of history, I'll be able to laminate on some of my other interests.
(BTW - Kevin, the orals reading lists you posted have been of immeasurable help. Thanks!)
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