Its Complicated

Life is complicated right now. I’m feeling a whole rush of emotions that I’m not sure where they are coming from: regret, anger, irritation, and just a whole bunch of what ifs…

Oh Life…

Semi Productive=Small Steps Towards Greatness?

So today was one of those days where I actually felt the words/ideas gush out before the sounds of self doubt begin today.  Unfortunately, it was for the outlines that I promised the DA, but which will be a tremendous help for me to get this thing done.  One of the suggested practices by the book that I have told everyone I encountered in grad school about, Demystifying Dissertation Writing, is that you compose an extended outline with quotables and extended notes.  I am all about the outline and feel that it is useful. The key for me is actually rereading my old notes, articles, and books because they feel like that old neglected friend who you always promise to call. Anyway, I am now off to the internets to find some things to do in Chicago for my upcoming honeymoon.

Possible Job for American Studies

Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Humanities invites applications and nominations for a tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor position in the American Studies program effective Fall Semester 2012.  The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience to lead core courses in American Studies theory and methods, issues in American Studies, and a capstone research seminar.  The program offers the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in American Studies and is home to the Encyclopedia of American Studies, Center for Pennsylvania Culture Studies, and Eastern American Studies Association. Research and teaching areas should complement the program’s fields of study: folk and popular culture; ethnography and society; public heritage and museum studies; interdisciplinary history and politics; regional and environmental studies. Areas of special interest for the position include technological and business/consumer studies; digital humanities; religion and culture; American popular music and media (film and television); environmental and landscape studies. The successful tenure-track candidate will be expected to teach and advise at the undergraduate and graduate level; have a significant record of scholarship and an active research agenda; and render service commensurate to the level of appointment.  Involvement in American Studies organizations and/or centers is desirable.  Service expectations include participation in curriculum development and program management, as well as involvement in outreach initiatives. For more information on the American Studies program, please our website at www.hbg.psu.edu/hum/amst

Same Place, Moving @ the Same Pace

It seems like this time last year I was in the same place I am in now with this dissertation.  I am staring the job market head on (jobs are released early September) and I still have only  1 totally needs to be redone chapter that needs comments and editing before I send it as a writing sample.  Although this past year, my life has seen many changes: the title of Mrs. before my name, having to cope with death and sickness of various family members, disappointments, the exploration of new, creative side hustles, and a move back to my hometown, I still feel stuck when it comes not only to the dissertation, but also life.  I know that people’s lives aren’t as perfect as they seem from the outside, but I swear my everyday is a constant struggle, an uphill battle against something.  So yes, I am constantly asking, why must everything be so hard for ME? How does one ever catch a damn break!?

I keep reading these blogs about meditation and about staying focused, so that is what I am determined to do.  Writing this thing should not be that hard, but making the dedication to getting it done is the hard part.  I make the following promises to myself: 1) push self-doubt out of the way; 2) write even if it I think it is crap; and 3) start being selfish with my time; and 4) know that prayer and meditation in the bible helps! Every morning, my goal is to write here before jumping into my work.  It may be about what I learned the day before or it may be about the dress that I am dying to buy.  In any case, I need to have a forum for my voice so that I can hear it and believe in it.

So, I’m changing the goal of this blog; it is no longer just a documentation of my journey through academia, but the journey to find me and my purpose.  I want a record of my travels, a map of the life I am living and not the life that I want to live.

Let’s Go!

Hello Blog!

I find that maintaining a dedication to blogging requires a certain discipline that I haven’t yet mastered, but I do want to start back again.  So this is my first gesture towards this end… Hello Blog; I’m back!

Another Job Listing

I swear all of the job postings I have seen are for latino literature; this must be their year.  Although I have taught some latino literature and know the criticism fairly well, I’m not sure I am qualified to apply.  Anyway, here is a more general job posted by The University of Hawaii.  How cool would it be to live in Hawaii?!

And the Jobs are Being Posted…

So, I just received an email from a colleague sending me a link to a job that he think I may be interested in. This led me to look at the other jobs posted in my are on HigherEdJobs. So far there are two postings that look like I qualify for, but…they are in Cali and St. Louis . I wondering if I should apply anyway, just to see what happens. I am not happy about having to move to either of these places, but I guess my career has to start at some point.

I guess I need to whip out my failed fellowship letters and start whipping them into cover letters . This year will NOT be fun.

End of the Week Goals

Thursday

Wideman Chapter

Relate Two Cities with Benjamin’s Arcades Project (textual montage)

Finish the guilt/shame relationship that is implicit in the MOVE bombing section

Examine how/why Kassima relates to Lamentations

Friday

Wideman Chapter

Write about the structure of Philadelphia Fire and Two Cities as performing loss (just a focus on the overall structure of the novel)

Saturday

Wideman Chapter

Discuss how the “remains” work on 3 different levels in both Philadelphia Fire and Two Cities

Examine Two Characters from Two Cities and Philadelphia Fire

Sunday

Start Combining Sections and Coming up with Section Titles

Monday

Revise the Opening and Structure

Work on Footnotes

Tuesday

Editing/Proofreading

Wednesday

Send to Laura

Thursday

Ahhh!

Life in Color

I wanted to start my daily posting on yesterday, but today will have to do.

I was struck by a blog that was featured on the WordPress global dashboard. The blog featured images by Richard Mosse, an Irish photographer who took pictures of the Congo region of Africa using a red-hue photographic technique.  The result is stunning!

A Requiem for Detroit–A Documentary

So, the documentary, A Requiem for Detroit, which I had heard was in the works, finally came out in March of this year.  I must say because I researched the urban decay of Detroit for a paper, I was somewhat prepared for what the film shows.  But I am still terrified and angered by what I saw.  I wonder why a sense of loss is the first reaction, then sadness, and finally anger. This is America! Since a chapter of the dissertation explores the decline of Detroit, and the works of Tyree Guyton in particular who uses the objects of consumer waste, I watched this for more background information.  Overall, I think the documentary captures the essence of what happened to Detroit, but I did find the storytelling and the constant juxtaposition to mimic the theme, but also create some distance between the viewer and the subject. Perhaps, this is a case of the writer trying too hard to be avant-garde.  You even see him using the art projection method that I first became aware of in the work of Shimon Attie (sp).