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an interesting thing happened today, as i was getting ready to eat lunch. after preparing my food and setting it on the kitchen table, i went to my bedroom to get the novel i've been reading in my spare time (fyi, i am still working on dan simmons' olympos, which i haven't finished for reasons that will become apparent in a moment). the novel was resting on my nightstand, and on the floor nearby sat my copy of the cultural studies reader, edited by simon during. last night i read most of an essay by stuart hall about the theoretical legacies of cultural studies, and i had marked a couple of other essays that i want to read as well.
guess which book i ended up grabbing? if you guessed the cultural studies reader, you're right. i didn't even hesitate. to be fair, this novel isn't exactly thrilling me, but it has my attention and i am enjoying it more, the further i read. i think i would have passed up even a completely gripping novel, though--perhaps even the 7th harry potter book, at least the way i feel today.
i should be clear: i am not reading these essays for my dissertation, at least not specifically or directly. i am reading them partly for fun, and partly because i am so fascinated by my chosen field that i truly enjoy extending my knowledge of it--which is the same thing as saying "for fun," i guess. not surprisingly, the essay has actually helped me to clarify an issue that is relevant to my dissertation: the theory/praxis dichotomy, and the question of how to enact the necessary (though always provisional) theoretical closures that enable political action/activism, without sacrificing the theoretical flexibility necessary to the critical enterprise that is cultural studies in its more academic instantiation.
this is a new/old impulse (i.e. the grabbing of the more "thinky" book); it is reflective of the fact that i am starting to take more joy in my academic work again, and that makes me happy.
yesterday evening i participated in the mock trial proceedings at the UW law school, where my friend L is a 3L. i played one of the witnesses for the defense. it was really fun. one of the other witnesses was played by a 1L who mentioned having had a class with one of my committee members (it turned out that he'd had a class with another committee member as well, but i didn't find that out until later). the class was organized around michel foucault's concept of biopower, which is a major focus in my dissertation work, so this 1L and i had a pretty interesting discussion about it. afterward, when he was "called" as a witness (they had us sequestered in a separate room, because the room where the mock trial was being held was too small to fit all of us), i pulled out a pad of paper and jotted a bunch of notes about my dissertation. as a result, i am having a good writing day today (finally--yesterday was not very productive).
it's good! i have plans to go see a free movie tonight, so having a productive day will make me feel more like i "deserve" that...or something. also, i need to drop off my absentee ballot at the polling place sometime this afternoon. (i usually mail these in early, but i forgot about it until last night, and i simply don't trust that it will get counted if it's postmarked the day of the election. i know, i know, it's supposed to and the law says it will and all of that; yet i persist in my irrational disbelief.)
guess which book i ended up grabbing? if you guessed the cultural studies reader, you're right. i didn't even hesitate. to be fair, this novel isn't exactly thrilling me, but it has my attention and i am enjoying it more, the further i read. i think i would have passed up even a completely gripping novel, though--perhaps even the 7th harry potter book, at least the way i feel today.
i should be clear: i am not reading these essays for my dissertation, at least not specifically or directly. i am reading them partly for fun, and partly because i am so fascinated by my chosen field that i truly enjoy extending my knowledge of it--which is the same thing as saying "for fun," i guess. not surprisingly, the essay has actually helped me to clarify an issue that is relevant to my dissertation: the theory/praxis dichotomy, and the question of how to enact the necessary (though always provisional) theoretical closures that enable political action/activism, without sacrificing the theoretical flexibility necessary to the critical enterprise that is cultural studies in its more academic instantiation.
this is a new/old impulse (i.e. the grabbing of the more "thinky" book); it is reflective of the fact that i am starting to take more joy in my academic work again, and that makes me happy.
yesterday evening i participated in the mock trial proceedings at the UW law school, where my friend L is a 3L. i played one of the witnesses for the defense. it was really fun. one of the other witnesses was played by a 1L who mentioned having had a class with one of my committee members (it turned out that he'd had a class with another committee member as well, but i didn't find that out until later). the class was organized around michel foucault's concept of biopower, which is a major focus in my dissertation work, so this 1L and i had a pretty interesting discussion about it. afterward, when he was "called" as a witness (they had us sequestered in a separate room, because the room where the mock trial was being held was too small to fit all of us), i pulled out a pad of paper and jotted a bunch of notes about my dissertation. as a result, i am having a good writing day today (finally--yesterday was not very productive).
it's good! i have plans to go see a free movie tonight, so having a productive day will make me feel more like i "deserve" that...or something. also, i need to drop off my absentee ballot at the polling place sometime this afternoon. (i usually mail these in early, but i forgot about it until last night, and i simply don't trust that it will get counted if it's postmarked the day of the election. i know, i know, it's supposed to and the law says it will and all of that; yet i persist in my irrational disbelief.)
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