Next step

Having failed, for an embarrassingly long time, to update here I am going to give it another go.

I have now learned what my final degree classification will be for my BA and it is high enough that I am able to go on to do the History MA for which I hold a conditional offer (so formal!)

Right now I am in the process of trying to decide which route through the degree I want to take – there are several alternatives that I like the look of, which have pros and cons to them. I am going to talk to the Prof in August, but I need to do my homework before then.

The main question at the front of my brain is which compulsory course to take. There are several to choose from, the compulsory element is a language course, with Latin being strongly encouraged. I have done some Latin, and the course I passed recently used the same text books at the beginners Latin on the MA course.

I could then do the Intermediate Latin, but I am not sure my skills are really at the Intermediate level. This could be my fretful side talking, but I think it’s not unreasonable.

That said I am also interested in doing courses that may not require a desperately high level of skill at Latin – courses based in Northern European history – for which I would take a northern language instead. I know the Prof is keen that everyone comes out the end of this degree with a good level of knowledge of Latin. Hence I am doing my homework and my pondering before I go to see him in August. I have also emailed the tutors on the other courses that I am considering to see if I can have some indication of the steepness of the learning curve as for those courses I would be coming from a complete standing start.

Watch this space, there may be more updates.

 

Failure

It seems that I’ve not managed to use this ‘blog for what I intended it for. I have been to lots of exhibitions, seen lots of wonderful images and architecture, been to interesting talks and seminars but somehow not managed to write about them here.

I need to write about Venice, and Waterhouse and Futurists and … many other things. Perhaps the next few months will see some activity from me on here. Or maybe not. I’ll do my best but I’m not promising.

 

Film thoughts

I went to see The International (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963178/) with a friend this afternoon. I thought it was a rather good way to spend a couple of hours, a moderately plausible plot conceit, international banking shenanigans, violence, intrigue and lots of pretty locations. However, with my Arty Musing head on I did notice that whoever was responsible for designing the thing (sorry, I really don’t know how film making works, so I’ve no idea who would be responsible for such things). You see, glass/windows/reflections/mirrors were all – apparently – rather significant in the film.

Dubious characters were seen reflected, before someone was discovered the audience saw something in distorted reflection. Once I noticed it I couldn’t not see it. I’d need to watch it again and concentrate on those kinds of things to be sure, but it would be interesting to do that, or maybe prime other people to go see the film with that idea in mind. I also wonder how many of the plot twists are signalled by that kind of prompt.

No, I am not planning on heading off on a Film Studies track, I’ll stick to my plans to dive into the Renaissance a while longer.

 

Procrastination

I think that it would be rather handy to set up a system of deadlines and important tasks, such that each task had as a displacement activity something else constructive. I have vaguely got that arrangement here just now, but not quite, the displacement activity is useful (trying to learn enough of another language to make it useable in real life, and possibly enough of it to put it on a CV), but not actually immediately relevant to the things I have to do. Things like essays and dissertation preparation.

The other activities, like filing my notes with colour coded bulldog clips, or playing Minesweeper, these I have an every harder time justifying.

Writing Artymusings, well, that comes somewhere in between I think. I can, almost, convince myself that it’s relevant to my course, but really, I am displacing like mad here.

 

Essays

The delights of the final push towards the end of your final year as an undergrad. are the essays.  I have to turn out two essays and one dissertation, in this term. The essays are due in at the end of term, the dissertation just after the Easter break. So, a total of 14k words. Easy peasy…

Totally atypically of me I am just now ahead of the curve with a lot of this stuff. I have the raw materials for one essay, if I really pulled my digit from my orifice I could have a reasonably credible draft written by the end of the weekend. It is currently my plan to attempt that. Although, as the main reason that I’m ahead on the essaying is because I am behind and entering panic mode on the dissertationing I’m not sure this is entirely a good thing. But, I am in Polyanna mode so I’ll take it as good.

One problem that I have is that I find it FAR easier to work in one particular library, it’s a small place, not usually very full, quiet, has nice desk space with places to plug your laptop in easily, is quiet, and all of the books that you need are Right There. You can just wander over and get them. It isn’t a lending library so most books are there most of the time (unless of course one of your classmates is preparing for the same seminar and has snaffled all of the ones you need first, but then you can go and beat said classmate around the ears with a placemarker – one of the large bits of cardboard you have to sign and put in the gap where you took a book from. See, the downside of the system, random violence if your name gets recognised. But I digress…)

Did I mention this place is quiet and civilised? I think I may have done. I love it there. And I get a heck of a lot of work done in a few hours there. I could head back tomorrow or I could try the unthinkable and attempt to write at home. I am much less good at working at home. I mean, there’s a cat that needs stroking, and there’s a kettle right there for making coffee. And … well, it’s home, it’s where I like to be, and it’s full of distractions.

The library is a bit of a hike to get to, but when I do get there my productivity soars. I may try writing at home tomorrow and if that doesn’t work take to slogging back in to town with my laptop on my back. Like some kind of technologically enabled snail, carrying my world on my shoulders. Or was that Atlas? No, he carried the heavens. Did anyone carry the world? I really should be better at these classical references by now.

 

Academia

This probably needs work, but as a quick rule of thumb:
Bachelors degree: Read everything on the reading list
Masters degree: Read everything in the library
Doctoral degree: Read everything

OK, I know the Masters needs a bit more work than sitting in a library, and even a Bachelors rewards thinking outside the confines of the course listing, but as a general idea I don’t think it’s too far off.

 

Working

Today I am reading, noting, and possibly even writing. I am prepared. I have done lots of busy work, I’ve been out and run some errands, I have read all of the various online fora that I have to read before I can do anything else (really, I do, I am a creature of habit and routine, which only looks from the outside like procrastination).

Most importantly I have new pens. In lots of colours, with which to write my notes. It was only by an act of furious will that I managed not to buy a new notebook, or two, I looked longingly and was tempted but managed to resist. I like office consumables though, I like them a lot. But I have a lot of notebooks, so here I am, being good, having not bought any more dead trees and am working hard. Really, I am. Working very very hard.

 

Hello world!

This is just a place holder for now,  as with so many blogs I have great plans for here, but who knows whether they will actually come to fruition or not.  It may be that this is the only post that ever appears here, and the world will be left wondering what great words and thoughts have ever gone unshared.

Or perhaps I’ll be the only person who ever knows that this page exists, but it will be archived forever, and in a thousand years someone will be writing a thesis about ancient technology and will happen across it. I can see it now,  a footnote in a doctoral paper, wondering whether this really is all that there ever was, or maybe, just maybe,  the archiving failed and the world has lost a great resource concerning the state of art history in the early C21st but they will never know.

I suspect something closer to the former than the latter, because, in the end, I am a realist, and occasionally even moderately sane.