#I’m getting an MA in anthropology

[infernal-house-demon]

People seeing me working on my laptop: wow, look how focused he is. He must be getting so much schoolwork done.

Me: *scrolling through pictures of beetles for twenty straight minutes*

[welcome-to-green-hills]

This is fellow archeologist! I finally worked up the courage to dm you (anxiety and shyness, my eternal curse), but it says you only accept messages from tumblrs you follow. My sonic blog is @navy-the-tiger but you dont have to follow I am fine talking like this

Also I totally wasn't weird and scrolled through your entire archeologist tag. Feel you so much on being frustrated with the way archeology is portrayed in media. Rarely accurate, often a romanticized depiction of the early, unethical forms of archeology... It hurts every time.

Also hearing about your job was super interesting! My dig (I have only been on one so far, a field school dig and internship that got me le certificate) was on the property of a house constructed between 1800 and 1810. Boss had to teach us what to do if we found any native american artifacts which was basically stop everything immediately, contact the local rep for either the organization you work for or something super similar to it, and essentially the dig would be over.

Also I really wanted to be a museum curator too! I've had to accept over the past few years that chronic illness means I'll never be able to hold a typical job, but I still love love love it. I was going to get a PhD in mineralogy and specialize in that kind if curation, but now sinking all that time and money when I will be unemployed sounds like a bad idea. Seeing someone else living my dream even if it isnt the same field and getting to hear about it is so heartwarming.

So sorry for rambling so much I just have many thoughts

Navy! It’s wonderful to finally meet with you. Hello! I’m so happy that you’re here! Welcome to Green Hills, your home away from home.❤️✨

I’m very happy that you’ve found my anthropology/archaeology posts enjoyable to read. Sometimes there’s rambling, other times it’s a clash between science and game characters. It’s fun! Archaeology is very (and this is me being polite) romanticized through vast forms of media. And because it’s very romanticized it gets a bit complicated to do my job. I am, however, very appreciative of those that ask questions about what we do—they want to know. I encourage curiosity.

Oooo! The dig that you’ve been on sounds very exciting! It’s interesting to hear that Indigenous artefacts were uncovered at the household. My curiosity is at an all time high. Fortunately for me and my team, we work under NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act). We honor requests and always make sure to have representatives of each community working with us. It’s fun work!

Unfortunately, I am not a curator. I do wish to be a curator one day. I’m both a researcher and collections assistant. When I’m not doing field work (my region of the USA calls them “dirt archaeologists”), I work side-by-side with many curators to manage collections. It’s like an assistant manager. My job requires me to understand customs, languages, ethics, it’s history, and much more on what collections I’m working on. This actually does not require a PhD, but it’s preferred. The work I do can be easily accomplished with an AA, AS, BA, BS, MA, and/or an MS. As long as you have a mentor that is thrilled to work with you, then it can be achieved. Traditionally, archaeological collections that require a curator require their managers to have a PhD. I’m noticing more and more that those traditions are changing, but it’s a good thing. It’s allowing new ideas and voices to come and share insight on what they do. I’m very fortunate to have worked with my mentors for as long as I have. They will always have a special place in my heart.

What I’m trying to say through my rambling is this: don’t lose hope. Your dreams are possible. I believe in you. If you are a United States citizen and interested in furthering your education, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Universities, colleges, and community colleges have tons of programs and resources that help students achieve their dreams. If you are interested in managing collections, I highly encourage reaching out to museums FIRST and then a learning institution. Some museums may even help you with schooling and give you the foundation needed before going to school. You may never know! And if you have questions, ask me! This is what I’m here for. I’m more than happy to supply guidance.

Never apologize for rambling about your passions. Never. I’m always happy to hear them. It was wonderful to meet you, I hope that you have a fantastic day!❤️✨

[idigitpodcast]

Introduction to the I Dig It Podcast Blog!

About the podcast: 

The I Dig It Podcast was created by Alyssa and Michaela in April of 2020. Our goal for this podcast was to provide archaeology enthusiasts with insight into the student perspective of navigating the world of academia and the job market for archaeology and anthropology. Guests on the podcast include people from all different parts of their career, including highschool, undergrad, grad school, post doc, and early career!

About the Hosts:

About Alyssa! (she/they): Hello, folx! I’m one of the co-hosts of the podcast and I’m super excited for you to be joining us! I’m a current Ph.D. student in Anthropology (Archaeology track) doing research on the medeival Khmer Empire of Cambodia! My archaeological interests are human-environmental relationships and political ecology, and I enjoy using digital methods for archaeological analysis, such as remote sensing data and GIS. Find my archaeology IG at ✨ @aal.archaeology ✨

About Michaela! (she/her): Hey there! Welcome to the channel! Founder and co-host of the podcast and I’m enthralled to see you finding us! It’s been my dream to create as well as be in a community filled with people of similar passions whether you’re in the field or not. I’m a Digital Archaeologist specializing in VR, AR, 3D modeling with aspirations of creating an online presence for archaeological and heritage sites to be engaged with by all. Currently working in CRM (in California) and always seeking to expand my knowledge.

About Izzie! (she/her): Hello all! I am new to the team as a project assistant helping with fostering engagement by creating blog posts and advertising for the I Dig It podcast! I love spending my time in the dusty basements of museums or bushwhacking out in the field for CRM. I am a future archaeology MA student and my interests are in historical archaeology! 

Where to Find Us: 

Insta 📷 : https://www.instagram.com/idigitpodcast/ Twitter 🐦 : https://twitter.com/IDigItPodcast Discord💬 : https://discord.gg/T7BPe36 ArchPodNet: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/idigit

How to get involved:

Sign up to be a guest or to be featured on our social media pages ➡️ https://linktr.ee/idigitpodcast

[superlinguo]

Linguistics Jobs: Interview with an ESL teacher, coach and podcaster

Some people find ways to bring their linguistics into their workplace, others find ways to create their own opportunity to do linguistics at work. In this month’s interview, Kristin Espinar talks about how she found her niche as a linguist who teaches English learners to navigate the notoriously fiendish International English Language Testing System (IELTS) tests. There are many people with linguistics qualifications who teach English or other languages (including Ash, who I interviewed in 2016), but Kristin combines these skills with an entrepreneurial attitude. You can find out more about Kristin and her IELTS coaching and podcast on her website (also on twitter and instagram). 


What did you study at university?

I completed my BA in Communication and Spanish but I decided to specialize in ESL (English as a Second Language) and Linguistics with my master's degree. I received an MA in Applied Linguistics with an emphasis on ESL from the University of Massachusetts Boston. The program focused on first and second language acquisition as well as curriculum development for the ELL (English Language Learning) learner classroom.

What is your job?

I'm an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) coach and podcaster, so I ended up creating my own company. My original dream was to find a Tenure full-time ESL Instructor position in the US, but it was difficult to do without a PhD. Not impossible, but difficult. I ended up forming my own company in 2015 focused on helping IELTS candidates get their desired score on IELTS writing and speaking tasks. I also created a weekly podcast called Activate Your IELTS. The podcast is unique because it uses my knowledge in Linguistics along with my experience in exam preparation and language learning to give advice to IELTS candidates. I think my part of what sets me apart, specifically, is the knowledge in second language acquisition. As a result, I really do use Linguistics in my day-to-day life, but I did have to create my own company to truly monetize it.


How does your linguistics training help you in your job?

My whole life is focused on language learning. I spent 20 years learning a second language (Spanish). I'm married to a man from Spain and we are raising our children bilingually, using the OPOL (one person, one language) method. My knowledge of Linguistics helps at work and establishes me as an expert in my field, but it also has an impact in my personal life. For example, I understand the mistakes my husband makes in English and even the mistakes I make in Spanish and I understand why those mistakes were made. My background in Linguistics was amazing in watching my children learn their first language and follow the order of acquisition, but it was even more interesting to watch them acquire two languages at the same time as their first languages. My background in Linguistics gives me insight into all aspects of language learning within my life.



Do you have any advice do you wish someone had given to you about linguistics/careers/university?

I would recommend that anyone who is considering studying Linguistics consider completing a PhD instead of a master's degree. My experience is that, even if you are a better candidate and more talented in the area of second language instruction, you are likely to be passed over for jobs because you don't have a PhD. The field is competitive at a professional level, so it's important to maximize your opportunities by acquiring the highest level of degree that you can in the field.



Any other thoughts or comments?

I would recommend considering creating your own company, YouTube channel, podcast or blog. It's likely you have a lot to offer and share with the world in terms of your knowledge related to Linguistics. You might be able to create something bigger than you had originally thought you were capable of, simply by sharing your knowledge online.


Related interviews (both ESL and self-employed entrepreneurs):

Interview with an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher

Interview with The Career Linguist

Interview with an Accent Coach

Interview with an Internet Linguist

Recent interviews:

Interview with a Juris Doctor (Master of Laws) student

Interview with the Director of Education and Professional Practice at the American Anthropological Association

Interview with a Research Coordinator, Speech Pathologist

Interview with a Dance Instructor and Stay-at-Home Mom

Interview with a Transcriptionist

Check out the full Linguist Jobs Interview List and the Linguist Jobs tag for even more interviews  

[anthropologyapologist]

I don't know what I'm doing with my life/academic career. After the catastrophe of the Spring 2020 pandemic semester where I failed my lab class because that thing was so much more tough online and it was already a tough class in person (someone told me that that class basically broke them cuz the professor is rly stern). After that semester I took the rest of 2020 off since the following Fall semester they didn't offer any classes that I needed and I only need about 4 classes plus my thesis to graduate my MA program.

Then the Spring 2021 semester there was finally one class for me to take. I struggled with it, dealt with my adhd and depression medication tryouts, and barely passed it but I passed it and that's all that matters. Looks like there are no classes for me this Fall 2021 semester but i have signed up for a hands on archaeological methods field class at the local community college because I need hands on exp and I've had no luck with field schools. I also signed up for a GIS class cuz that could be useful for an archaeology job.

But during all of this time I haven't been able to even start writing my thesis. I haven't had a chance to actually look at the collection that I decided to work on because the pandemic shut everything down and the archaeological society that has the collections has been closed. I need to transfer the collection to the university so I can finally see if this collection is even worth writing a thesis on. Kinda wanna switch my topic at this point but I have no idea what to do.

My committee chair hasn't responded to my emails in a while. As far as I know he hasn't been responding to anyone else's either. I am now entering the 4th year of my program (supposed to be a 3 year program) even though I was on track to graduate by the past Spring semester (spring 2021) if the pandemic hadn't happened. Last summer I was supposed to do my field school and write my thesis draft. Finish up my classes in the Fall of 2020, with one class in Spring 2021 and to continue working on my thesis and graduate. But none of that happened and I just feel so hopeless.

I'm looking for work so that i can do something but I haven't heard back. The museum I was volunteering at before the pandemic is hiring so I'm hoping they hire me since I won't need to be trained and it's a state parks job so good for networking. Also throwing applications out to other museum gift stores because I'm literally looking for anything semi related to anthropology. Can't do any archaeology field jobs cuz I don't have the hands on experience but I'll get that done in the next few months and hopefully that opens a few more doors.

I guess writing this out made me realize that I kind of have a plan but it just seems really small. I just wanna be able to save up some money and move out, be on my own and not having my parents support me because it's become a really toxic home life with my parents berating me for any little mistake and never being appreciative of the fact that I literally do everything for them from making sure all the bills are paid on time, doing the secretary work for my dad's business and basically being a parent to my younger brother (I deal with all his school stuff, registration, deadlines, all the paperwork and conferences and I take him everywhere).

I'm just so tired and stressed out and I feel like my life isn't going anywhere.

[exeggcute]

random question but do you have any sci-fi book recs?

now that I think about it... not nearly enough!! I feel like I read a bunch of sci-fi in high school and college but either grossly overestimated that number or most of it was so mediocre that it didn’t leave an impact on me lol. and I definitely have yet to read a lot of the really foundational sci-fi novels but I can toss a couple things out there...

the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy (and its associated sequels and radio show) is one of my favorite books ever but it is not, like... your typical sci-fi novel. it is certainly a novel that Happens In Space (Mostly) and has some really fun (and funny) sci-fi concepts but that’s not like, the “point” of it, I guess. either way I have to recommend it because douglas adams is one of the most masterful satirists out there and reading his books sent me spiraling into an existential crisis when I was 14. no ragrets

pretty much anything by isaac asimov will be good. I never got around to reading the foundation series (which are supposed to be his best work by far) but I, robot is a classic for a reason. it’s not so much a “shooting lasers in space”-type of novel as it is a “examining the philosophical implications of robots” novel where it presents a bunch of different scenarios and how they play out while abiding by a singular set of rules. unfortunately that is exactly the kind of thing I love so it really tickled me, lol.

same goes for michael crichton, people love him. I only ever read the andromeda strain but I thought it was super neat (in the same kind of “puzzling out a sci-fi mystery” way as asimov’s stuff), although I did find out recently he was a climate change denier right before he died so... lmao. 

some of kurt vonnegut’s novels get into science fiction-y territory... galapagos, cat’s cradle, and sirens of titan are all up there. it’s been ages since I read most of them but they all made an impression on me back in the day

this one’s pretty random (it’s not really a novel, and if you want to split hairs it’s only barely sci-fi) but you know those freaky memes of like, bizarre illustrations of humanoid creatures? like the “season’s greason’s” yeti thing? those comes from this awesome book called man after man: an anthropology of the future by dougal dixon. none of it is intended to be, like, an earnest prediction of what humanity is gonna look like in a million years, but it creates a bunch of interesting scenarios for how human beings might adapt to their environment (naturally or artificially) over time in really drastic ways and what that would look like for the future of biology. the illustrations are a big draw but it has a lot of text explaining what certain biological adaptations could offer, how we’d use them in a given environment, little stories about the lives of these future humans, stuff like that. unfortunately, as far as I can tell, it is super duper out of print so good luck finding a used copy for under two hundred bucks. totally unrelated link I just dropped here by mistake

two things: I hate to pigeonhole it as a sci-fi novel because it’s so many more things than that, and it may be a little Too Relevant to the goings-on of the world, all things considered, but I adore severance by ling ma. fantastic novel about capitalism and alienation and immigration in the united states. the science fiction part is that it’s about a (fictional) pandemic but it’s far from your average plague novel fare... that being said, when I read it at the beginning of 2019 it very much freaked me out and sent me into a whole thing about “oh my god I couldn’t live through a pandemic, this shit is so scary!!!” and here we are. severance is her debut novel and it was already getting a lot of recognition before The Plague but the timing of it all helped rocket it onto a lot of bestseller lists so I’m hoping we see some more work from her soon

[365days365movies]

January 31, 2021: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Considering this is his last film in the franchise...let’s finally talk about Mel Gibson.

There is one thing that needs to be said above all other things.

Fuck Mel Gibson. Dude’s an anti-semitic, racist douche-nozzle. These things have been PROVEN, and he sucks. But Mel Gibson movies? Ehhhhhhh, hit-or-miss. For every Braveheart and Lethal Weapon, there’s The Patriot and What Women Want. But his breakout role as Mad Max Rockatansky?

...He rules.

Yeah, I hate to admit it, but I may hate him as a person...but not really as an actor. Sure, he’s no Daniel Day Lewis or anything, but the man is good, when he’s in good movies. And Max DEFINITELY is no exception to that rule. He’s good. He’s GREAT, even. Much as it pains me, he’s kind of perfect so far.

Let’s see if he can keep that up in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

We’re immediately plunged into the mid ‘80s as the credits roll, as Tina Turner sings us in. And then, of course...the Outback. And...GYRO!

Bruce Spence is back, but piloting a plane with his son, rather than the Gyrocopter. And that’s because he’s actually playing a different character, a pilot named Jedidiah. I mean...OK, sure. Not sure why you brought back Spence, but I liked Bruce Spence in the last movie a LOT, so I’m not complaining.

Anyway, they steal a wagon of supplies from a desert nomad, revealed to be none other than Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson). Max makes his way to Bartertown, where many people have come to trade items. In the case of Max, he’s come specifically to find his belongings. Through this settlement, we can see that things in Australia have gotten way...WAY worse. Like, goddamn, these movies show a clear progression from the original film to Fury Road.

After some light threats, Max is told that he may get back his belongings for “24 hours of his time.” He turns in his belongings, and is taken through the town, where Jedidiah has indeed come with his stuff. The barter master brings him up to the lady of the hour, Aunty Entity (Tina Turner). She was apparently nobody until “the Day After,” after which she seized her power. She now stands as the head of Bartertown.

Max believes that he’s been brought up to retrieve his stuff, but has instead been brought to “audition” for a position offered by Entity. This position is to kill a man, without revealing any connection to Entity. This man is MasterBlaster, a two-man unit of Master’s brain (Angelo Rossito) and Blaster’s brawn (Paul Larsson). And yeah, pretty sure there’s a Mortal Kombat based off of these two.

MasterBlaster runs the Underground, a subterranean pig farm that supplies the city’s power-supply, methane. They’re arrogant, and Entity wants them disposed of. And so, Max is sent in undercover to kill the fragment-talking unit. Down in the pig-shit (yeah, literally), Max befriends Pig Killer (Robert Grubb), a convict that killed a pig, as his name implies.

Mas also encounters the power-hungry MasterBlaster, who regularly cuts off the power to force Aunty Entity to recognize his power. This is why MasterBlaster has to go. They force Max, with his mechanical expertise, to fix a machine. While doing so, Max learns that Blaster is particularly sensitive to loud, high-pitched noises.

Max agrees to take out MasterBlaster, and Aunty and her trademaster, Collector (Frank Thring) reveals the way: challenge Blaster in the Thunderdome, an arena of combat. Max picks a fight with Blaster, and they enter the Thunderdome. Two men enter...one man leaves. So says the announcer, Dr. Dealgood (Edwin Hodgeman), and so chants the crowd. Dyin’ time’s here.

As the actual cage match begins between Blaster and Max, called the “Man with No Name,” the two are hooked up to harnesses, and weapons are provided on the ceiling. The doors are locked, and...I love this whole goddamn thing, can I just say?

However, at the end, Max can’t kill Blaster, and Master runs to his side. In the process, he reveals his deal with Entity to kill MasterBlaster. While Master claims that the methane supply will now stop. Blaster’s killed anyway, and Entity sends Max to be punished by the Wheel for defying her and “busting the deal.” 

Max is sent to the Gulag, which somehow involves Entity’s security officer Ironbar Bassey (Angry Anderson) putting a mask on him and putting him on a horse riding in the desert. I get the feeling that there is no Gulag, and Entity just sent him to die. Pretty sneaky, sis. Master, on the other hand, is put under the command of Ironbar, and forced to run Bartertown’s methane supply under penalty of death by pig (yes, really). The Pig Killer, meanwhile, sends Max’s monkey (yeah, Max had a monkey for some reason) out of the farm, with a canteen strapped to it.

Max’s horse dies, and is swallowed by quicksand in the desert. Max escapes this fate, and his monkey finds him with the water. He still collapses later on, only to be found by Savannah Nix (Helen Buday), the leader of a tribe of children living in the desert. She believes him to be a “Captain Walker,” and the tribe of kids take him back to their riverside encampment.

This tribe is fascinating, and I mean that. This is Lord of the Flies combined with an anthropological hodgepodge. They’ve essentially deified “Captain Walker,” and wait for Max to wake up. When he finally does, they confront him with some kind of chanting, and repeat what he says back to him.

More is explained as Savannah and their other leader, Slake M’Thirst (Tom Jennings) introduces them as the Waiting Ones, and explains their history. A plague wiped out much of humanity, and many of them got onto a plane, which crashed in the Outback. Their history was recorded on Viewfinders and cave painting, with the pilot of the plane memorialized as “Captain Walker.” Walker and some of his crew left the settlement and their children behind to search for help and civilization. Told to wait for him to take them home, to “Tomorrow Land,” these children are the descendants of that search party, whom they believe Max to be.

But, of course, Max isn’t Captain Walker. He instead tells them of the truth, that cities like “Tomorrow-morrow Land” are gone, and that this is not their home. He throws the hat up into the air, and a wind blows, as if to signify the passing of their God and beliefs. The children interpret this wind as a sign to leave for civilization, and a mass exodus immediately begins.

The children all head to the site of the crashed plane, believing that Max can fix it and fly them home. But Max just...leaves. He heads back to the children’s oasis, where they eventually follow, confused. Some of them, led by Savannah, believe that they can walk to Tomorrow-morrow Land, where Max must have come from. 

Max tries to prevent them from leaving into more danger, and ends up knocking Savannah out. They tie her up and keep them there, but one of the kids, Screwloos (Rod Zuanic) frees them during the night. The other kids ask Max to get them back from the desert, and he reluctantly agrees. With three children to support him, they head through the desert to rescue the kids. This works, although they do sadly lose one child to quicksand.

Now completely out of water and supplies, the group has to go to Bartertown if they have any chance of making it back. Max’s plan is to get the help of the now-imprisoned Master. With help from Pig-Killer and Master, the group manages to take out many of the guards, Ironbar Bassey included. By the time Entity finds out, the group has already hijacked a truck converted into a train.

Yes. really

This might not be a car-heavy Mad Max, but GODDAMN does this rule.

Bartertown begins to collapse, and the methane plant is destroyed. Aunty rallies the forces of Bartertown to go after them, and NOW...NOW we get our car-stuff. During the chase, we get an obligatory death by truck (Ironbar Bassey, who’s now DEFINITELY dead), and Max manages to save Master from Entity’s grasp. But Ironbar Bassey...WHO’S STILL ALIVE??

Well, he eventually goes the way of Sarah (Blessed be Her Fall), and the group reaches the end of the track, where they’re held up by...Jedidiah’s son. Been wondering where you’ve been, mate. He escapes into his father’s underground lair, where the group follows him. Max FINALLY confronts him, and they fly to safety.

They get chased further by IRONBAR BASSEY, WHAT THE FUCK

CAN HE DIE? WHAT THE HELL, MAN?

As Aunty Entity and the rest gang up on the group, they turn the plane around, and prepare to take off through the gang. Max, however, uses a vehicle to clear the way, allowing the plane enough space to take off. And I think Ironbar Bassey is FINALLY dead. Probably.

Max is captured by Entity, as the kids, Pig-Killer, and Jedidiah escape. But surprisingly...she leaves. Whether she’s leaving him for dead or not, I’m not sure, but it seems that she’s come to respect him after all of this. She bids farewell to the Raggedy Man, and leaves him in the desert.

Meanwhile, Jedidiah flies the kids through a sandstorm in the plane, and takes them to…

The kids were right. Eventually, they bring the others to the destroyed Sydney, where they pass on the tradition, and tells the story of the man that found them, lighting the city up for a night that Max will return home.

FUCK YES, HOLY SHIT, PLAY THIS MOVIE OUT TINA TURNER

...Wow. That was Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. I’m ready to talk about these movies now.

[reiko-streetcat]

42

Su di me - About me

Il mio nickname è Reiko in omaggio a un’amica giapponese, ma potete chiamarmi Enri.

Sono italiana, studio antropologia, studio in generale, mi entusiasmo per le minuzie che di solito passano inosservate.

Ho studiato giapponese e abitato sei mesi ad Atene per lavoro, imparando anche il neogreco. Ora sto riprendendo a studiare il giapponese, ma non sono ancora in grado di scrivere gran che, quindi i post saranno per lo più in italiano o inglese. 

Spero di interagire con belle persone, in questi giorni folli. A presto!

- - - -

My username is Reiko to homage a japanese friend of mine, but you can call me Enri.

I’m italian and I’m studying Anthropology, generally I like studying, I get enchanted from tiny things nobody usually cares about.

I studied Japanese and lived 6 months in Athens for work, so I learnt Modern Greek. I’m now back to study Japanese again, but still I can’t write good stuff, so my posts will be in Italian or English for now.

I hope to meet good people in these crazy days. All the best!

- - - -

Nome del blog - Blog Name

Punti di domanda, perché le domande sono un dispositivo affascinante per conoscere il mondo e una prova dell’Infinito. Ma normalmente ho poco spazio/tempo da dedicarvi. Spero di farlo qui.

- - - -

Question marks (punti di domanda), because questions are such a fascinating tool to explore the World around us and they prove Infinity exists. Usually I do not have enough space/time for them. I hope this blog will help me with this.

[her-digitaljournal]

Hi there!

This year 2021 I’ve decided to start a digital journal on my readings and studies. I want to have a place where I can gather my resources, inspiration and planning to achieve my acacemic and personal goals. I feel like having a place to share my progress and (hopefully) meet similar people will help me stay motivated and focused! I plan on uploading trackers and weekly updates on my progress. Also, I will upload pictures and other stuff (by me or reposts) that inspire and help me.

I really hope to meet a nice community and support group! Being an adult student is hard jeez!

❥ A bit about me: I’m a 90s girl living in Europe. I majored in English studies and hold a MA in Foreign Language Teaching. I’m a language lover, speaking Catalan and Spanish as my native languages, and having learnt English and French at a C2 and B1 level respectively. I’m currently taking a break from my 2nd BA in Anthropology to finish a MA in Educational Technology. Studying languages and cultures is my dream and I love every minute of it! I’m also learning Chinese, and I hope to get the HSK 4 level this year! I love travel and adventure books, and recently I’m very into history and psychology, although I will read a bit of everything! In my free time I like going out for a walk and a coffee, watching nature documentaries, doing something artsy, watching shows and videos, and going on hikes or little adventures.

Feel free to connect with me! I love meeting new people and making friends. Happy 2021! May all your goals and dreams come true! ❊

N. xoxo 

[welcome-to-green-hills]

YOU HAVE AN ART HISTORY DEGREE?

I do! I have an art history degree (Associates degree) nd wrapping up my anthropology degree (Bachelor of the Arts) I’m doing grad school very soon for archaeology to get my MA and PhD.

[momentsinsong]

Moments In Song No. 027 - Hunter Hooligan

Music speaks to all of us, regardless of where we come from or what we’ve been through. Whether it be from 50 years ago, or today, music has the ability to liberate us from the mundanity of the world. Hunter has spent half their life learning about the special role music plays in our lives and used that understanding to propel their artistry forward. We talk to them about their deep dive into the history of music, the unconditional support of their Grandmother, and the importance of Pop.

Listen to Hunter’s playlist on Apple Music and Spotify. 

Words and photos by Julian.

________________________________________________________________

Julian: When I was listening to your playlist, I noticed that there were two very distinct halves to it. That first half is much more upbeat, dancy, techno almost, there’s some disco in there. Very much a four on the floor type of feel. And then that second half is very much more slowed down, and has that singer-songwriter/acoustic type of feel to it. Is that what you were going for when making your playlist?

Hunter: I love making playlists. I am that person who would make friends mix CDs and stuff like that. Every one would be so carefully curated. That’s why I was having such a hard time [Laughs]. Thinking about narrowing down my music taste into 10 songs, I was like, “Wow! This is big.” You know what I mean? I think there was a conscious effort to order songs a certain way. Even when I’m making my projects I am very conscious about the song placement, the tracklisting, I’m very very thoughtful and purposefully about it. I sent you one version of the playlist but I made like six versions that were totally different. It’s just because music is my life. I was trying to think of songs that were really important to me, songs that I loved my whole life, songs that are pretty new to me. I was just trying to find a balance of the songs that I like and also trying to make it make some semblance of sense. 

When you were making the different versions of your playlist, how do you know once you’ve made the final one? What was the deciding factor?

Even up until the night I sent it to you, there were like 15 songs on the playlist. I was like, “I can not believe I have to cut 5 of these songs!” I think every one of those songs is a doorway into my taste. Every single one of those songs is a good signifier of so many other songs that are similar to it that I like. 

So you’re saying like, this one acoustic Amy Whinehouse song is the entryway to a bunch of other singer-songwriter stuff you like. Or this Charli XCX is an entry way to more feel good poppy stuff you like. 

Yes, exactly. And so I think I kind of looked at it like a hallway with 10 doors and each door was to a room of infinite other amounts of music I love. I wanted to pick songs that were important to me, and songs that were special to me. Even the Charli XCX song which isn’t that old, and the FKA twigs song which also came out last year, they’re representative of so much more music I like, and what I like about music right now. 

Which is what?

What I really like about “Gone” is that it is so carefully crafted as a Pop song, as far as the production goes. And lyrically it has the structure of a Pop song, there’s verses, there’s a chorus. I love that it is a collaboration. I think collaboration is everything. What I love about that song in particular is that it’s so expected, production wise, as a Pop song but the lyrics are so bizarre. The chorus-- there’s something very impenetrable about the lyrics of the chorus. There’s something really so dissociative about the lyrics, but it’s still so catchy and so emotional. You feel it. Even though I have no idea what the song is talking about. I think there’s clues as to what they’re singing about, but I think it’s something you feel more. They almost sound to me like an A.I. wrote them. Like if you fed an A.I. a bunch of Pop songs and then it spit out a chorus to its own Pop song, that’s what it would sound like.

I always feel like Charli XCX has always straddled the line between, “I can sing the catchiest, poppiest hook you’ve ever heard” but on the flipside “I can take you down to some artsy, weirdo, off the wall type stuff.

And that’s what I love. I really love artists that straddle that line, for today. I love people who are versatile, who are brave, who are shapeshifters. People who are not afraid to be incredibly straight-forward and simple, but also thoughtful and crafted. I think it’s really cool.

I definitely agree with you on that. We’re definitely seeing a resurgence of female pop artists who fall into that lane. If you think about Lorde, or Billie Ellish, or Tinashe, they straddle that line. That’s what you like about the new songs, what about the old songs on your playlist? What are some of the songs on there that you’ve loved forever?

“I Feel Love” by Donna Summer, to me, is one of the best songs ever written. It’s one of the best dance records ever made. It’s brilliant. The production is incredible. The vocal is incredible. It all just hits you so right. To think that this song was produced in the 70’s is mind blowing. I listened to that song and I’m like, “This sounds futuristic now.” 

For me that song is a doorway into the music that surrounded me as a child. My parents had a really versatile taste in music and played a lot of stuff. My mom and I would do weekend Spring cleanings and she would load up the 6 CD stereo system and we would crank everything from Aretha Franklin, to Elton John, Aerosmith, Tupac, she loved everything. I think I inherited this excitement for music from her. 

She also loved 90’s dance music that was on the radio when I was little. She would go to club nights at The Depot and get mixes from DJs and play them in the car. Also when I was really young, my family is all in N.A., and at the time they would put on these dances as a way for people in recovery to go to a safe space that wasn’t a bar or rave where they might find alcohol or drugs and relapse, and enjoy the music. My family would take me, and I was like 7 or 8, and the music there was just… that the first time I heard “I Feel Love.” So much 90’s dance music that I love now was played at those dances.

How does you starting out at 7 and 8 going to these dance parties evolve into the taste of music you have now?

I started working in studios when I was 13, and that’s when I really decided that I was going to make music. 

When you say working, you mean in the actual studio?

Yeah early on I would bring in my songs, you know little things I would record. I would write with other people, I would ask to come and sit in on a session.

So this was a job you got or did you know someone in the studio?  

So I started taking voice lessons and through my voice teacher got connected to different producers and engineers. And in my mom’s previous life, she was married to the original owner of Hammerjacks, which is a legendary Baltimore nightclub, so she knew people from then who were musicians and who had their own studios and spaces like that. I kind of just really made it a point to be in those places. Around that time I also felt like I wanted to have an education in what American music had always been, and so I started really early on listening to the first records ever made, which were anthropological in nature. From there I became really in love with Blues. 

I wasn’t able to fit her on the playlist but she was there up until the very end, Bessie Smith. I mean this is someone who we’re talking about who was making music almost 100 years ago. I listened to her records and would sing them all the time. I feel like I learned so much about singing from her. She was so ahead of her time. From her ideas about her stage shows, to being a black queer woman, singing Blues in the segregated south, she was brilliant. She’s a forever artist to me. 

I had this idea of giving myself an education of what Pop music in America had been over time. Because Pop music is just whatever is popular. Through that I listened to Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, and then from there Eartha Kitt and Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, and I just kept following the times. Through that I heard so much music I had never heard before. I felt like music had this endless possibility of being anything.  

And this was all on your own? You just decided to do this one day?

[Laughs] Yeah this is just what I did. I didn’t have a lot of friends. You know it’s the whole “queer youth” storyline. Outcast, freak, bullied, blah blah blah. I would spend a lot of time by myself and music was my friend. I wanted to know everything about it.

So you’re building your background knowledge with this research, gaining access to this studio, then decide to make your own music. What was that process like?

When I was really little, I would take songs off the radio and write new lyrics to them. So it would be the same melodies and all of that, but I would just write my own song. When my parents divorced, there was a lot of change and chaos in my family and just in my life, and that’s when I started writing my own original songs. That was when I was 13. Then I would take the original songs that I wrote to my voice teacher and she would help me put chords to them and create these songs. A lot of times it would be me singing this melody to her, and she would fiddle around with the piano a little bit and then we would come up with a chord progression we liked and record them on a cassette tape. Once I had a couple of songs there that I really, really liked, she suggested that I record them in a studio. She worked things out with my family and for my birthday they bought me studio time.

That’s like the best gift ever!

I know! It was this amazing, brilliant thing. It was my grandmother. My grandmother always supported my music and me singing. I had a job really young, around 13, working at a snack bar. But it wasn’t enough for studio time. And honestly she paid for most of the studio time when I was young. She was a domestic worker. She would scrub people’s toilets and then turn around and give me $150 for a day in the studio. And that was never a question. 

What do you mean it was never a question?

She was never, ever like, “I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know if this is worth it.” Never. The sacrifice she made for that was never lost on me. I knew, even then, what that meant. To have someone who is working so hard, literally barely making enough to survive, support you. I don’t think I realized, that young, how poor my family was. I did know we weren’t wealthy by any means, so the fact that she would do that is amazing. I’m never not going to make this worth it, for her. If I were doing it for me, I would’ve walked away a long time ago. This industry is terrible. It’s full of people who will steal, people who will cut you out and leave you in the dust.  I’ve lost a lot of skin in this game. The reason I do this is for my grandmother, my family, my ancestors. 

My family is Native and has really been through it, for a long time. We have nothing to show for it. Every person in my family has experienced intense trauma, and I have as well. If this was all about “Look at me! I’m so talented,” if this is what it was about for me-- hell no. I would be a happy real estate agent at this point. It’s about making all of this sacrifice and trauma my family has been through mean something, and putting it into art. Maybe one day I’ll be on a Grammy stage, and maybe one day I’ll be dead in a ditch. I don’t know. But I do know that my life is for my community. People like me. People who can relate. At the end of the day that’s what’s important to me. 

Do you take the history of your family and the sacrifices they’ve made, the vulnerabilities and emotions shared from the music you enjoy, and good old fashioned pop sensibility and incorporate all of those into the music you’re making now?

Definitely. For me, Pop music is about a feeling. There’s no pretext. You don’t have to know the story, you don’t have to know the language, you don’t have to know anything about it before you hear it. But when you hear that Pop song, you feel it. And that is universal. That’s why we see this huge rise in K-Pop. There’s not a parallel rise in people being able to speak Korean. People don’t always know what K-Pop stars are singing about but they feel it. Pop music is a feeling, a communication that transcends language barriers, time barriers, space barriers. That’s why Pop is what I’m aiming for. I want to connect. I want people to feel like there’s space for them in the music. 

The music that I’m making now is coming from a place that is newer for me to create from. It’s authentic to what I’m feeling now and where I feel like so many people are at in the world. There’s a lot of pain. There’s a lot of exhaustion, anxiety, depression. I want to make music that makes people feel like they’re powerful. Like my new song “Metal Me.”  To me that song is about personal power. Those sounds, that production, it feels powerful. I want people to feel like they can conquer their demons and fight everything against them. If I can make somebody feel powerful with a song, that’s it. 

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[delciastudies]

[17.03.20] ✧

ft a v small portion of my “great books” collection <3

I’m ‘mosily’ (adv) searching for a new studyblr challenge - a lot of them involve taking pictures of supplies etc, but I’m not a huge bullet journal studyblr, but more of a look how cute my surroundings are that I study in studyblr, and maybe a travelblr too? I was doing a tracker and a to-do, but it started feeling repetitive. Someone enlighten me ):

Anyhow, my study space at home is super pretty, and I know it won’t last for long because I still have to unload my bags from my car. Not sure I mentioned this previously, but I made the roadtrip from california to colorado this past weekend, and my plant Sassy made it the whole way! (and so far so good, she doesn’t seem to have altitude sickness as bad as I do)

In terms of grad school, I still don’t know how to make a decision. IHEID is still my top choice, but I feel a slight instinct that I will regret not studying art. At IHEID I’d be getting an MA in anthropology and sociology, whereas at MICA I would be getting an MFA in Curatorial Practice, or at Edinburgh an MSC in Modern and Contemporary Art. Three very different degrees and programs.

Regardless, I am happy that I can see myself thriving at each of these schools, and I’m blessed with the bittersweet conflict of having to choose between too many. 

I’m going to try to do a basic and minimal language challenge/langblr with French, just to see how far I can get with all of this extra time! 

Hope everyone is staying happy and in good spirits during this strange transitionary period xx

[theancientgeekoroman]

Hello there! I’m currently an undergrad (junior) majoring in history and anthropology, hoping to go to grad school to get a masters in museum studies. I’m also currently part of my university’s honors college, but I’m considering dropping it. Last semester I got super stressed and it really made me want to slow things down a bit (honors requires special classes and a senior thesis) but I don’t know how much being in the honors college could help me get into grad school. Do you have any advice?

Hi, Andrea! 

So, I’m in the U.S., so this is going to be specific to universities here, and if you want me to expand/clarify anything, please let me know. I’m going to tell you about my journey to an MA in Museum Studies, and I hope it will help you.

I attended school on the East Coast at a decent, but not Ivy League or anything of that caliber institution. My majors were History/Classics and English/Creative Writing with minors in Art History and Theatre. I was not in the honors college myself, I entered in as a non-honors student.

But I did fail multiple courses. And had to psychologically withdraw from others. One semester I retroactively withdrew from when I was about to graduate. My GPA was 2.67. Traditionally, to get into graduate school, you need at least a 3.0, if not higher. This was my worry; however, as an undergraduate, I also did the following: volunteered in a historic costume collection, the university archaeology lab, and a local community art gallery; completed an internship at a natural history museum; and was one of eight people to gain a spot in a competitive Curatorial Apprenticeship program at the school.

Additionally, I did an independent study where I wrote my own paper (an analysis of a 4th-century Apulian pelike, for which I identified its possible use and the meaning of the imagery.) I didn’t go to my Museum Studies program right out of my undergrad, but one year after I had graduated, and after I had begun part-time paid position and part-time volunteer position at two different museums. I applied and got in on conditional admission because of my undergraduate record: they recognized that I had the experience but was not quite there on the grades front. I graduated that program with a 3.89, which helped me get into my second MA. 

My advice, therefore, is this: I don’t think you need the honors distinction to get into a Master’s program. The more important thing for Museum Studies programs, in my experience, has been the experience. So, if you drop the honors program because the workload is stressing you out, I don’t think it’ll make it harder for you to get in! 

Suggestions for different things you can do for experience:

-Do an independent study course focusing on an area/era that you are interested in. I did a 1-credit independent study so it wouldn’t overload my other required work, and I still developed the skills I needed for the future. I did research and analysis and wrote a paper about an artifact that no one had yet studied in the university museum collection. This will give you a small, independent project which I think can be akin to a thesis project but on a smaller scale if that makes sense? It won’t be a graduation requirement, and you’ll still gain useful experience.

-For anthropology, first, see if you have an archaeology lab on campus where you can volunteer (I was able to do this in the “slower” Winter and Summer sessions because it was still open, and I didn’t have to worry about committing for a full semester). Additionally, see if there are any programs from your local parks service where they need archaeology or anthropology volunteers. Field schools locally or abroad are also an option if you want to do that, but I know those can be expensive, but some are less pricey than others. You can sometimes opt out of the academic credit portion if you’ve already graduated.

-For history, look into your local archives or State Historic Preservation Office (if you’re in the States) or what would be your country’s equivalent to that.

-For museums in general, look into possible opportunities for apprenticeships, internships, or volunteer positions if you’re able to do that; take advantage of your breaks and your summers (both while in undergrad and right after you graduate). You could volunteer/intern at anywhere from a small community art studio to a large local museum, it all depends on your interests. I’ve done everything from Gallery Attendant where I was the only person present to watch over a small gallery and take care of sales (manually! No register) in the little shop that was attached to Curatorial intern cataloging specimens and objects and translating tags on ornithology collections from Japanese to English. 

Check to see what opportunities are in your area in terms of volunteering and internships, but especially look for opportunities on campus because that requires less travel and helps you figure out what you like the best. My university had a Historic Costume & Textile Collection, an archaeology lab, and three different museum galleries on campus (main gallery, contemporary African-American art, and a geological gallery) where you could work as a Gallery Attendant. 

I realize you said that you want to drop the honors college because you were stressed, and I completely understand that, especially as someone who seems to be double majoring. I know this all looks overwhelming together, but remember I spaced out these experiences and you don’t have to go straight into graduate school from undergrad if you feel like you want to take some time in between to gain experience, etc. you should do that. 

My experiences were spaced out in this way: the Apprenticeship was during a school year where I didn’t have any other intern/volunteer responsibilities, and I did my independent study in conjunction with it, so my Mentor was also my supervisor for the independent research. One summer, I did volunteer work sporadically at a gallery but also had a 6-week internship. So, say you want to use your summer to gain experience, but also not burn out: field schools can be long, but I know of a few that are only 1-2 weeks, then take a bit of time off, then do an internship or volunteer or both, if you feel like it suits you. I know a lot of people emphasize continuous hustle, but don’t be afraid to give yourself breaks and try not to stress too much over the experience (I’m sure you have some already!). Even if you don’t, there are plenty of things you can do that will show your potential as a graduate student without coming out of the honors college. 

I hope that helped, and please let me know if you need anything else! 

All the best,

Tychon, the Ancient Geeko-Roman

[superlinguo]

Linguistics Jobs: Interview with the Director of Education and Professional Practice at the American Anthropological Association

The American Anthropological Association is a professional organisation for anthropologists, and promotes the field of anthropology. With over 9000 members, it runs a range of activities, publications and projects. Daniel Ginsberg works as the director of education and professional practice at the AAA - I’ll let him explain what that involves in more detail. I would like to highlight Daniel’s observation that social research design is something that you can take from academic research training and apply to a broad range of jobs. You can follow Daniel on twitter (@NemaVeze).

What did you study at university?

I’ve studied the intersection of language, culture and education for a long time, but from different disciplinary perspectives. My undergraduate degree is in comparative literature because it was the best way I knew at the time to study languages. I tried to also study theoretical math at the same time, but I wasn’t able to complete all the coursework for both. During my last year I took intro to linguistics and I realized that was probably what I should have done to begin with, but oh well, too late. I loved comp lit and I have no regrets—it’s basically like linguistic anthropology except that you use novels and plays instead of everyday interaction. I went on from there to get my MA in TESOL and worked for six years as a language teacher, the last three teaching ESL at a public high school in the United States, followed by a stint as a materials developer in language assessment. That overlapped with me going back to grad school for linguistics, and I was eventually able to quit and work on my PhD full time. I had a concentration in sociolinguistics, and my specific areas of interest were educational linguistics, discourse analysis, ethnography and semiotics. My thesis was on interaction in mathematics classrooms.

What is your job?

My fancy title is director of education and professional practice. This means that I do research on the profession of anthropology (including, but not limited to, university professors of anthropology) and use those findings to support our professional development and public outreach programs. Here are a couple of things I’ve done recently: develop interactive materials for a traveling exhibit on migration and mobility; design, field and analyze a survey of journal editors; facilitate a focus group of anthropology department chairs about their pandemic crisis response; plan a remote internship for two high school students who are interested to learn more about anthropology.

How does your linguistics training help you in your job?

There are a couple of specific ways that linguistics informs the way I do my work. For example, while I was working on language assessment, I learned to think of a test form as a speech event that’s designed to have a certain perlocutionary effect, and the same principle applies when I’m writing survey questions. A survey response isn’t the unvarnished truth of someone’s soul, but a speech act that they’re accomplishing in a certain social setting, and any good analysis has to begin from there. Focus groups are even better—I love to write focus group protocols in a way that will elicit a lot of narrative from participants and use narrative analysis methods to map the way participants conceptualize their institutional / social / moral universe.

Do you have any advice do you wish someone had given to you about linguistics/careers/university?

This isn’t linguistics-specific, but it’s also good to have a general idea of social research design. Like a lot of professionals, I work on interdisciplinary teams a lot—I have colleagues with backgrounds in business, publishing, communications, etc.—and one thing I bring to those collaborations is that I understand how to think about research beyond just “let’s send out a survey.” This is something I’ve heard from applied social scientists in a lot of different contexts of practice, from municipal government to Silicon Valley.

Any other thoughts or comments?

I’m currently working with a group of college students who are anthropology majors, and I’m supervising them doing research about how their peers and colleagues prepare for what comes after graduation. One thing they noticed is that students who study anthropology tend not to have a specific career goal in mind, but rather they choose anthropology because it resonates with their values. They have faith in the value of what they’re learning, and faith that it’ll lead eventually to rewarding professional employment. And when you talk to professionals about their careers, that actually tends to be what happens. Your job title won’t be “linguist” or “anthropologist,” but you’re doing linguistics or anthropology because that’s who you are. I don’t mean this in a corny, “just believe in yourself!” kind of way—it does take effort and imagination—but if you can’t see the finish line now, that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Recently:

Interview with a Research Coordinator, Speech Pathologist

Interview with a Dance Instructor and Stay-at-Home Mom

Interview with a Transcriptionist

Interview with an Exhibition Content Manager

Interview with a Community Outreach Coordinator

Check out the full Linguist Jobs Interview List and the Linguist Jobs tag for even more interviews  

[freakscircus]

Hey Dani. What's the difference between taking an anthropology course and history course in college? I'm just a little confused because they seem to overlap quite a bit. Thanks!

hello! i’m no anthro expert but... the way i understand it they definitely overlap quite a bit but their approach is pretty different. anthropology is quite theory heavy, you will be reading a lot more thinkers and how they look at things. anthropology is more heavy on the WHY things happen as opposed to HOW they happened, which is more the approach of history. history can also dabble in theory but you will see it a lot less. anthropology likes to look at culture, norms, mores, the context around phenomena while history unpacks this less but merges heavily with anthro as you get into an MA/PhD.  cultural anthropology will tap into history to make arguments but it tends to stay in the realm of the modern, while obviously history can go as far back as possible record wise depending on the course you decide to take. physical anthropology tends to be much more biological/scientific than history, although it will influence the study of prehistory/early times. 

[bereft-of-frogs]

Have you spoken at all about how you got into death? It’s so not part of the astronaut/doctor/firefighter career options, and I’m curious about how you found it and what drew you to it.

Ha, I guess I haven’t talked about it because it’s not that interesting of a story. It really started more because I wanted to be an academic. Like, the problems with the academy and the university job pool (or lack thereof LOL) aside, all I’ve really wanted to do is read things. And write things. And talk incessantly about whatever I’ve learned. It just so happens that gradually that turned into my working in the broader field of death studies and people usually don’t want me to talk about it outside of October. (My time. to. shine.) But I think it’s secretly the way most people in academics find their subjects - you write one paper, and then another, and then you can’t think of anything to write for your next class and hey how do you think we could make this term paper about X subject- and it builds from there until you find yourself staring down a thesis.

So there wasn’t any real ‘grad school application essay’ moment. It’s not even about like...my parents being in medicine? Though that had certainly helped to desensitize beforehand. It was definitely in college...I don’t even really remember the first paper I wrote that centered on death. I vaguely remember the class it was for...I’m pretty sure it was very bad and I don’t think I got a good grade on it. I do remember the second, because it was about cemeteries and ritualized burial that’s when I was like ‘oh wait cemeteries are interesting.’ I did get a very good grade on it, and a lot of praise from the prof, another reason I think I got in so deep. Because fairly early on I started getting positive feedback, so it was like...’oh this makes it easy to choose paper topics and I get that sweet sweet validation for it, sign me up for this.’ I started reaching for it as a topic when I couldn’t think of paper topics.

I’m fortunate in a way because ‘death’ is a very broad topic and it is also truly universal - ‘we’re all riding that bus,’ a woman once said to me after a tour. So it’s very easy to grab onto that as a rough base to work from and approach whatever term assignment you’re given through that lens. It’s something that happens to everyone, is a major part of every culture, but is so different depending on cultural context and I find it so interesting to see how that’s changed through time. (Why I ultimately switched from anthropology to history for my MA.) I try not to be too sensational about it. While working at a crypt, I actually had a whole conflict with an outside tour company because I wasn’t a huge fan of how they stretched stories to make things seem gruesome or spooky. Like, sure I’m a spooky bitch, but when I’m actually talking about real funeral rituals or burial practices, I’m not about making it look grotesque. I’m very much more in favor a nonjudgmental, nonsensational exploration of this common experience.

(I guess I’m really more of a spooky bitch about ghosts. I like ghost stories, I really do. What I took issue with was I was trying to approach the interpretation of our site as, ‘here are some common ways that people in the 18th and 19th century processed death and the rituals they did’ and there was a specific outside company that always wanted to make it like ‘isn’t that just horrifying?’ about practices that were quite normal in their context. Or just plain making up ghost stories. I worked there for several years and I knew the origins of every ghost story they tried to tell, so I could see the way they were expanded on in each retelling. It wasn’t haunted. And I do actually believe in ghosts. (#boogara) But that crypt wasn’t haunted. Now, the small cemetery in the marshes by the house I grew up in...that was haunted.)

So yeah, anyways, the start was just...I just...kept writing papers. I actually thought of it at first as a “lazy” way of choosing paper topics - but by the time I showed up to grad school I realized that’s just how academics get into specialties. That’s how you start to become more of an expert in your field. You cover the broad strokes first, start reading the foundational texts, then get more and more specific as you go on. You get to the point where you’re able to say shit like, “I really liked this article, but I don’t quite agree with the author’s interpretation of Gorer.” It’s fun.

Thanks for asking anon! It helped to remind me why I got into this whole thing in the first place; I genuinely like reading and writing about stuff. (Grad school ended...poorly...for reasons that were not related to my performance or subject. There’s some bits in the #academic adventures tag if you’re curious.) And also a good reminder that 1) I should really write that essay about death in media because there’s a new show out I can work in to be #relevant and also I have come too far and worked too hard to let my career die because of what happened (even though it was also valid that was a super traumatizing experience) 2) I have so clearly replaced my academic career with fanfiction. I’m not even mad. I’m not even going to fight it. Just know that the number of fics I write that take their titles from folk songs and/or poems about death is probably going to continue to rise. Just a heads up. I’m not going to fight it. There will probably be more footnoting. I’m sorry.

(I’m not sorry.)