There are divergent views on success. Some say it’s a product of hard work. Some say it’s sheer luck. More recent schools of thought say it’s a combination of both–hard work and luck. That’s well, true. But I believe every success story has something much more important: self-belief. I recall grappling with my academics in … [Read more…]
Mature students often have the subtle connotation of being luddites. Unable to successfully negotiate the academic world, our pursuits are admirable, but ultimately doomed. At 39, I felt the alienation of a repetitive work environment and the longing for intellectual stimulation and fulfilment. I started by listening to a philosophy podcast (Philosophize This! – It’s … [Read more…]
I never know how to respond when people ask me how grad school is going. So far it has involved a lot of back and forth, a lot of up and down, sometimes in rapid and disorienting succession. Some days I feel genuinely, giddily excited about the things that I’m reading and discussing and writing … [Read more…]
What do you want to do after you finish your degree? As I enter the second year of my master’s, this question pops up more and more often. Similar to the inescapable what do you want to be when you grow up of elementary school days, these questions teach us from a young age that … [Read more…]
Welcome new graduate students and welcome back to our returning graduate students for the Fall 2022 semester! We are very excited to be resuming the graduate student blog for the 2022-2023 academic year. This year we have 5 graduate students who will be blogging about their first-hand experiences in graduate studies. Follow their journey throughout … [Read more…]
My dissertation AMBIVALAND: Tracing a Web of Cultural Ambivalence in Newfoundland is naturally related to the island of Newfoundland. Exploring the place has been at the roots of my project and is still part of my research. A couple of years ago, I moreover made Newfoundland my second home. For students ‘from away’ whose studies are … [Read more…]
Day one. We loaded the boat and filled all available cabinets, cubbies, and engine rooms with enough research material to last for 5 months. The boat seems unbelievably huge right now, but I know that after a month at sea it will feel like a small home. I have the same thoughts about the crew … [Read more…]
One thing I noticed during the pandemic is that everything slowed down. On a larger scale, global closures made it hard to get anything done, but I noticed it on a smaller scale too. People now take longer to respond to emails, to complete work tasks, and more. Even though some parts of our lives … [Read more…]
Being an artist, I know that creativity can’t be forced or called at the flick of a switch. Indeed, most people would likely agree that creative inspiration and production in the arts need space and time to materialize. An artist daydreaming, contemplating, apparently doing nothing appears to be quite an accepted picture. But then, artists … [Read more…]
Hey graduate students! How are you doing? I hope you are doing well, and Happy New Year to you and your family! I wish you all the best of luck along with peace, health and happiness. You did an excellent job last year, and I hope you are excited about this year, and rest of … [Read more…]