Well, i have successfully completed the first day of my ph.d. program.....how many more to go- I don't want to know. I 'TAd' my first course this morning, which essentially means I sat through the ANTH intro course and drank coffee. I don't know how well I performed though. It was by far the largest class I've ever been in, bursting at over 300 undergrads, and I definetly stammered around when i had to get up and give my 'cocktail party story' about who i was and what my interests are. As I have never taken an intro-anthro course before I'm sure i will learn alot (for example whether or not i am in the right discipline). What was really interesting though was that a first year stopped me on the way out and was very interested in talking with me about my interests, anthropology, how i got to where i am, and whether i am leading a study abroad trip (he probably has a crush on me, it's the shirt (see photo) {sorry jo}).
After plodding through the furnace-like heat to my first graduate level course, i entered a different world. Well, not really, it was just up the street, and engaging essentially with the same subject, but on a clearly much different level. The foundations of ecological/environmental anthropology course is taught by my advisor, Pete Brosius, who has done his fieldwork among the Penan in malaysia (http://www.anthro.uga.edu/people/pbrosius.html)
The class was interesting, he gave some broad background on anthropology as a discipline from an ecological/environmental perspective, and some perspectives on starting the ph.d. process. This was our first meeting as a cohort, and i'd have to say it was like a middle school dance; no, it wasn't awkward in a gendered way, but in the sense of 'oh, my-these people will become close friends and colleagues over the next X years.....' anyway, so an exciting day, let's see what tommorrow brings.
1 comment:
that picture makes you look a kind of like doug from the nickelodeon cartoon. an improvement i'd say...
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