And so it begins. Last week, it finally had to happen. I spent hours looking up call numbers on the university library website. I dragged out the rollerboard luggage (and my partner, Stephen). And, together, we went to pick up the first batch of comprehensive exam books. I think I underestimated the amount of time …
Continue reading Here It Starts: books, exams, and, of course, cats
As a PhD student, reading is a daily activity. And not just reading, but reading as much as you can as quickly as you can. Training to speed-read is like training for a marathon--each book is a new opportunity to improve upon the overall time it takes you to understand: the author's argument, the sources …
Continue reading A Grad Student’s Plea for Standard-Sized Books
A decade ago, I spent the winter applying to MA programs in medieval history in the US and the UK. My subsequent experience at the University of York was a great one, but I was absolutely convinced after a year of Latin, palaeography, research, and writing that academia wasn't for me. I returned to the …
Medievalist in the Making 