Reflections on Grad School and Selfhood

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…]

The Lady in the Toothpaste Commercial

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!

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…]

Go See Newfoundland!

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…]

Journey to the Arctic

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…]