I need to keep this pace up–five Philip K. Dick novels read and notes completed in one week. I didn’t reverse the image above since I just finished A Scanner Darkly.
Five PKD Novels in One Week
November 28, 2009
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Posted by Jason W Ellis
More PhD Exam Reading List Progress
November 24, 2009Despite having two classes to teach right now and daily life concerns, like getting my Toyota Corolla’s oil changed today, I made a noticeable impact on my PhD exam reading list. I followed up some poems by Countee Cullen and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God with three Philip K. Dick novels this weekend: Martian Time-Slip, Dr. Bloodmoney, and Now Wait For Last Year. It should be noted that Yufang’s excellent cooking significantly improved my productivity. Tomorrow, I’ll cook her ginger chicken after I am done teaching.
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It’s a Trap!
November 16, 2009
Admiral Ackbar–”It’s a trap!”
Legos are such a soothing relief from exam reading. Although, I have been multitasking–building the Mon Calimari cruiser Home One while listening to French podcasts for my language exam.
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20th Century American PhD Exam List Updated
September 19, 2009Following a meeting and some negotiations by email, Kevin and I have finalized my 20th Century American qualifying exam reading list. He suggested that we break the list into two segments: Canonical and Non-Canonical. This division, for lack of a better terminology, gets the point across about the broad acceptance of these texts in the academy. Nevertheless, all of the works fit into my over all research interests: identity, bodies, and technology. I have posted the leaner, more focused, and more encompassing list on the PhD Exam page.
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Posted by Jason W Ellis
Major Exam Reading List Reconstruction
September 15, 2009I’m working on a new draft of my 20th century American literature major exam reading list. I met with Kevin last week, and he sent me some suggestions for the list. His changes are taking me in a better direction for whittling the content while forcing me to consider the way each text fits together into a whole, at least as far as my research interests lie. I will link to the PhD exam list when I have a more finalized version of the list. It will be leaner and meaner.
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PhD Reading List, Reflecting on July 2009
August 1, 2009Today, Yufang and I ran into Dave at Last Exit Books, and he and I discussed our PhD reading lists. He asked me how my reading was going, and I realized that I hadn’t thought that much about my progress even though I was keeping track of it on my PhD Exams page here. I could see what I had read, but I hadn’t taken much time to consider how much material I had read since I began in ernest at the beginning of July after we moved into our new place across the street from Kent State.
Looking over my reading list and excluding anything that I read during Spring 2009, I have read 10 novels, 1 theory article, and 4 theory books since the beginning of July 2009. On average, that’s about 1 book every two days. I have had other things going on this month that I have taken time away from my reading, and I have to spend more time reading theory than novels to be sure. Additionally, I have to keep notes on everything that I read so that I can continually refresh my memory over the next two semesters prior to my exams.
What I’ve learned is that I do need to pick up my reading and note taking pace. Also, I need to improve the quality of my notes so that when I type them the process will take much less time. For example, I spent nearly half a day or more working on my notes for Ihab Hassan’s The Postmodern Turn. Obviously, I can’t spend that much premium time on one work particularly after I’ve spent considerable time meticulously reading through it.
I’m learning that the PhD exam process is itself a lesson besides all of the things that you take in and learn for the exams themselves. I have to learn how to prepare for the exams in an efficient, methodical, and effective way. I’m building on that now, and I hope to know how to prepare for PhD exams very well by the time that I’m ready to actually take the exams next Spring. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), those lessons of how to learn won’t be needed for another exam, but at least I will carry them forward as I do my professional work in the field during and beyond the dissertation.
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Posted by Jason W Ellis
Added Page for PhD Exam Reading Lists
July 3, 2009I added a “PhD Exams” page to the top of DynamicSubspace.net that includes the reading lists for my three PhD exams, which I will take at the end of Spring 2010. I’ve enabled comments on the page, so please let me know if there is something absolutely critical that I should add to the list, or something that you believe should be removed. Currently, nothing is marked as being read, but I will work on that later tonight.
Back to reading.
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Posted by Jason W Ellis
