Monday, April 10, 2006

Mush

My brain in turning into mush. Mush, mush, mush. Hehehehehehehehe!!!!! Let me out!!!

So, I am almost finished with paper number five. I will write paper number six tomorrow. Paper number seven will be Wed. thru Friday. I gets more time because it is 15 pages. Then, Sat. and Sun. I read them all again, realize they're crap and that I'm going to fail and cry for the rest of the weekend. After that, I slip into an angry despondency and wonder if I can sue the university for mental cruelty. After I send the papers in, I get really, really drunk. And then I don't care anymore. There you have it, my to do list for the rest of the week.

I was going to wait until the end of the semester before I read anything for fun, but I think that after this experience, I'm going to read a novel immediately. For fun. I'm going to read a fictional book for fun. You know which book I'm going to start with. . . . (wait for it) The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Oh the irony. (And I'm serious. I bought the book over Christmas break and haven't had a chance to read it yet).

Back to the mush makers. Today, this is the question that is destroying my life:
Some historians of the Soviet Union regard the past 15 years (1991-present) as an era of an "archival revolution." Other historians of the Soviet Union caution against "archival fetishism," and maintain that the "opening of the archives" has not fundamentally altered our understanding of the Soviet past. In your opinion has there been an archival revolution? Have new archival materials changed our understanding of the Soviet Party/State and society or reaffirmed our understanding of the Soviet Party/State and society? Have other factors affected the development of the post-1991 historiography of the USSR? In answering this essay question, be sure to discuss at least two post-1991 works that deal with different aspects of Soviet history. Be sure to compare these works with earlier works on the same or similar topics.

Hope you all have a more normal life than I do, or at least less "intellectual".
Stacia

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

mushy brains! woo hoo! lol =) hang in there girlie!

Bart's Camille said...

it's almost over, it's almost over, it's almost over.... you're going to do great. hang in there kiddo. sorry i haven't had much time for proofreading lately. making a weed costume and doing yardwork nonstop (hence the all over poison ivy i have)... will fit in the proofreading soon! Love you girl! Camille

Beth said...

You go girl! Once you get through this process, you will feel relief and joy the likes of which you have never known before! You can do it!!

Beth said...

I'm so jealous. You actually have the focus to study. And write and crap.

Wish I had some.

Anonymous said...

It's good to see that you map out your neuroses like the rest of us.

As for the Soviet archival revolution, I don't know what to say about it. People need to learn from archives rather than use them as crutches.

This probably has nothing to do with what you said, but I pride myself for bringing a new kind of stupidity and ignorance to every comment I write. ;)

Jorge

PS: I came here from Beth's blog.

Clarity25 said...

Good luck with all your work. I'm jealous too! I miss having papers to write and studying. After graduation it's hard to keep learning new things and researching because you don't have the push of assignments and deadlines.:)

Thanks for your positive thoughts regarding the Visa. Hopefully it'll come soon and we'll be out of here

Make sure you take breaks from your studying, you don't want your brain to turn into mush.;) Kick back a little and do something you enjoy for 15 minutes. It'll clear your head.