soul_ooc | (no subject)

(no subject)

Heya ~~Chickpeas~~ Soul-Campaigners \o

Just wanted to give people a little FYI regarding my activity in future:

A few weeks ago, my research proposal for PhD study was accepted by a fabulous and very enthusiastic primary supervisor. In a whirlwind of paperwork and slicing through red tape since, I now have a formal offer of admission from the university and am set to begin work on my PhD this week!!

Because I'm in the UK, doing a doctoral degree means self-structured research, not taking classes like it would in the States. But it's still going to be a lot of me buried under books and intensive reading/writing each day. And it will remain constant like this for the next 3-4 years (at which point I will be able to officially put Dr. in front of my name! \o/)

I've already begun to be slower with tagging as I gear up to get back into the swing of academia, and I anticipate more slowness to come. I'll also probably be on AIM less often, so if folks need to reach me for plotting etc, PM's (through either of my characters' journals) or emails ( unsymbolic [at] earthlink [dot] net ) will likely be the best ways to get hold of me, and please don't feel shy about prodding me about things!

Affects ~~Mr. GrumpyPants~~ Kanda and

smokeeasy.

<3

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ohshi-

well, congrats! :D that's really exciting news.

Thanks!! It is v. exciting and also kind of nervous-making! =D /dances around

you can doo eeeeet! &hearts

/PRODS ABOUT RANDOM SHIT AND DISTRACTS YOU WITH LOLCATS

no rly THAT'S SO COOL. go go go study doctor-chan!

YOU CAN ALWAYS PROD ME WITH RANDOMNESS AND LOLCATS!!

Though have you seen

loltheorists? It's the community that proves that critical theory brings all the dorks to the yard! XD

Congratulations!! Good luck with all the research and reading! :D

Thanks! I might be a glutton for punishment but I am really looking forward to it! 8D

lmao aren't we all? XDD But the main thing is that you're looking forward to it!

Yaaaaaaaay go you! *dances*

(Also, this means I may have to call you Doctor Kanda in my head. Even if you're not a doctor yet XDD)

EEEE! /dances with!

But RRRRRRROFLMAO

OMG The idea of Kanda and Doctor. In the same sentence. ....Kanda's answer to everything would be STAB IT. Like even things that couldn't be stabbed:

Différance? /STAB
The Real Real? /STAB
Commodity fetishism? /STAB STAB STAB

fffff

"I'm sorry, Kanda, but to become a Doctor you must complete three to four years of intense..."

*STAB STAB STAB*

"...Here's your certificate, Doctor Kanda!"

...you know now I really want to know if there exist modern day AU fanfiction, where Kanda is a Doctor. AND YET STILL RESORTS TO STABBITY FOR EVERYTHING

I am now seeing Kanda with a stack of student essays to grade. He reads two sentences, gets out his red ~~pen~~ katana. AND IMPALES THE LOT and then storms out of the room amidst a cascade of scattered papers floating through the air to settle on every surface.

...I may need to write this the next time I need some truly cathartic crack. Perhaps every time I really want to table flip I will just write a little drabble about "Doctor Kanda" stabbing something inappropriate (and accompany it with this icon). 8D

Hah, that would be awesome. Students would fear Doctor Kanda! Actually, he probably wouldn't have any students. They would all be dead. On account of being stabbed.

If you do write it you will so have to like me 8DDD

That reminds me of House and his answer to everything:

"It's not lupus."

SMART. YOU ARE SMART. WHOA. WHOOOOOOA.

No, seriously, that's so cool. And congrats, seriously!! I know you've been talkin' and hopin' for it so I bet you deserve it /o/

Thanks bb! It has been a looooong time in the lead up, so I'm eager indeed!!

\o\
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Wow, congrats!

Best of luck, future doctor! Gogogogogo--

=D!! Thank you muchly!! And I promise never to steal your handle. ^_^

AAAAAAA SKYLER CONGRATULATIONS~ ♥ ♥ ♥ You're so awesome! I'll watch out for you in plurk for funtiems conversation instead of constantly bugging you in AIM, hahahaha. /not the most conducive company to getting work done

!!!!! THANKS YUKEH!!! <3!!

Plurk is fabulous for quick little chatterings and updates and I shall definitely prod you over there! And will also find times for longer AIM rambles somehow because I would be sad otherwise! <333

Small breaks are good! : > And it will make us not worry about your state and Ghost's on the off-chance that you awol or something... ! ;A; (And you must! A sadness we will have.)

COME BACK TO US SOON and omg that is so cool. @ academic stuff. I'm still pretty much starting out with my own MA. ;;

I shall manage to be around here and there--by sheer stubborn force of will! =D

Eeee but I love how fellow academic-types come out of the woodwork when one academic appears! What field is your MA in? /curious

Literary and Cultural Studies! I'm aiming either for a transfer to a uni abroad for Comparative Media Studies, or to wrap up my degree here with a specialization in applying literary theory to alternative media forms like video games, comics, and... well. RP. XD

We should find a time to chat sometime, as our topics sound like they might have some strong overlaps. My work is on queer fancultures online. (I generally present myself as a queer theory scholar who does work on fandom rather than a fandom studies scholar who works with queer material.) My PhD topic has to do with the "figural child" in slash and yaoi fanart and my masters thesis was on slash fanfic in the Harry Potter fandom.

I'm also originally from the US (where I did my MA) and am now doing my PhD in the UK, so I have some experience with the vagaries of applying for graduate study abroad. Whereabouts in the world are you now and where would you like to see yourself heading?

Queer Studies, huh? I am hoping to get some works out about the fujoshi culture, both on a local level based in the Philippines (or maybe Southeast Asia, idk yet!) and within the internet communities. I'm also interested in the fan writing scene, beyond RP~ both subcultures are rife with so many possibilities. o_o

The most recent paper I did was a reader-oriented critique of Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, which basically forwarded my stand: that there are, indeed, texts that lend themselves strongly to particular interpretations versus others to a particular group of readers. The next one tracked "trends" in the doujinshi released for Gintama! I plan on using both of these papers when I start compiling a body of work for srs publication.

Figural child? owo

I'm considering MIT as my main choice, because of its Comparative Media Studies program. If that doesn't fold out (which will likely be the case because I IZ POOR), then I'm probably going to finish my MA here, study Japanese like whoa, get some stuff out in conferences THEN go for a PhD. Where is yet to be determined.

...Yeah, we definitely need to chat sometime. BY THE WAY, I AM KAE AND I'M ON PLURK, I THINK I SEE YOU TROLLING YUKEH'S THREADS EVERY NOW AND THEN!

...I also feel the very strong need to friend you on LJ, but my posts are most inconsequential and full of flail and squee. orz /IS SUCH A STALKER TODAY

.....Durrrr-hurr. Wow, am I ever slow on the uptake sometimes--Yukeh linked me to your blog at some point a while back! It just didn't click until your comment about the paper on Reborn that that's you. (I scanned over titles of papers you posted there and thought that one in particular looked like something I'd like to have a read of, though I've not had a chance to get back to it since.)

As a kind of heads up about cultural studies programs in the US--they are particularly beleaguered nowadays because of funding issues, so anywhere that you get an offer from you should probably ask quite candidly about the status of the department and its security within the institution. I'd worry less about MIT than others, perhaps, for a few reasons, not least of all because they have (as I'm sure you know) the big name fandom studies guy, Henry Jenkins.

Also, though it might not be an obvious place to look right off the bat (because I get the impression that "Women's Studies" tends to signify differently abroad than it does for academics in the States), you might consider looking into some programs/departments like Women's Studies that host media/cultural studies scholarship under different departmental umbrellas. I did my MA in Women's Studies at the University of Arizona which was a fantastic environment and one that was actually very supportive of the foundational point of departure from which my research moves: questioning and destabilizing "women" as a category for theoretical analysis in studies of slash fandom.

Aaaand I'm really rambling your ear off here, but the figural child is a theoretical concept developed in the work of Lee Edelman (No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ekqoGPUy-B0C&dq=queer+theory+and+the+death+drive&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=TthNS6CpKKD80wSCr4CCDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false) if you want to check it out.~)

Also, pls do friend me on LJ and on plurk, and I shall friend you back!! I very rarely update my LJ and also tend to use it as a space for squee and flail, and only occasionally for srsbzns, so I'm totally down with that!

sladkhg;hsd My stuff is likely very, very messy, BUT I DO TRY. T_T

Thanks so much for the advice. I'm groping around in the dark about all of this, and my colleagues haven't exactly been helpful - everyone's pretty busy at my home department, with conferences and administrative politics to deal with. Women's Studies, though... I honestly hadn't considered that before. Maybe I should look into it now!

And I am totally going to look into that concept. I was wondering why it sounded familiar! Ought to check if I've taken it up before~

HUHU, OKAY. STALKING WILL COMMENCE.

/pimps out UA Women's Studies Department (http://ws.web.arizona.edu/mission/index.php)

I'm happy to ramble about this more anytime! Just give me a prod! There are various other departments that I might recommend depending on particular angles/theoretical traditions you might be working with--during my MA there was a lot of talk amongst grad students and faculty about where we might go on to apply for doctoral work (because at that time the department hadn't yet started its PhD program yet). So if any of that info could be useful to you I am more than happy to share it!

/SO TOTALLY SAVING THAT LINK

I shall poke you once the usual school rush winds down. Currently drowning in student papers. OTL

I TOLD YOU! DOCTOR SKYLER!

YOU ARE AWESOME! CONGRATULATIONS!/ ABUSES CAPS!

kla;ljsdfla;sdjf DO YOU KNOW WHAT A BRAIN TRIP THAT IS! /ABUSES CAPS WITH YOU!

When I finished my MA defense, my committee chair came out of the room to tell me I'd passed and said "Congratulations, Master Skyler," and I think my brain broke a little.

Anyway EEEEEEEEE! THANK YOU MOONY!!!! <333 :D!!

That's most awesome! I'm also being engorged in a PILE LOAD of research work now as an MA History student and a grad. assistant. lolol. I think I gave myself this week to go all out before I probably follow after YUU.

Congratulations and just a heads up, Gintoki's havin' a headache with all YUU D.Gray Man folks. He loves YUU all and would love to open up his heart to all of YUU. I might invite the cast for some group debriefing sessions for all the bullying and the questions YUU have for him. If YUU don't mind, I'm just giving it a full week in game for this to happen. And that'll probably be.... next month. LOL. I'll contact all of you guys again. XDD

In the meantime, let's be friends in slowatus!

Oh bb, I feel your pain. I hope you're working with someone who treats their grad assistants well, at least!

I'm all curious--what particular historical material do you work on? I'm not a historian per se, but my work is very interdisciplinary and does have a strong historical component (specifically to do with the history of sexuality).

And oh dear gods, do you realize that Kanda's biggest DO NOT WANT in the world is someone opening their heart to him? ROFL (Well to be fair his BIGGEST do not want is someone making a genuine emotional/personal connection with him, but the opening one's heart thing is damn close.) Anyway, I would most definitely be down for that! Even though Kanda will probably have to be dragged kicking and screaming and may try to kick Gintoki out of a window before it's all done. I look forward to it whenever it happens to roll around!!

\o/ and =D! and <3! and also THANKS!!

Well they paid for my tuition and they allow me to keep my brain dead when I'm feeling dead. Generally, my department's very nice and happy. It was my home department during my undergrad studies after all, so it's like them treating me as a daughter of sorts or something.

As for particular historical material, well I'm currently tackling Asian historical materials although I've been trained in my undergrad under a whole load of Western History as well.

If it's about sexuality, I'm sure you've crossed Foucault. There's also an interesting book we used for another class (and strangely it was Early Asian History) which was Sex in History by Tannahill. Although that's really closer to an interesting read about sex practices in time and not exactly about sexuality. ;3; I don't know if that was much help, but yeah if you need help in history, I'm more than happy to help! (It's like having a grad. assistant but online. XD)

Gintoki isn't really one who opens his heart, BUT IF HE KNOWS IT WILL BE TO KANDA'S ~~misery~~ BENEFIT, HE TOTALLY WILL. T^T)b BAKAnda will be notified of this meeting.

And yay! \o/ and >w<)b I hope you don't mind... FRIEND ADDING? :3

That is good to hear! I've known too many people with horror stories about grad assistants being exploited/overworked.

XD I think it would be hard to be working in any humanities or social science based discipline these days and not have some experience of Foucault. I'm definitely not short on material though--I spent three semesters as teaching assistant for an Intro to LGBT Studies class which always had a strong historical element to it. There's a huge scope of stuff written on the history of sexuality, and a lot of it is transnational which is always very fun. (I read a book not long ago called Cartographies of Desire: Male-Male Sexuality in Japanese Discourse, 1600-1950 which was quite good. Have you heard of it? ~~I'm gonna pretend it didn't totally influence my thoughts on Kanda's youth before we started to get canon info on his childhood.~~)

/stops rambling and goes to friend you back =D

Ahahaha! Well I work only four hours a day but they do sometimes make me take my work home but... I CAN STILL RP. *fufufu* somehow. orz.

That's awesome. Material is the heart of research and from the look of recent research threads, the age of 10 sources... is long gone. :<

OH GOD. THAT BOOK. THAT DAMN DAMN BOOK! I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THAT BOOK FOR AGES. ;A; MY BADLY STOCKED BOOKSTORE, WHY DENY ME SO!?! ;A; CRAI.

Oh please, do indulge me about Yuu's childhood someday because I think it's not the soba that makes him act like there's always stuck in his ass.

*fufufu*

Oi, does amazon.com not deliver to you?

If it would help, I could easily mail the book to you if you bought a copy via amazon.co.uk or something--you could have it shipped to me (usually free in the UK) and I could just send it on to you. I had no problem getting it over here. It's a longer book, so unfortunately scanning bits and sending you a pdf probably wouldn't be so practical.

And oh, I will totally ramble to you at some point about what has now, in my mind, become the dreamwork of Kanda's childhood. It is possible that I give him too much credit in some ways, but I've been playing him for long enough that I had to come up with some ways to make him make sense without a canon backstory. ^_^

-so amused that name seems to have stuck. But it is so true-

Good luck with the PhD!

LOL It really is true. He's just SUCH a grumpy jerk. The bookmark I have for his flist on my firefox has been titled "GrumpGrumpGrump" for aaaaaaaaages.

And thanks!! =D /dances

True that, he and Eclipse would be bffs forever with their combined grumpiness, lol. And ah, how fitting title for a Kanda f-list, lol.

♥

Dr. Kanda Yuu? :D :D :D

--Because I really suck at giving upbeat messages and expressions of joy in general (aside from the all-purpose keysmashing), I'm just going to add my congratulations here and wish you the best of luck. >w<) And stalk you on Plurk whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Thank you, bb!! (And I always approve of keyboard smashing as a means of all-purpose communication.)

Also Dr. Kanda says ~~antidisestablishmentarianism~~ /STAB. Because that's what he does.

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