Hello all!
It is now the official start of my third week of classes, and that means several things--among them: I've selected my four papers for the year, and I've been assigned an academic supervisor (!!!). It also means that time is ticking down until my midterm for my differential equations class (....) and until my grad school apps are due. Though I think that if I don't get in anywhere, I'd be perfectly happy just travelling anywhere--anywhere--really doing anything. Eco-projects like sorting through rubbish for the recycling. I dunno. Anything.
But! Back to classes/papers! I have decided. I am taking Development Economics with *the one and only* Ha-Joon Chang, with occasional lectures by *THE FRIGGING AMAZING* but also retired Ajit Singh (seriously, I want to be both of these people....sooooo frigging badly). I'm also taking Sociology and Politics of Development, which is probably good since I've never taken a sociology class, and I don't think my excruciating time in a gender-studies class my first year at Wes counts. These two are from our 'core papers' list of three (we have to take either 2 or all 3 of them). The final core paper is Institutions and Development, which I thought I would like, but it turns out it's basically just a class to learn how to see the world in terms of problematised structuralism (ie postmodernism, as far as I can make it out). K been there, but thanks anyway. My 'optional papers' are going to be: Justice and Development (!!!!!!!!!!!!) and Financial Organisation and Economic Growth. I am taking this final paper as a replacement for the dissertation I have decided to drop. I did finally come up with a topic by the way! Actually, one topic with two possible threads to follow, and I liked them both A LOT. The course director signed off on it, and my meeting with the possible dissertation supervisor went well. But then...our repeated attempts to meet again failed, and everyone else under the Sun started talking to him about supervising them as well, and finally I found out that the dissertations in the past that have done really well all had their own original modelling. I've taken econometrics classes, but I have never engaged in my own research project with my own modelling. I'm sure it's something that should be done. But my programme is not a quantitative one, and I feel sooo uncomfortable with the idea of doing this on my own in a 9-month programme. So, no dissertation. Plus, I just really like all the papers I've signed up for, and think I'll learn a lot. I did not like the Globalisation and Big Business class, by the way, but the reading list still looks *amaaaaaaaazing!!!!* That class also confirmed my belief that I should staaaaay awaaaay from Business Schools. Much like my Law class in Amsterdam. Anyway.
But I have started speaking with Dr Chang about graduate schools, and we have a meeting planned for tomorrow. I'm excited and really nervous. On the plus side, he was assigned as my academic supervisor (the options are the professors of the 3 core papers, and the 67 Dev Studies students are divided rather evenly among them, based on paper choices). Our academic supervisor is supposed to be--by design--our go-to person for recommendations since we meet with them regularly (or are supposed to), and at least they have an overview of all the coursework we're doing apart from just the work in their own paper that they're teaching, &c &c, so this works out. Hope things will end up going actually well! As much as I'd love to just fling off all obligations and go random-job-doing all over the world, I really do want to go into an economics PhD programme. I think I could make an impact. I love econ. I love the strength it gives it practitioners (and would prefer they use that strength for good rather than evil, especially if that evil is screwing over developing countries and the underclasses). The only complication is I have a vegan baking appointment with a new vegan & meditation-loving friend here just before the meeting, and then off to the protests again afterward, so I'll probably have to rearrange my friend hang-out time for next week.
I am thinking of cutting of my little ponytail that I have finally grown. I know that I grew it because I thought it would make me cool, and I liked it for a while. But like, it's getting annoying. I have to put it in a ponytail every single day because what else am I going to do with it? It's sort of pointless. I think I got my message across (that I can have hair like this...???) and now am kind of over it. Plus it just reminds me more frequently than I would like that hair becomes kind of gross if you don't wash it often enough.
One final thing before I sign off:
Occupy Everywhere.
Seriously.
Love.
It is now the official start of my third week of classes, and that means several things--among them: I've selected my four papers for the year, and I've been assigned an academic supervisor (!!!). It also means that time is ticking down until my midterm for my differential equations class (....) and until my grad school apps are due. Though I think that if I don't get in anywhere, I'd be perfectly happy just travelling anywhere--anywhere--really doing anything. Eco-projects like sorting through rubbish for the recycling. I dunno. Anything.
But! Back to classes/papers! I have decided. I am taking Development Economics with *the one and only* Ha-Joon Chang, with occasional lectures by *THE FRIGGING AMAZING* but also retired Ajit Singh (seriously, I want to be both of these people....sooooo frigging badly). I'm also taking Sociology and Politics of Development, which is probably good since I've never taken a sociology class, and I don't think my excruciating time in a gender-studies class my first year at Wes counts. These two are from our 'core papers' list of three (we have to take either 2 or all 3 of them). The final core paper is Institutions and Development, which I thought I would like, but it turns out it's basically just a class to learn how to see the world in terms of problematised structuralism (ie postmodernism, as far as I can make it out). K been there, but thanks anyway. My 'optional papers' are going to be: Justice and Development (!!!!!!!!!!!!) and Financial Organisation and Economic Growth. I am taking this final paper as a replacement for the dissertation I have decided to drop. I did finally come up with a topic by the way! Actually, one topic with two possible threads to follow, and I liked them both A LOT. The course director signed off on it, and my meeting with the possible dissertation supervisor went well. But then...our repeated attempts to meet again failed, and everyone else under the Sun started talking to him about supervising them as well, and finally I found out that the dissertations in the past that have done really well all had their own original modelling. I've taken econometrics classes, but I have never engaged in my own research project with my own modelling. I'm sure it's something that should be done. But my programme is not a quantitative one, and I feel sooo uncomfortable with the idea of doing this on my own in a 9-month programme. So, no dissertation. Plus, I just really like all the papers I've signed up for, and think I'll learn a lot. I did not like the Globalisation and Big Business class, by the way, but the reading list still looks *amaaaaaaaazing!!!!* That class also confirmed my belief that I should staaaaay awaaaay from Business Schools. Much like my Law class in Amsterdam. Anyway.
But I have started speaking with Dr Chang about graduate schools, and we have a meeting planned for tomorrow. I'm excited and really nervous. On the plus side, he was assigned as my academic supervisor (the options are the professors of the 3 core papers, and the 67 Dev Studies students are divided rather evenly among them, based on paper choices). Our academic supervisor is supposed to be--by design--our go-to person for recommendations since we meet with them regularly (or are supposed to), and at least they have an overview of all the coursework we're doing apart from just the work in their own paper that they're teaching, &c &c, so this works out. Hope things will end up going actually well! As much as I'd love to just fling off all obligations and go random-job-doing all over the world, I really do want to go into an economics PhD programme. I think I could make an impact. I love econ. I love the strength it gives it practitioners (and would prefer they use that strength for good rather than evil, especially if that evil is screwing over developing countries and the underclasses). The only complication is I have a vegan baking appointment with a new vegan & meditation-loving friend here just before the meeting, and then off to the protests again afterward, so I'll probably have to rearrange my friend hang-out time for next week.
I am thinking of cutting of my little ponytail that I have finally grown. I know that I grew it because I thought it would make me cool, and I liked it for a while. But like, it's getting annoying. I have to put it in a ponytail every single day because what else am I going to do with it? It's sort of pointless. I think I got my message across (that I can have hair like this...???) and now am kind of over it. Plus it just reminds me more frequently than I would like that hair becomes kind of gross if you don't wash it often enough.
One final thing before I sign off:
Occupy Everywhere.
Seriously.
Love.
I love how happy you are, all in your little econ world. Go you! Cause let's face it, the world needs more hippie, vegan bankers who want to use their power for good.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenAnd why cut the ponytail when you can, I dunno, do all those really fancy updos?
-BZ