rax | A variety of news very quickly

First, the course I taught at MIT is now available via Open CourseWare. The person who put it together (attending most of the class sessions and taking notes, building the webpage, &c.) did a wonderful job and I'm really happy that it is now available. The delay, for the record, was mostly due to my being hosed and flaky. I have unflaked, and now it exists! (Relatedly, if I'm flaking on something you care about, kick me; it might not be on my tasklist, and if it's not on my tasklist, I can basically promise you it won't happen. This is not good, but it's likely to be true for a while, so I figure I should warn y'all.)

Second, is anyone interested in going to Transcending Boundaries? It's a conference Nov 20-22 in Worcester, MA focusing on trans, bi, poly, and intersex issues. That's a fascinating smorgasbord and relevant to both my life and research, and so I'm tempted to go even though I should be focusing on my thesis and PhD applications. I'm not made of money so I'd love to have people to share transit and/or hotel costs with. (Also they recommend vegans bring their own food. Seriously? Huh.)

Right, PhD applications. I'm not 110% sure yet but I am planning to seek a PhD in either gender studies or English with a gender studies focus. I'm selling myself as focusing on the process of identity self-construction through gendered narrative and the disruptions both caused and soothed by the trans and genderqueer movements. In other words, the stuff I talk about all the damn time. :) I'm looking for programs to apply to, and if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I'm doing a bunch of research right now, but I know there's more still to come, and I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the matter.

Also, it is so cold why am I not in California right now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hearing about your Doctorate Adventures will be awesome.

Also you are not in California because it is chilly and rainy here right now and you are too compassionate to come and laugh at what we think of as "chilly and rainy."

One winter in LA and I turned soft. :) Although in fairness, last night the heat failed to come on even though the temperature hit about freezing, because the place with the thermostat was well insulated. We managed to go the summer without air conditioning this year, but I don't think we could do the winter without heat...

We've been stubborn and not turned on the heat yet, even though it's been getting down to freezing at night. Making lots of use of hot water bottles and very thick down quilts though.

Hot watter bottles! That's a good idea. I've been substituting cats and they don't always like that. :)

They're like hot water bottles with teeth and claws n.n

You'd think it would be an improvement!

Also, the nice thing about having lost ten pounds since quitting the volunteer position that I hated, is that the pants I bought after I gained a bunch of weight can now fit over a pair of flannel PJ pants, without being uncomfortably tight or constricting. It only took eight years, but I'm finally learning to layer, layer, layer.

Is a hot water bottle for this purpose something I can pick up at eg. CVS, or is it more specialized than that? My feet have been too cold the past several night. :-/

yeah, just a regular hot water bottle will do. Same kind you'd use for menstrual cramps or whatever else people use hot water bottles for.
I recommend putting it down by your feet and also layering an additional blanket over your feet.

Also just to be realistic, my Doctorate Adventures may be limited to "getting rejected from all of the programs that exist." So far it seems like there are mayb 30-50 slots available each year for programs I am interested in? That's not many. I think I'm pretty awesome, but I don't know if I'm one of the thiry awesomest people who wants to study this stuff.

That looks like exactly the sort of conference I'd love to attend, but realistically there's no way I can make it happen. Maybe I can plan ahead and go next year.

If you go, you should check out Peterson Toscano's performance, which I saw and really enjoyed earlier this year at UNC's Unity Conference.

Also, I might be interested in going to TBC with you. I need to check with the Other Half and make sure I don't already have plans for that weekend.

Cool! Let me know, I'm trying to get a small group together. :)

I think I may also go.

Yup, I think I will go. Putting my money where my mouth is, so to speak.

Also, it is so cold why am I not in California right now.

I will be saying this ALL WINTER LONG.

I say that every winter, all winter.

Ooh, shiny. Who at OCW put together the class stuff?

I'm not sure whether or not they're comfortable being identified publically; I'll ask, though!

My actual question was answered below. Bravo to them for an excellent site. :-)

If your question is "do I know them?", I'll go out on a limb and say probably not.

That was in fact my question. Thanks!

one of my friends is one of the organizers of Transcending Boundaries. I wish I could go.

When you get that PHD, and are a tweedy academic who spends her time huffing at grad students who are doing an inadequate job of researching your next book for you, could I be some kind of household servant? I do windows.

I think your idea of academia is outdated a few decades. Nowadays it's more "teaching four classes at four different universities for like $4000 each and not having health insurance." But if I find myself in need of a house-creature, I will give you a call. :)

Yeah, why aren't you in California? I am SO PSYCHED at people telling me that this is the worst the weather ever gets here.

Mostly because of the people here. Also my job although I guess I could probably move and keep it.

...wow, some of those workshops at Transcending Boundaries look quite interesting. I just wish it were more feasible for me to get there.

I wish I could go, too, but unfortunately I am poor :(.

As long as some of my comments are still on that tasklist, I'm happy. :)

I'm selling myself as focusing on the process of identity self-construction through gendered narrative...

Er, in what sense of narrative? Do you mean narrative as in literature, or in the technical sense of a story-like social construct, or...?

"Narrative" is, sadly, one of the words I avoid as broken.

From your course's reading list, what (barring Foucault) do you regard as the most essential? Chances are I will never become widely read in any subject other than philosophy, but it's always good to pick up the best of what other fields have to offer.

Monstrous Regiment: Have you read this? If so, what did you think of its main conceit (which I won't specify, to avoid spoilers)? While I liked the book, and really liked the last example of that conceit, on the whole it annoyed me.

"Kanun": While she's admittedly a pulp fantasy writer and I can guarantee that she'll be ignored by academia, Mercedes Lackey has actually done some very interesting things with gender and sexuality, and in a period when such things were comparatively unaccepted. In particular, there's a series of stories about a woman who, after being raped and having her tribe killed, gives up her sexuality in order to receive divine martial training, which the "Kanun" mention recalled.

I may go through and respond to/inquire about your lecture notes at some point, free energy allowing.

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