adelinevanilla

Oh god yes, I have a pile to send all the way from S. Asia, and an even bigger pile to send from the UK. Ouch.

Ms. Borden, if you get good responses from your advisors, do share! I'm sure it's applicable all round. Languages, yes. I'm lucky at the moment as I'm based in S. Asia (though not from here originally) and have been able to get private French classes at the local French cultural center for REALLY cheap. My tutor is a chain-smoking, grizzled, world-wandering Frenchman with a background in Art History, so we spend our time working over art history texts and breaking from the grammar traps with occasional discussions about the content. Fun! Another one for the list: wean myself off Candycrush Saga and watching really CRAP brainless movies, (i.e., the things that have been keeping me sane these last couple of months but that, really, have been a deliberate waste of time).

A speculative starter for those still waiting for news and a kick up the proverbial for those of us accepting places or on the verge of it: what to put on the preparation 'to do list?!' There are five/six-ish months (give or take a few settling in/upheaval weeks) and the day-to-day work/study grind, before Fall 2014 and while I've had a few tips for advanced preparation, it might save our POI's some email time by sharing ideas here. I'm an international student so this will be my first dip into US academia and I'm all the more keen to get your advice! At the same time, as most Fall course listings probably aren't up yet, this would be a good place to share some essential reads that will be generally useful as prep, with or without course listings to guide us. Particularly given that the first year or so will be wide in scope academically, I'm trying to read outside my niche (contemporary/exhibition studies/globalism) at this point. (NB. to other international applicants out there, it seems that the recession has finally bitten in many departments and I had one POI inform me that my rejection was largely due to a recent cut-off of funding for international students, so if you are getting bad news - I've had loads - take consolation in the fact that the same could be the case for some of the departments you've also applied to). The major tip I've had so far is to get as far ahead as possible with language requirements, NOW. Check. French classes (refresher) signed up and underway. Learn to meditate, i.e., teach my frazzled brain to concentrate again Quit smoking. Browse the IKEA website and drool over all the nice stuff while budgeting for the plywood stuff. Watch all of these: http://oyc.yale.edu/english/engl-300 And loads of these: http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses Any other online courses found and recommended? Reading list: All the novels I know I won't have time for come Fall. Monographs by professors in the department (obviously). Some books from reading material indicated in previous course listings. General intellectual history survey books: Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud, etc. Some off-topic 'get some ideas' books: Specters of the Atlantic (Baucom), Liberalism: A Counter History (Losurdo), Culture and Imperialism (Said), A Poetics of Postmodernism (Hutcheson), etc., etc. Any more suggestions for fun but productive non-fiction? Plenty of theory/philosophy monographs. And the most fun of all, art history-based books that have been essential to your intellectual development: do tell! Books that come up on loads of reading lists for courses you've participated in: share!! Currently enrolled students - we need you too! Lend us your advice

By any chance, did everyone who applied to CUNY get an invite to their breakfast reception at the CAA conference? The deadline has only just passed (relatively speaking) and it was a very generic email, indicating that it's a casual affair and open to everyone who applied. Given that I'm on the opposite side of the world at the moment and tied up with my job, I'm debating whether to reply and say thank you but apologies, etc. However this may appear conceited if the invite went to everyone... Help?!