hupr

I think it's odd to have separate departments for IR and poli sci, since at most institutions the former is a subfield of the latter. From what I understand, the IR department was created because in the 1980s the president of the university was a friend of Reagan's, and neither wanted any extra funding to go to Howard Zinn's department, so in order to keep his department underfunded but to pour some money into IR, the new department was created. In any case, has anyone heard about the quality of BU's poli sci department? It doesn't seem to be ranked by US News and World Report. The student body seems to be mostly international. They have some real quality people teaching there, but placement doesn't look very impressive at all.

I'd be curious to hear what people think about BU and its strange situation of having a separate departments for Poli Sci and IR.

Yeah, I've always wondered why there are so many M.D.s teaching at medical school, too.

I worked at UNESCO headquarters for several years. The job listings online are a waste of time unless you're an internal applicant. The vast majority of people working at UNESCO (at least in the headquarters) are "temporary," which is to say they don't have a post. Unfortunately, this "temporary" status can last for a very long time. I had a colleague who had been working as a supernumerary for over ten years. Also, there is a quota system for posts based on your nationality, so if you apply as a citizen of an underrepresented country, you will have much better chances of getting a post. Otherwise, if you'd still like to work there and don't mind be "temporary," the best way is to contact someone in a program or section that interests you and volunteer to do an unpaid internship. If you just apply for an internship through the intern program you won't get anywhere. You have to apply through the proper channels and then get someone from the program you're interested in to request you personally. Once you've got your foot in the door, as it were, you can find paying work for when the internship is finished.

More importantly, is Inherent Vice worth reading?

This may not be in-depth enough for you, but you might want to check out this article by Prunier if you haven't already read it. If my memory serves he discusses both the LRA and FDLR: Rebel Movements and Proxy Warfare: Uganda, Sudan and the Congo (1986-99)Gérard PrunierAfrican Affairs Vol. 103, No. 412 (Jul., 2004), pp. 359-383 He also did a great piece on the RPF in a collection about rebel movements that was published in Kamapala, I think. I can't remember the exact title but I'll post it if I come across it.

I've got a lot of respect for single parents who can manage school. That's really impressive. The daycare thing seems like a big drain, so I've started doing some research on the question, and some schools seem to have deals with local daycares in which students and faculty get a discounted rate. That sounds like a decent perk to me. I think some of the bigger schools may have daycares of their own, but that's just a hunch...

I can't speak to Anthropology departments, but I've taught in a couple of humanities departments in Europe and the Middle East (both of which are more conservative about this sort of thing than the US) and have never had a problem with visible tattoos or piercings. I also have a friend with full sleeves who teaches in a sociology department in the US and has never had any problems either. It's actually kind of surprising to me to hear that Anthropology departments would have a problem with it.

When you're done with that, you should read Karel Čapek's War with the Newts. It's hilarious, and besides, he practically invented robots. Or at least the word.

Actually, it seems more like you're trying to make a friendly thread into a pissing contest. And from, what, your first semester at school? Personally, I'm not interested in coming to an online forum for that sort of interaction. Otherwise, if you're talking about The Logic of Political Survival, then yeah, I agree, that's a good one to have on the list. Any other suggestions along those lines are more than welcome. About Ulysses, I spent a semester chewing, spitting and swallowing that book a decade ago. It's a fantastic read, but I suggest approaching it on the buddy plan since it can be kind of slow and lonely going by yourself. I doubt I would have finished it, much less re-read it, if I hadn't tackled it with classmates. In the end, though, it was definitely worth it.

Ok, boss. So what, pray tell, are some titles that you would suggest? And for the record, I'm doing my best to avoid programs that are rigidly quant-based.

Well, I actually did a graduate degree in comparative literature many moons ago, so I can say that fiction and poetry can also feel like work. But for the sake of balance, here are a few of the novels in my to-read pile: Javier Marias - Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me Abdelrahman Munif - Cities of Salt Ali Badr - Papa Sartre Miguel Syjuco - Illustrado Thomas Pynchon - Inherent Vice Nathan Englander - The Ministry of Special Cases David Grossman - See Under: Love

After reading Carmer's article on Homo Economicus going to war, I've also been meaning to read his book, but I haven't found a copy anywhere in the region. The Straus book is interesting and thorough, and if you haven't checked it out yet, Lee-Ann Fujii's book is a nice companion to it. I'm also glad to see that Straus has translated Chrétien's excellent primer on the Great Lakes. Does Lemarchand still teach at all? I was under the impression that he was out of the game. Where did you meet him? I'm coming from a very diverse background that doesn't exactly include poli sci, so while I've read a lot of area-specific stuff, I'm less grounded in more theoretical works, at least those from the Anglo-Saxon tradition, but I imagine that if I get accepted anywhere, the first year will take care of that. If it's not indiscreet, where have you applied? I have a feeling that we might be shooting for some of the same slots, although I'd like to work on the Middle East as well as Central Africa.

I thought it might make for a nice thread to see what you guys are reading in preparation for next fall. As someone who enjoys both lists and books, I thought it might make for an interesting thread to see what everyone feels like they need to read before starting a doctoral program in poli sci. As someone who's applying to the comparative politics subfield, I'm reading a lot of stuff in my geographical areas (as well as a couple of more general titles that I may not have time for come next fall), but I'd be interested to see what others are reading. Here are a few things on my list. What's a must read for you? Timothy Longman - Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda René Lemarchand - The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa Michael Gilsenan - The Lords of the Lebanese Marches Stathis Kalyvas – The Logic of Violence in Civil War Charles Tilly – The Politics of Collective Violence James Scott - The Art of Not Being Governed

Well, the plan is for my wife to work, but I'm still waiting on offers, so we're not even sure where we'll be next year. (All of that contingent, of course, on my getting accepted somewhere.) She'll have a green card, but English isn't her native language, so work may be a little difficult at first. She's an Arabic-language journalist, though, so I think that there's a fair amount of demand these days for Middle Eastern expertise and linguistic abilities. In any case, I'm hoping that she'll do ok on the job front. I worry, tough, about staring a family. We won't have the family network we have here in the Middle East or the state-run safety net that's offered in Europe. Specifically, I wonder about the price of day care, since there's no way I can support three people on a fellowship. Is there such a thing as university daycares? What do most grad students with babies or pre-school age kids do? Also, I'd be curious to hear about friction that comes when your spouse or partner isn't in the same academic world that you are. I've heard of marital problems that stem from the "you're always in your books" gripe that seems inevitable since graduate work may not look like actual work from the outside.

This has probably been covered here before, but I didn't come across the topic, so I thought I'd post a new one. I was wondering if any of you had any input on married and family life as a doctoral student. I'm hoping to move to the US to go back to school next year after over a decade abroad. I'm in my early thirties and am recently married. My wife and I would like to start a family, but I'm a bit concerned about the financial constraints. But the financial questions are only the most immediate concerns I have. I also worry about time constraints that can be fine when you're in your 20s but much more difficult to handle when you have important familial responsibilities as well. Does anyone here have any advice about how to balance time and finances as a father/mother, husband/wife and graduate student?

I have to put up with this sort of dishonesty all the time from my undergrad students. No sympathy from my end. If this is the attitude you've got about studying, then I doubt grad school is a good place for you.