kotov

I'm so scared now that Indiana is sending things out. I wonder if they've gotten to European history yet. I know I'm going to get rejected really hard, but still.

Pretty funny, considering what a shithole Northeastern is.

The greatest song ever.

"You've probably stopped reading this by now anyway, so who gives a damn what this says."

I want to analyze the chain of command at Bogdanovka concentration camp in present-day Moldova, which was controlled by the Romanians. I want to see how far up the power structure in Romania the management of the camp went, and what role Antonescu played and how much he knew about the camp and what happened there. Kind of a take in the intentionalism vs. formalism debate, but in a Romanian context.

Uncomfortable but free toilet paper.

Working on my undergrad thesis, mostly. ("The Soviet Famine of 1932-33 in American Media") This is my last semester, so I only have 14 hours, 2 of which are golf, so. Yeah. I'm a slacker.

I've had a couple of POIs tell me to stop by if I was in the area (not aware that I'm from the southeast and they're in the midwest, obviously). So I mean, I guess it isn't frowned upon in my field, at least. I mean, I would think most professors are generally nice people and wouldn't mind talking to you if you were around.

You can get around Auburn just fine without a car. If you live on campus you can walk everywhere except the grocery stores, but you can take a bus to one or close to one. If you live off campus, you can easily walk or bike to campus and you can walk to a grocery store in all likelihood.

Just out of curiosity, are there any Romanian speakers here? Even if it isn't what you're studying, I just want to see if there are any around or if I'm alone here. I'm really hoping to do a Romanian Studies minor with my history graduate work, so this question is at least somewhat relevant, I hope.

The former. I feel like it's a bit less nebulous, and that I've had better luck talking to professors who would work on it with me. There are very few people who work in Romanian history (though it is my first and true love in hsitory), and my overarching interest is more thematic (Holocaust/Genocide) than geographically specific. I can work on the latter topic later on at some point I guess.

Probably email. I hate talking on the phone, especially since I'm from the south and I'm applying mostly up north, and because I'm shy about it. And I don't feel like going to check the mail because I'm lazy. So yeah. Just email me. Also, I'm absolutely terrified of papercuts. Like. The people beside me in class put a paper in front of me and then pass it around me. I know, it's stupid, but it is what it is. So. Yeah. Email me, because I'll be the least insane that way.

Also, after talking with a few professors, my research is narrowed down to basically one of two subjects, so I can give a much clearer idea of what I'm going to be looking at. The first subject deals with Slovakia during WWII, which was a puppet state, still nominally independent, but obviously very much in tune with the Nazi agenda. It was run by a clergyman named Fr. Jozef Tiso. During the war, the Catholic Church was involved with both the fascist government, which actually paid Nazi Germany to deport Slovakia's Jews, and, after it became clear that the Jews were being murdered on a massive scale, the church protested and helped to convince (along with the help of some politics and bribery from Jewish leaders) Fr. Tiso to call for an end to the deportations and make their grievances known to Germany. I want to look at the duality of the Church's role and how it ties into the concept of "clerofascism". The second subject deals with the cultural memory of the Holocaust in Communist Romania, particularly under Ceausescu. There's a bit of irony to this, as the reason I'm interested in the subject is because of the repression of the memory of the Holocaust, which was largely barred from academic and political discussion, except for one lone scholarly work in 1971. The lack of education on Romania's role in the Holocaust (it directly participated in the killing of more Jews than any nation other than Germany) continued until a commission, led by native Romanian Elie Wiesel, produced a large report on the Romanian Holocaust in 2004. Since 2006, Holocaust denial is illegal in Romania and punishable by 6 months' imprisonment; however, scholarly literature on the Romanian Holocaust is still limited and Ceausescu is a big reason for that (among other problems in Romania). I know I elaborated way more than anyone cares, and I hope this doesn't end up in my research getting yanked, but if it does, hey, I have at least one backup.

This sounds like an interesting subject. Since I'm interested in the subject of genocide as a phenomenon, I've read a good bit about Srebrenica. What you're talking about researching seems like something that could help us to better understand events like Srebrenica. Do keep us informed on how that goes.

New avatar. War Eagle.

Sorry to bump an antique, dilapidated thread here, but I'm considering Clark in the fall. Can anyone give me an impression of what the area around the school is like?

That's what I was hoping to hear. I love the small college town feel that Auburn has and was hoping I'd be getting more of the same at Ohio. The hills are fine with me. I'm used to the "rolling plains of Dixie" as we like to call them, so I won't die. Also, I'm a guy so the heels aren't a problem for me, mercifully. I will have a car, so I'll do the best I can with housing. I'm used to being able to walk everywhere in Auburn, which is nice, but I can adjust. Also, I'm not much for Chinese food, but I'll give it a shot, especially if it's a social hub, since I'll know literally no one. Thanks for responding, that definitely puts my mind to rest. Ohio is kinda towards the top of my list, and the positive impression you give of Athens is helping that.

I'll have just turned 21.

To the person who posted below me: we should totally be friends.

Can someone from the area give me an idea of what Athens is like? I'm used to Auburn and want to still be in the small college-town type environment. Is that what I'd be getting in Athens?

I've been playing basketball to get ready for intramural season (we won our first game!). I was out of shape before this process started, though, so it's certainly not doing me any harm.

I'll probably run down the street naked and then spend the rest of the weekend in jail.

Hookers and blow! No, seriously, I'll go to one of the mediocre MA programs I've gotten into and try to use them as a jumping-off point to something fruitful. :/

At least all of y'all are probably 21...I have to suffer in sobriety... :/