MJ0911 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 What's funny to me is that literally every post you make is intended to be inflammatory. For all of your proclaimed familiarity with the academic literature, you've missed out on the one essential attribute of all successful social scientists: humility. So good luck getting a job even if your doctorate is from Harvard. I'm sure everyone will want to hire an arrogant weasel as their colleague. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I forgot to add an edited volume, The Lord's Resistance Army, by Allen and Vlassenroot. Beyond that, I need a few in-depth studies of particular rebel movements in the Great Lakes. Does anyone have recommendations on the RCD, FDLR, LRA, or ADF? I'm just reading Severine Autesserre's book on the DRC (The Trouble with the Congo) which is super interesting. I'm a huge fan of Tim Allen's though, and his book Trial Justice is definitely worth a look, as is his colleague David Keen's book Complex Emergencies (which is not so much in depth on rebel movements but still a great read.) I'm getting the impression that we are very much aiming towards the same sort of research - would you mind PMing? I'd love to find out more about what you're doing, where you are now, where you're applying etc. I'm in the US at the moment but applying to UK universities... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ0911 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 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 have a feeling I might be joining you and Balderdash in terms of area interests/applications etc. Would you mind PMing?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hupr Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 I'm all ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balderdash Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I'm all ears. Ditto. Though I think we've swapped - I'm in the UK right now, but only applying to US universities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zahar Berkut Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I don't think you know the proper characterization of a weasel. Weasels tend to dart in and out, hide, dissemble, and double cross people. I believe anything "inflammatory" I have said is upfront and direct, very un-weasel like. Further, I (and most professors) don't suffer fools lightly, and since they exist a plenty on this board and on the net you are witness to my much more aggressive argumentative tendencies. Finally, humility is a trait good for religious messiahs not successful people, and in the real world people who are intelligent and useful, not agreeable, get jobs. Oh and to illustrate the naivety of this statement "For all of your proclaimed familiarity with the academic literature, you've missed out on the one essential attribute of all successful social scientists: humility," and to stay on topic with the thread; I invite you to read John Mearsheimer's piece The False Promise of International Institutions, and then the sequence of responses and his responses to them. You will quickly see that the Academy is not all the clouds and sunshine that you seem to think it is buttercup. I too fully endorse living your life like Machiavelli, rather than, say, Socrates. So long as you don't care what other people really think of you, or how many will show up to your funeral, or whether anyone will go out of their way to help you when you're in need. And no, this is only de fact related to the political science profession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefly28 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Along with a host of articles on various subjects, I'm reading Dixit's Games of Strategy and the Oxford Handbook of Rational Social Choice. I don't actually know if formal analysis will be a significant part of my research but I want to prepare just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purled Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I appreciate the gesture towards balance and the acknowledgment of literature's last hurrah. That being said, piled beside my bed currently: J.M. Coetzee - Summertime David Markson - The Last Novel Giorgio Agamben - Nudities Adam Foulds - The Quickening Maze Thomas Dumm - Politics of the Ordinary Octavia Butler - Parable of the Sower Stanley Cavell - Little Did I Know Michel de Certeau - Heterologies Thomas Mann - Doctor Faustus Norman Lewis - Naples '44 Wendy Brown - Walled States Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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