Advanced to do/to read/to learn lists...

[adelinevanilla]

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 

[Borden]

I just emailed my advisors asking what if anything they want me to work on for the next few months so I can get cracking immediately when I arrive, but you also reminded me that I needed to get an Italian reader to refresh because it's been ages since I've had to do anything with it in any meaningful way beyond the odd translation or caption skimming for work. So thanks! Whee more self-assigned homework.

[adelinevanilla]

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).

[Borden]

I will, but I don't know how applicable what they ask me to do is going to be for other people- I'm going straight into my dissertation so I've already been working on the relevant reading lists and I'm guessing that anything else they have me do is going to be pretty specific. Ugh I should probably read Foucault sooner rather than later. Bleeeeeeh.

[m-ttl]

Oooh I'm a massive to-do list nut:

 

• Clean my place, and donate, donate, donate! There's a lot of stuff I shouldn't keep during a move. I just need to cut down my collection of "stuff" by a lot. 
• I've ended up with multiple free museum catalogues and academic journals thanks to professors and curators "cleaning out" so maybe I should actually read some of those. 
• If you're moving, now would be a great last time to check out exhibitions at local museums! 
• I'm going to create a plan of attack combining duolingo - French and my French for Reading book. 
• Personally I really enjoy Joseph Campbell's works regarding imagery, myth, narrative, etc and think they can be applicable and enjoyable reads. 
• TED talks also have an app and are free online. Museum podcasts and Itunes U for sure. 

[klondike]

-I have a million papers, articles, books, catalogues to read ( )

-Read as many as possible and then my books across the ocean ( :| / €$£)

-I'm investigating the past reading lists from the seminar that is closest to my interest and will select things out of there that I have not read. Knowing of course there will probably not be overlap, but would help to get an idea of how this professor builds up her courses.

-See my really close friends in other parts of Europe one last time ( ). I'm definitely going to northern Finland to see a best friend and an important exhibition. Also one of my closest friends from uni is from Venice and I still have never visited her at home (and never been to Italy!) so if I can manage both trips I'm going and can catch the architecture biennale too.

-Make damn sure I get my diploma and final transcripts from this ridiculous pile of bricks before I depart.

-I second the no-more-candy-crush-and-terrible-movies/tvshows so much.

-Maybe try to polish/vainly build up my few connections at my current school so that they don't fade away.

[adelinevanilla]

-Read as many as possible and then my books across the ocean ( :| / €$£)

 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.

Edited March 7, 2014 by adelinevanilla

[architecture 604]

 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.

I'm moving back from two years in Asia, and am excited to finally be around real books again! After living through my Kindle since books in English were hard to come by, the thought of access to a library seems like the biggest luxury in the world. 

[cleisthenes]

Re: productive non-fiction reading suggestions

 

Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia.

 

Susan Stewart, Poetry and the Fate of the Senses; also, On Longing.

 

Elaine Scary, The Body in Pain: The Making and Un-making of the World.

 

Gaston Bachelard, Air and Dreams.

 

Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida.

 

Bon voyage!