Euromaniac Posted December 28, 2014 Posted December 28, 2014 Hello everyone, I'm new here and applying in the 2015 Fall cycle. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in starting a writing sample exchange while we await results. Is that sort of thing kosher? I know (via lurking) last year people were posting their writing samples online in one of the threads, and I think it would be neat to do that again. isostheneia 1
overoverover Posted December 28, 2014 Posted December 28, 2014 I'm up for it. My sample is on my site (http://www.jaredhenderson.org/papers/). Infinite Zest 1
reixis Posted December 28, 2014 Posted December 28, 2014 My sample is on my Academia.edu page. The link is below. If anyone bother reading it, I would really appreciate commentaries, especially regarding problems with my English writing skills. I suspect that many of you (if not all) are native speakers. Thanks in advance! https://www.academia.edu/8251592/The_nature_of_the_qualitative_English_
overoverover Posted December 28, 2014 Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) My sample is on my Academia.edu page. The link is below. If anyone bother reading it, I would really appreciate commentaries, especially regarding problems with my English writing skills. I suspect that many of you (if not all) are native speakers. Thanks in advance!https://www.academia.edu/8251592/The_nature_of_the_qualitative_English_ I glanced at the first few pages and plan to read this tonight, but so far it looks interesting and your English is quite good! Edited December 28, 2014 by overoverover
Euromaniac Posted December 28, 2014 Author Posted December 28, 2014 Here's my own: https://www.academia.edu/9931181/Language_and_the_Death_of_God_Between_Hegel_Nietzsche_and_Deleuze I'm excited to read yours!
Euromaniac Posted December 29, 2014 Author Posted December 29, 2014 Wow, you guys are really great writers. Makes me feel nervous about the competition!
overoverover Posted December 29, 2014 Posted December 29, 2014 Wow, you guys are really great writers. Makes me feel nervous about the competition! Thanks! Though odds are we aren't really in competition, given our different interests. Reixis and I, on the other hand, not only applied to similar schools but also have some overlapping interests!
Love and Squalor Posted December 29, 2014 Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) Wow, you guys are really great writers. Makes me feel nervous about the competition! What Euromaniac said - my sample looks like a paltry lump of coal by comparison. Still, I'd love to participate in the exchange: https://www.academia.edu/9943134/Has_Lewis_Dissolved_The_Grandfather_Paradox Edited December 29, 2014 by Love and Squalor
reixis Posted December 29, 2014 Posted December 29, 2014 Thanks everyone for sharing! I will try to read them as soon as possible. I glanced at the first few pages and plan to read this tonight, but so far it looks interesting and your English is quite good! Thanks. I still have some trouble adapting some sentences. When revising, I often find a few sentences that mirror usual constructions in my native tongue, but that are not so common in English.
isostheneia Posted December 30, 2014 Posted December 30, 2014 Great idea for this thread. My sample is on my academia.edu page: https://www.academia.edu/9947431/The_Logic_of_Self-Consciousness_in_Hegels_Phenomenology_of_Spirit I'd appreciate any comments anyone has, since it's something I'd like to continue working on - these papers can always be better, after all. Euromaniac 1
Euromaniac Posted December 30, 2014 Author Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) Great idea for this thread. My sample is on my academia.edu page: https://www.academia.edu/9947431/The_Logic_of_Self-Consciousness_in_Hegels_Phenomenology_of_Spirit I'd appreciate any comments anyone has, since it's something I'd like to continue working on - these papers can always be better, after all. I really enjoyed reading this, as it's on a familiar topic but approached very differently. The Hegel interpreters I tend to read (or read about, which is more accurate in some of these cases) are more along the lines of Kojeve, Hyppolite, Agamben, Butler, Zizek, etc., so my comments may not be at all useful for you (although you do briefly mention Kojeve in a footnote!). Forgive me if I am misrepresenting your position, here's how I interpret it: The lord and bondsman chapter of the Phenomenology demonstrates that both the lord and the bondsman have dependent and independent components to their existence. This section demonstrates a critical point in the Phenomenology, namely, the moment where Hegel analyzes the necessary relationship between individuality and sociality, and so interpretations which analyze only one of these components either cannot demonstrate the logical necessity of this section in regard to the previous sections on consciousness (the social interpretation) or cannot demonstrate the logical progression into the community (the individual interpretation). If that's the case, I would question reading the earlier section of the chapter (the independence of the lord, the dependence of the bondsman) as being on equal footing as the latter parts of the chapter (the dependence of the lord, the independence of the latter). In my own paper I focus on the chapter on sense-certainty, and the conclusion that I come to is that Hegel is attempting to reverse the "common-sense" interpretation of sense-certainty as immediate knowledge by showing its emptiness and its mediation. When I read the Phenomenology, and admittedly I haven't read the lord and bondsmen chapter in some time, I read this section in a similar light: the original, common-sense interpretation of the relationship is intentionally reversed. In other words, rather than both self-consciousnesses being dependent on one another, it demonstrates the real independence of the bondsman (of course, this is not the end, this proves to be dissatisfying) and dependence of the lord, in contrast the apparent relationship of dependence of the bondsman and independence of the lord. This isn't to say your interpretation is wrong, it's merely a hunch I have, given that I haven't read the chapter in quite some time, I would need to re-read it to give a rigorous argument here. If this were true, would this privilege a social reading of the chapter? I'm not sure, but again I have a hunch that it would. Post-colonial authors like Buck-Morss have gone to lengths to demonstrate that Hegel was (likely) responding to the Haitian Revolution when he wrote this section, providing perhaps some empirical reasons for a social reading of the chapter. But then again, there's no reason why Hegel couldn't use these insights to write about the development of an individual self-consciousness. The hunch remains only a hunch! I wish my comments were more useful, but I'm afraid I would have to reread Hegel. In this case, we should read afraid literally... I would appreciate your comments on my Hegel section, as I feel you might have a very different reading! Edited December 30, 2014 by Euromaniac isostheneia 1
isostheneia Posted December 30, 2014 Posted December 30, 2014 I would appreciate your comments on my Hegel section, as I feel you might have a very different reading! Just sent you a PM - I really appreciate your comments, but don't want to clutter the thread with my long response. Regarding the point you made about mine, I think the difference in our approaches may be chalked up in part to the sorts of commentators we tend to read. In short, I do think both parts of the dialectic are important, and I don't think it privileges a social reading. But I can definitely see why one would argue that, particularly when reading the text in combination with a certain (largely French) interpretive tradition.
Euromaniac Posted December 30, 2014 Author Posted December 30, 2014 Just sent you a PM - I really appreciate your comments, but don't want to clutter the thread with my long response. Regarding the point you made about mine, I think the difference in our approaches may be chalked up in part to the sorts of commentators we tend to read. In short, I do think both parts of the dialectic are important, and I don't think it privileges a social reading. But I can definitely see why one would argue that, particularly when reading the text in combination with a certain (largely French) interpretive tradition. Whoops! I'll be sure to PM people in the future. TL;DR: I agree, but have the suspicion my people (the Frenchies!) are wrong, and yours are right. isostheneia 1
Infinite Zest Posted December 30, 2014 Posted December 30, 2014 It's a little late in the game for me to swap samples, but everyone's stuff looks really good!
Euromaniac Posted December 30, 2014 Author Posted December 30, 2014 It's a little late in the game for me to swap samples, but everyone's stuff looks really good! I had submitted all of my apps (except MA stuff, which I will do... soon...) I was just curious and interested!
Infinite Zest Posted December 30, 2014 Posted December 30, 2014 I had submitted all of my apps (except MA stuff, which I will do... soon...) I was just curious and interested! In that case, I'd be happy to PM my writing sample to anyone who wants to see it! isostheneia 1
kalash Posted January 4, 2015 Posted January 4, 2015 I'm up for it. My sample is on my site (http://www.jaredhenderson.org/papers/). Jared, You mention that your advisor is leaving BU in another thread. Do you mind letting me know who it is? I'm really interested in one of the two you list on your website as your advisors.
overoverover Posted January 4, 2015 Posted January 4, 2015 (edited) I just saw you PMed me. I'll reply there. Edited January 4, 2015 by overoverover
finetune Posted January 9, 2015 Posted January 9, 2015 Hi all, this is great. If anyone wants to read an analytic metaphysics paper tackling the puzzle of material constitution (from someone with zero academic background in philosophy), please private message me and I can link you up. Looking for constructive criticism. Thank you!
rednegativity Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 I'm up for it. My sample is on my site (http://www.jaredhenderson.org/papers/). Hey Jared, strange question: what the hell font are you using? It looks amazing! The formatting in that pdf is very solid.
isostheneia Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 Hey Jared, strange question: what the hell font are you using? It looks amazing! The formatting in that pdf is very solid. The typeface is called "Computer Modern," it's the default for LaTeX (which is a great program for making your papers look very professional, especially if you use a lot of logical notation).
overoverover Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 The typeface is called "Computer Modern," it's the default for LaTeX (which is a great program for making your papers look very professional, especially if you use a lot of logical notation). Close, but not quite! The typeface on that paper is Hoefler Text—I used that text for the version on my site because I was trying out XeLaTeX, which is a Mac-only version of LaTeX. TBH, I prefer Computer Modern and vanilla LaTeX, and that's the version I used for the version of the sample I submitted.
overoverover Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 Also, if you're interested in using LaTeX but don't know where to start (it can look daunting at first), I suggest checking out this site: http://www.arcoflogic.com/latex/ It's maintained by a friend of mine at Berkeley and it's got everything you need. isostheneia 1
isostheneia Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 Close, but not quite! The typeface on that paper is Hoefler Text—I used that text for the version on my site because I was trying out XeLaTeX, which is a Mac-only version of LaTeX. TBH, I prefer Computer Modern and vanilla LaTeX, and that's the version I used for the version of the sample I submitted. My apologies! I'm thoroughly embarrassed. Clearly knowledge isn't a transparent mental state. And that looks like a great guide, thanks for sharing. overoverover 1
overoverover Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 We quickly got into some rather nit-picky typography nerd stuff, so no worries! isostheneia 1
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