And my LAST WORD is...
LISTEN.
A while back Blogos had a wonderful post about the last word of your dissertation. Before I even had a single chapter written I projected here that my last word would be "transformation." Not bad, but I like my actual (for now) last word even better. I do not know if it will hold: The diss is now in the hands of my four committee members, and I have not even defended it yet before a jury of my peers, so that may change on the final copy I submit to the Graduate School.
At any rate, I'm just happy to have a last word. THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has congratulated me here, via email, in the halls, etc. It is a huge boost to get these pats on the back. I will have a lot more to say about the closing weeks of this whole process soon. But for now, let me just say that it can be done. If you are just starting this process, or are stuck somewhere in the middle, or trying to leap over one of the final hurdles--just keep on keepin' on. I know that sounds simplistic, but that's the best general advice I can give right now.
Still Sexually Ambiguous After All These Years
One of the things that I am able to do now that the dissertation is done (for now) is catch up on my TV viewing. I am NOT one of those academics who (claim to) only watch C-SPAN or public television or (the horror!) proudly proclaim that they do not own a television. I like watching TV! I even have a dish--and a PVR! Well, anyway, one of my husband's and my favorite programs is FX Network's Nip/Tuck, and I finally caught up on the season last night (the season finale from last season and the first episode from last week.)
*NOTE: Mild spoilers ahead. Do not read further if you haven't seen these episodes yet.
This is the fourth season. Part of the problem this season, as I see it, will be keeping the "edginess" in a show that has already pulled out all the shocking elements that it seems possible to pull out. So far, it seems like the series may be sticking to a tried and true formula: When in doubt, hit 'em with sex and gender exploits. Transgendered heavies! Brokeback Medical Practice! Sex organ-less crazies! Incest! As much as I like the show, I have a sneaking suspicion that this season may be it--at least for me, if not for the network. Any regular viewers want to guess what will be N/T's "jumping the shark" moment?
At any rate, I was very happy that the show got a little color this season in the form of one of my favorite actresses, Sanaa Lathan. Looks like she'll be a recurring character, so it'll be interesting to see how this will play out. So far, it seems they're doing the whole "let's not mention that she's Black" thing. (Remember Aisha Tyler's recurring role on Friends?) That'd be too bad if the show's producers and writers keep that up. Or maybe they think there's just nothing edgy any more about race?
Light-Bright, Making Theory with White
Speaking of race, I have been pleased to see this study getting a lot of publicity recently: “Putting Whiteness Theory to the Test: An Empirical Assessment of Core Theoretical Propositions.” Here is a Diverse Issues in Higher Ed piece on the study; It was also featured recently here on MPR's Midmorning program; And here are a couple of University press releases about it: MNDaily and UMN News.
If you're an FSoS'er you may remember one of the PIs/co-authors, Douglas Hartmann from our Sociology Department here at Minnesota, from his lunch seminar in our department a while back where he presented some of his fascinating work on race and sports.
This study is part of the American Mosaic Project. From the website:
We hear a great deal about the diversity of American society—ethnic, racial, and religious. Sometimes, our diversity has caused commentators, and leaders, to fear that we are headed toward a divisive "culture war." At other times, we have celebrated our diversity and understood it as being at the heart of our vitality as a nation.Posted by perry032 at September 12, 2006 10:43 AMSponsored by the David Edelstein Family Foundation, our three-year project has explored these issues, with particular focus on race and religion as key forms of difference that shape American life and experience....
The American Mosaic Project is designed to contribute to our understanding of what brings Americans together, what divides us, and the implications of our diversity for our political and civic life. We are most concerned with how Americans themselves understand the nature and consequences of diversity for their own lives and for our society as a whole....