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https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x74926x

12.09.20

a simple spread as i find it harder and harder to be creative when i’m so swamped with work (∩´﹏`∩)

hoping everyone is safe and happy 💖

I’m trying out a different way to take my pics! I’m feeling like experimenting lol, also, is anyone else obsessed with the new TS album? I’m not a big TS listener but there’s something about this album I really like

✧･ﾟ: *✧Winter Study Challenge✧･ﾟ: *✧

15th December

postcolonial theory is interesting because it’s an intersection of race, gender, and class, and sometimes goes beyond what we would conceptualise as ‘postcolonial’ in the strictest sense, e.g. not just countries that were once part of the british empire. it’s more about the critique of supremacy of the ‘western’ world. it’s also an area of study that covers many different subjects, not just IR/polsci, so keeping that in mind, here is what i can recommend as a brief reading recommendation list.

orientalism by edward said — this is like. the foundational text on postcolonialism. as you could probably guess from the title, it’s focusing on the relationship between the west and east (the orient).

power, postcolonialism and international relations: reading race, gender and class by geeta chowdhry and shelia nair — this is a very IR heavy analysis of postcolonialism. it’s very good, very comprehensive, and has quite a few case studies.

africa in the colonial ages of empire by tatah mentan — this is a dense piece of work, but really really interesting and comprehensive when it comes to analysing africa through a postcolonial lens. this book literally taught me about the way US foreign policy is written to continue extracting resources from africa under the guise of ‘liberal internationalism’ which, hey! i wrote a whole essay on.

prison notebooks by antonio gramsci — hey i’m recommending gramsci again. gramsci coined the term ‘subaltern’ and he’s just a really important source for critical theory regardless of what perspective you’re coming from. i am biased, i really really like gramsci.

can the subaltern speak? by gayatri chakravorty spivak — she’s cool. her theory is cool. she makes the point to seperate ‘subaltern’ from the marxist sense of being synonymous with proletariat, and gives it a specific colonial meaning.

the white saviour industrial complex by teju cole — right of the bat, i want to be clear that teju cole is not a postcolonial theorist, but his article here is really really interesting, and i what i was talking about when i said i brought up kony 2012 as an example of postcolonial response.

imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism by lenin — >:)

1. Take a deep breath - Let out all that anxiety over the project you’re doing so you can think clearly

2. Pull up a clean sheet of paper and something to write with - You can use a fresh word doc, new page in your journal or planner or whatever else works for you, the idea is that after this you will have a physical list to look at to help keep you on task.

3. Identify your obstacles (i.e. What is keeping you from doing this task?) - For example: Is it scary? If so, why? Does it feel too hard? Is there something else that you feel needs to be done first? Write these down!

4. Plan how to overcome your obstacles - This can take some creativity and some thinking to best figure out how to overcome the obstacle. I’ve included examples below for potential plans.

Example 1:

Obstacle: I don’t know the best way to approach this task.

Plan: Brainstorm on paper ways that you might be able to approach this task. Google ways to accomplish this task. Review lecture notes or example homework problems on how to accomplish this task. Ask a friend/coworker/classmate how they might start the task. Write down everything you feel might be relevant until you feel like you know where to start and where to go.

Example 2:

Obstacle: This feels too big and overwhelming so I don’t want to do it.

Plan: Break down the tasks into smaller, tiny tasks. Make them as small as you need to make them feel manageable. Write down all these tasks check them off as you go. 

Example 3:

Obstacle: I’m waiting for someone to get back to me with comments on this project but they’re taking too long.

Plan: Follow up with this person and identify what you can do without their comments. For example, if you’re waiting for someone to sent you a section of a project or paper, write your section to the best of your ability. Can you have someone else review this project and still get good feedback. Or tell yourself you’ll revise/edit your project and integrate their comments later when you get to them. Often when I identify what feels out of order, I can move past it or put it farther down my list so I’m no longer just stuck waiting.

5. Encourage yourself and commend yourself for filling in the gaps actively that your brain couldn’t do on it’s own today. - You’re doing a great job!

Sincerely,

not going to uni

taking as much time as needed before going to uni

changing your majors many times before finding what you like

changing your career path

not knowing what you want

attending a community college 

[28/06/20]