SHELF + DESK

this depends on a whole slew of factors!

your field

your program

what year you are in that program

your personal investment in your field

but yes, it is very, very important to read. as an english phd student, my grad reading experience looks something like this:

coursework

i’m in coursework for 3 years (this upcoming year will be my last). i take 2 seminars a quarter, generally with around 100-200 pages of reading, primary and secondary, per seminar per week. this can vary hugely by professor; i’ve had seminars that only used one book for the whole quarter, and others with 300+ pages a week.

in addition to the required reading for the seminars, i also do a lot of outside reading for the seminar papers i write at the end of each quarter. again, varies depending on how much i already know about the subject, how long the paper is, etc.

after coursework

ok once you’re done with coursework, you don’t have to read for seminars anymore, but you do have (in most programs) a thing called reading year. 

you make a big list of around 100 “objects” (which can range from a 3000-line romance to “the complete works of chaucer,” depending on your committee) and you spend about a year reading those texts and taking notes for your dissertation and PhD qualifying exam.

“reading year” usually stretches out over a summer, and most people will try to cram in a lot of work then, when they have a more relaxed schedule – i have friends whose advisors have encouraged them to go the “book-a-day” route and do a power-50 or whatever over the course of 2 months.

then ofc as your dissertation develops and evolves you will tack on many more books and articles as you go

misc

i’m in 2 separate reading groups (medieval & early modern), which are just groups of grad students in a particular field, reading common texts and meeting up to chat about them. we usually work off a senior member’s reading year list and do one or two texts every 2 weeks. these are usually nice & relaxed and a good way of covering texts that are important but haven’t been assigned in seminars.

i’ll also usually be reading for an ongoing project that doesn’t match up with whatever seminar i’m taking – i’ve been working with almanacs since last fall, so i’ve got a tall stack of books on medieval science writing & didactic literature that i’ve been working through for over a year. 

i haven’t been great at keeping up with field-specific journals, but i’m hoping to get better with that, and with reading up on some pedagogy theory now that i’ve got a year of teaching under my belt.

you also have to read whatever you’re teaching your students – so last quarter i was reading the illiad, a lot of sappho, some critical essays on the canon, and a lot of greek myths.

if you’re working as a grader for a professor, many of them will want you  to read whatever their undergraduates are writing about so that your grading will be fair.

also i like to know what my friends are working on and to talk to them about their projects so if i can squeeze in one of their texts i will!! one of my best friends has been absolutely nuts over moby-dick for months now, so i’m reading it to be able to talk to him and read his work without guessing about whether it makes sense.

i was terrified of doing this in undergrad, and now that i’m asked to write them fairly often, i am fondly exasperated when my students don’t know how to ask for them. obviously there’s no single way, but here’s the way i usually do it.

THE FIRST EMAIL

should be short & should mainly be asking whether they’re willing to write you the letter

should provide only the basics - what the professor absolutely needs to know.

the position you’re applying for

when the letter would be due

optional: if you’re afraid they won’t remember you, a quick line identifying yourself & your relation to them

i like to provide an “out,” in case they don’t want to or are unable to write the letter

SAMPLE Dear Professor X, I’m applying for a job as an English tutor at the University Student Resource Center, and was wondering if you’d be willing to write me a letter of recommendation for the position. [optional identification: I really enjoyed taking English 300 with you in Winter 2016, and I’m hoping to develop and pass on those skills to other students through this job.] The letter would be due by September 1st - I know you’re very busy, so I completely understand if you’re not able to write one.  All best, Your Name

THE SECOND EMAIL

they said yes!! amazing.

this one can provide a little more information – a link to the job posting, if there is one, or you can write a quick summary of the position, plus a sentence or two about why you’re excited/interested in the job.

also tell them where to send the letter!! 

directly to the recruiter for the job

to you, to add to your application packet

upload to an online LoR service or to an application website

99% of the time folks are fine with receiving electronic copies, but if they need to mail a hard copy, let them know up front.

SAMPLE: Dear Professor X, Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Here’s the link to the job listing; the letter should be sent as a .pdf file to the email address at the bottom of the page, anytime before 9/1. Thanks again – I’m hoping that this job will provide me with some teaching experience and the opportunity to work on my own writing. Please let me know if you need any more information! Best,  Your Name

WHEN TO SEND A FOLLOW-UP

these stress me out real bad but here’s the deal: most professors have a very shaky relationship to deadlines (especially when they have half a dozen more important ones than your piddly LoR). 

the upshot: do not be afraid to nudge them. 

often they need the nudge and are appreciative of it.

when that nudge happens is up to you and how much room you’ve given them before the deadline, and it’ll look different depending on your relationship with that professor.

GRAD SCHOOL LETTERS

i offered to send my professors essays that i had written for their classes, especially if i had taken those classes more than a year before asking them to write the letter, just so they could refamiliarize themselves with my work. you can also offer to send them your writing sample, if you haven’t already asked them to look it over for you.

honestly i’d recommend asking for these in person bc it’ll give you a chance to talk to them about their grad school experience and your own hopes & aspirations, which will help them write a more personal, fleshed-out letter.

one important note: if this letter is intended for use in grad school applications, do not stress out if it’s a little late. most programs do not care, and pretty much all of them accept late letters without a problem. your professor’s ability to meet deadlines does not reflect on you, and professors are intimately familiar with running late on LoRs. they really honestly don’t care. as long as it gets there before too long, you’ll be fine.

A clean house is a sign of wasted life ! 

sometimes you fall down in life and it sucks!!!!!! like it’s actually terrible but… hey. u gotta get back up champ bc u r a STAR. in other words, i have fallen down recently and this is how i plan on getting back up. bc i am a star.

starting easy

clean your room bc outer peace brings inner peace

clean yourself bc outer peace brings inner peace and this means removing your makeup washing your face brushing your teeth combing your hair wearing nice-smelling clothes

drink a glass of water because hydration. important.

play a happy song like rlly whatever u want that makes u happy and want to dance

i know this might sound hard but like u got this i believe in u

moving on

ok this is hard part but u still got this love

think about everything that is wrong literally like EVERYTHING but maybe not everything bc maybe it will stress you out but maybe writing it will be cathartic whatever works for u

find solutions for those problems

i know i make it sound super easy and i know it’s actually really hard but usually u know what the solution is just something is holding u back

so rlly decide that that is the solution

tell urself, “this is how i am going to fix this”

to make this very hard and difficult step, please be nice to yourself by listening to cool tunes and rocking eyeliner

it rlly helps

organising your thoughts is also useful bc organisation

i have heard a bullet journal is rlly gr8 for this because like u get to plan ur days but also write random crap that’s not actually random crap but instead very good crap like “how to cheer up when sad” it’s all there in one notebook !!! radical eh

the step where you get back up

set urself up for success by sleeping early and waking up early bc sleep is like soooOo important u have no idea

exercise bc endorphins and all that good stuff and drink water and eat yo vegetables

do the shit that u planned to do in the previous step even if it’s hard i know it’s hard life is hard but u r hardier u r a star

stay on track

k so a lot of ppl r like “discipline > motivation” which i 100% agree but like motivation is also nice

have someone believe in u/someone u can talk to and be ur ray of sunshine like this is rlly helpful

find a purpose for whatever u want to do like what is ur reason for going through the shitty path of life and choosing this hard decision

typical motivational quotes like idk about u but i fall for those every single time

pep talk urself and fake enthusiasm even if u don’t want to like isn’t it radical how the only person holding u back is u

forgive yourself

ur life will go on track and then back off again!!! bc u r a human and humans make mistakes

don’t u get all mopey on urself and be like “i have ruined my life” like stop being so dramatic tough love ik but like U R ALIVE AND THAT MEANS U GTA KEEP KICKIN AT SMTHING

u can mope for a bit and when u do mope mope ur heart out like cry and use tissues and whatever u need but like limit ur moping period bc u need to move on

bad things will happen to u bc life and no matter how much ppl want to help u only u can rlly help urself

ur life ur decisions. forgive urself and start over again (refer to beginning of this post)

fun little reminders

u have the most beautiful smile

my inbox is always open if u need a pep talk and i will always fight ur negativity with my jaw-dropping, amazing, radiant positivity

u! r! a! star!!!!11!11!!1111!!!!!!!!3

cake makes everything better

leonardo dicaprio is still single

i love u unless ur mean don’t be mean plS

A BIG OLD LIST OF MEDIEVAL HISTORY & LITERATURE RESOURCES.

y’all knew this was coming. the resources I especially recommend are bolded, and I’ll probably update this periodically.

HISTORY, SOCIETY, & POLITICS.

the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (modern English translation). begun in the late 9th century and added to until the 12th.

clear map of the Norman Conquest.

English medieval history from the BBC.

Terry Jones’s “Medieval Lives” documentary series. yes, the one from Monty Python.

LANGUAGES.

OLD ENGLISH

Anglo-Saxon dictionary.

Introduction to Old English. (with exercises; click on the “aerobics” link on the left; you may need to make an account.)

massive compilation of O.E. resources. I mean it, it’s massive.  

Middle English dictionary. note: when searching dictionaries, use the first few letters of the word followed by an asterisk - spelling wasn’t standardized! so if you’re looking up the word tonnen, search ton*.

Anglo-Norman dictionary.

READING & PRONUNCIATION

Reading Middle English. a really thorough group of lessons on basic (Chaucerian) language, pronunciation, and analysis.

basic/general Middle English pronunciation guide.

scholars reading Chaucer aloud. 

History of English podcast.

ART.

MANUSCRIPT IMAGES

Discarding Images (facebook). hilarious/beautiful manuscript marginalia.

the Getty’s open content program. (they also have a tumblr). you’ll have to do some searching but they’ve got a ton of gorgeous manuscript pages.

the Book of Kells online.

all of Mallory Ortberg’s posts about the two monks.

POC in medieval art history.

medieval drama. includes resources for mystery cycles, art, and music.

LITERATURE & SCHOLARSHIP.

TEAMS manuscript editions. scholarly editions of medieval texts with great footnotes, accompanied by extremely well-researched introductions.

BLOGS

In the Medieval Middle. this is one of my absolute favorite medievalist blogs - it’s run by a group of (well-known) scholars, but is based more on their personal interests than any single overarching theme. 

the British Library’s Medieval Manuscripts blog. a fabulously eclectic (and really active!) selection taken from the BL’s holdings.

the Wellcome Library’s blog on early medicine. does what it says on the tin. 

MedievalBooks.nl. Erik Kwakkel’s blog - provides some well-curated blog posts about books, binding, etc. 

Andreas Capellanus’s De Amore. a guide to courtly love - important to know if you’re going to be reading anything medieval, especially romances.

Chaucer resources.

ARTHURIANA

basic overview by Judy Shoaf.

big list of Arthurian legend academic resources. includes some really good bibliographies.

the Camelot Project. makes the above list look small.

MANUSCRIPTS & MANUSCRIPT RESOURCES.

MS REPOSITORIES

the Huntington Library.

the British Library.

the Digital Scriptorium.

SPECIFIC MSS

Electronic Beowulf / Beowulf with facing-page translations.

the Ellesmere Chaucer.

Making Parchment. a short animation by the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

Making Manuscripts. a really lovely series of videos (20 mins total) from the Getty that show the actual ms production process.

Late Medieval English Scribes. a database of scribal hands with examples of letterforms.

tbh i have not had to pull one in a while but here are some things that saved my ass back in undergrad:

the REM cycle nap. 90 minutes. take one, if you can. all-nighters have a tendency to fuck up your sleep schedule for days, so i usually tried to get through my morning as best i could, take a 90 minute nap sometime in the afternoon, and then force myself to stay awake until ~10 that night. 

do not overcaffeinate. it’s tempting, and also you’re so tired that you’re essentially drunk, so it’s easy to make bad caffeine choices. do not. you will feel sick and miserable. drink the amount of caffeine that you usually drink, and no more. no crazy energy drinks, no caffeine pills. 

take breaks during your classes. i used to go and do jumping jacks in the bathroom when i felt like i could not physically keep my head off the desk. it’s not dignified, but it works.

take a shower. i usually do this at the beginning of the “new” day, but it’s up to you. sometimes it tricks your body into thinking that things are totally normal! nothing to freak out about! you are tooootally fine. on a similar note,

get dressed. like, real-people dressed. you don’t have to be pageant-ready, but things like real pants and something that isn’t a hoodie will send your brain the message that you are a Functional Human. wash ya face. put some mascara on, if that’s your thing. maybe some undereye concealer, idk, i’m not your mom.

don’t make important decisions. or have complicated conversations. just pretend mercury is in retrograde and avoid all serious/sensitive decisions until you’ve had some time to sleep on them.

up-tempo music. rock that beyonce, that marina, whatever it takes. 

eat some damn fruit. it’s tempting to just carb up and accept your fate, but fruits and veggies will give you a little more energy. i like smoothies especially, because they’re cold, which tends to keep me awake more than hot drinks. up 2 u. 

stationery shopping before the new semester start. I bought them mostly from gramedia and paperclip. here is whats inside my pencil case (left to right)

faber-castell connector pen 

sakura sharp nocks 0.5 mech.pencil

tombow calno bc-gc pen

zebra jimnie pen

faster high grade c6 pen

faber-castell grip x p5 pen

standard needle point gel pen

snowman 0.4 drawing pen

bic marking permanent marker

standard needle point refill

pilot 0.5 2b polymer leads

ziegel germany ruler

staedtler rasoplast eraser