ruby; 19; history undergrad

Chapter 1: Prologue: Why LGBTQ Historic Sites Matter by Mark Meinke

Chapter 2: Introduction to the LGBTQ Heritage Initiative Theme Study by Megan E. Springate

Chapter 3: Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History in the United States by Leisa Meyer and Helis Sikk

Chapter 4: The History of Queer History: One Hundred Years of the Search for Shared Heritage by Gerard Koskovich

Chapter 5: The Preservation of LGBTQ Heritage by Gail Dubrow

Chapter 6: LGBTQ Archeological Context by Megan E. Springate

Chapter 7: A Note about Intersectionality by Megan E. Springate

Chapter 8: Making Bisexuals Visible by Loraine Hutchins

Chapter 9: Sexual and Gender Diversity in Native America and the Pacific Islands by Will Roscoe

Chapter 10: Transgender History in the US and the Places that Matter by Susan Stryker

Chapter 11: Breathing Fire: Remembering Asian Pacific American Activism in Queer History by Amy Sueyoshi

Chapter 12: Latina/o Gender and Sexuality by Deena J. González and Ellie D. Hernandez

Chapter 13: “Where We Could Be Ourselves”: African American LGBTQ Historic Places and Why They Matter by Jeffrey A. Harris

Chapter 14: LGBTQ Spaces and Places by Jen Jack Gieseking

Chapter 15: Making Community: The Places and Spaces of LGBTQ Collective Identity Formation by Christina B. Hanhardt

Chapter 16: LGBTQ Business and Commerce by David K. Johnson

Chapter 17: Sex, Love, and Relationships by Tracy Baim

Chapter 18: LGBTQ Civil Rights in America by Megan E. Springate

Chapter 19: Historical Landmarks and Landscapes of LGBTQ Law by Marc Stein

Chapter 20: LGBTQ Military Service by Steve Estes

Chapter 21: Struggles in Body and Spirit: Religion and LGBTQ People in US History by Drew Bourn

Chapter 22: LGBTQ and Health by Katie Batza

Chapter 23: LGBTQ Art and Artists by Tara Burk

Chapter 24: LGBTQ Sport and Leisure by Katherine Schweighofer

Chapter 25: San Francisco: Placing LGBTQ Histories in the City by the Bay by Donna J. Graves and Shayne E. Watson

Chapter 26: Preservation of LGBTQ Historic & Cultural Sites – A New York City Perspective by Jay Shockley

Chapter 27: Locating Miami’s Queer History by Julio Capó, Jr.

Chapter 28: Queerest Little City in the World: LGBTQ Reno by John Jeffrey Auer IV

Chapter 29: Chicago: Queer Histories at the Crossroads of America by Jessica Herczeg-Konecny

Chapter 30: Nominating LGBTQ Places to the National Register of Historic Places and as National Historic Landmarks: An Introduction by Megan E. Springate and Caridad de la Vega

Chapter 31: Interpreting LGBTQ Historic Sites by Susan Ferentinos

September 11, 2019

My masterlist of foreign language study resources. 

Prices may vary on the titles shown here. Some may be available in digital format at a lower price, however, digital titles are not reflected here as I prefer to use physical books. 

Of course, many of these books are available from good libraries. 

FRENCH

Barron’s: 501 French Verbs

Barron’s: Mastering French Vocabulary

Bescherelle: La conjugaison, L’orthographe, La grammaire

Bishop & Hazelwindt: Developing Writing Skills in French

Causa & Mègre: Production Écrite (C1/C2, also available for A1+)

Hawkins & Towell: French Grammar and Usage

Jubb: French Grammar in Context

Knight, Stevenson, Arragon: Living French

Oxford: French Dictionary

Rey: Le Petit Robert

Stillman & Gordon: French Vocabulary Drills

Tracey: Essential French Grammar

GERMAN

Barron’s: Mastering German Vocabulary

Buckley & Coggle: Living German

Collins: German Essential Dictionary

Duden: Deutsch Als Fremdsprache Standardwörterbuch

Fehringer: German Grammar in Context

Hammer, Durrell: German Grammar and Usage

Helbig/Buscha: Übungsgrammatik Deutsch

Helbig/Buscha: Deutsche Grammatik

Stillman, Godor et. al,: German Vocabulary Drills

Swick: German Grammar Drills

Wolf, Trump: 501 Essential German Verbs

GERMAN (for French speakers)

As I have suggested before, people who have attained a strong level in one language should learn the subsequent language not in their mother tongue, but their second language. In this vein, I study German using French, as well as English resources. 

If you speak French and wish to learn German, I recommend the following resources:

Bescherelle Allemand pour tous: Verbes, Vocabulaire, Grammaire

Larousse: Dictionnaire poche français-allemand/allemand-français

RUSSIAN

A small, but growing list on Russian language study.

Brown: Russian Course

Oxford: Russian Dictionary

RUSSIAN (for French speakers)

Highly recommended for French speakers who are learning Russian:

Zeltchenko: Je parle russe! 

Zeltchenko: Je parle russe, Niveau 2

HEBREW

This list focuses more on Biblical Hebrew than modern. 

Anderson: Prayerbook Hebrew

Davidson: Introductory Hebrew Grammar

Scharfstein: Shilo Pocket Hebrew Dictionary

Simon: The First Hebrew Primer

HEBREW (for French speakers)

Feldhendler: 50 Règles Essentielles Hébreu

GREEK

Holton: Greek, A comprehensive grammar

Oxford: Classical Greek Dictionary

Oxford: Grammar of Classical Greek

Wenham: The Elements of New Testament Greek

LATIN

Cambridge: Latin Course Book I

Cambridge: Latin Course Book II

Collins: Latin Dictionary and Grammar

Jones & Sidwell: Reading Latin Grammar and Exercises

Jones & Sidwell: Reading Latin Text and Vocabulary

Linney: Getting started with Latin

Oxford: Latin Dictionary

LATIN (for German speakers)

Highly recommend this history of German:

Leonhardt: Latein, Geschichte einer Weltsprache

ARABIC

Collins: Arabic Essential Dictionary

Diouri: Read and write Arabic Script

Peters: Very simple Arabic script

Wightwick & Gaafar: Mastering Arabic Grammar

MANDARIN CHINESE

Heisig & Richardson: Remembering simplified Hanzi

Liu: New Practical Chinese Reader

P-Ching: Chinese, An essential grammar

Of course, when the Americans pulled out there was a lot of media that explored the new Japanese identity and criticized America as well as the Japanese government. They explored violence and sex and everything in between, and some really good shit was made. But there was a lot of romanticism, and again things got… kinda dumbed down for the movies. People wanted tales of chivalry and heroics, so they got historical dramas, samurai movies, and yakuza movies. The cultural conception of these historically kinda awful groups were changed, softening things that were actually pretty terrible.

But what about the stuff that was actually making a statement? The stuff that was criticizing America and its handling of the war, or the government or society? It was there. It was doing its thing, making people talk and think. But what about when it came over to the west? We’d spent a solid decade trying to portray the Japanese as this exotic culture, beautiful but dumb and not scary, so that they wouldn’t be completely shunned when trying to integrate back into the world. And suddenly you get all this art with complex ideas and concepts and whoops, we can’t have that its so contrary to everything we’ve been working towards. Besides, what would Americans understand about Japanese politics? Nothing! They don’t care about it! So they cut it. For example: Godzilla. It was originally a pretty scathing criticism of America’s handling of the atomic bomb and everything after, but boy howdy can’t show that in America! So they reduce it to big green monster stomps all over Tokyo, wow what will those wacky Japanese think up next! And what happens? Its hugely successful.

So Japan sees all the woobificaion going on and, can you believe it, its selling! And boy howdy isn’t that a great way to stimulate an economy. So they put a lot of effort into branding themselves as the cutting edge in tech and pop culture, nevermind all the nasty stuff because hey, that’s not good for business. The anime and the pocky and the kimono, THAT’S whats selling so its what’s seen around the world and what Japan becomes known for. And from there its a lot of tell yourself the same lie over and over again and it becomes true, along with the cultural norm of not standing out or pushing the status quo. All of the problems are essentially swept under the rug, and people both in and outside of Japan start to take it to heart. There are absolutely still groups speaking out and artists making AMAZING things like superflat mentioned above (seriously, look into Takashi Murakami, he’s such a cool artist) but very rarely do things like that get noticed on a large enough scale to cause change in something as removed as western nerd culture.

I wanna end this way too long post by mentioning that every. single. one. of my professors, both Japanese and American, has addressed the Japanese dream factory idea. We talk about groups like the Ainu, Zainichi Koreans, Ryuukyuu Islanders, hafu, Burakumin, and so many more, and I know other professors around the country do the same thing because they’re TIRED of all the weebs coming into their classes thinking they’re experts on Japan when they don’t know anything beyond a manufactured image and some vague ideas of bushido or whatever. If you want to learn about Japanese minority groups, look up any of those I mentioned above. Do your research on Japanese conviction rates, which are honestly. Fucking awful. Read some classic Japanese lit, learn about Japan’s nationalism, do SOMETHING other than just consume anime. If you want to know more about the things I talked about, I recommend E. Taylor Atkins A History of Popular Culture in Japan or trying to find articles by Susan Napier, she’s one of the few westerners who studies anime and manga in an academic light.

TL;DR: a good part* of the reason why so many weebs are Like That is because Japan had that image forced upon them, then figured out it sells and decided to brand their country that way, try and educate yourself so you’re not Like That. 

Talk to people when things go to shit.

I don’t just mean get it off your chest, although that’s good. I mean: Something’s wrong with your paycheck/you lost your job/you had unexpected emergency car repairs and now you’re broke so your credit card payment is late. Like, not just 15 days late. We’re talking, shit got crazy and now you’re 90 days late with compounded interest and late fees and the Minimum Payment Due is, like, $390, and you’ve got about $3.90 in your bank account. Call the credit card company. 

I know it’s scary. I know you feel like you’re going to get in trouble, like you’re gong to get yelled at or scolded for not having your life together. But the credit card company isn’t your parents; they’re just interested in getting money from you. And you can’t squeeze blood from a stone or money from someone who doesn’t have any. So what you do is you call them. You explain you’re experiencing temporary financial hardships, and you’re currently unable to bring your account up to date, but you don’t want to just let it get worse. Can you maybe talk to someone about a payment plan so you can work something out? Nine times out of ten you’ll be able to negotiate something so that at least it’s not just taking a constant, giant shit on your credit score.

- Can’t pay your power bill? Call the power company.

- Can’t pay your full rent? Talk to your landlord.

- Had to go to the hospital without insurance and have giant medical bills looming in your place? Call the hospital and ask if they have someone who helps people with financial hardships. Many do.

- Got super sick and missed half a semester of class because flu/pneumonia/auto-immune problems/depressive episode? Talk to your professor. If that doesn’t help, talk to your advisor.

You may not be able to fix everything, but you’ll likely be able to make improvements. At the very least, it’s possible that they have a list of people you can contact to help you with things. (Also, don’t be afraid to google things like, “I can’t pay my power bill [state you live in]” because you’d be surprised at what turns up on Google!) But the thing is, people in these positions gain nothing if you fail. There’s no emotional satisfaction for them if your attempts at having your life together completely bite the dust. In fact, they stand to benefit if things work out for you! And chances are, they’ll be completely happy to take $20 a month from you over getting $0 a month from you, your account will be considered current because you’ve talked to them and made an agreement, you won’t get reported to a collections agency, and your credit score won’t completely tank.

Here’s some helpful tips to keep in mind:

1. Be polite. Don’t demand things; request them. Let me tell you about how customer service people hold your life in their hands and how many extra miles they’ll go for someone who is nice to them.

2. Stick to the facts, and keep them minimal unless asked for them. Chances are they’re not really interested in the details. “We had several family emergencies in a row, and now I’m having trouble making the payments” is better than “Well, two months ago my husband wrecked his bike, and then he had a reaction to the muscle relaxer they gave him, and then our dog swallowed a shoestring and we had to take him to the emergency clinic, and just last week MY car broke down, and now my account’s in the negatives and I don’t know how I’m gonna get it back out.” The person you’re talking to is aware shit happens to everyone; they don’t need the details to prove you’re somehow “worthy” of being helped. They may ask you for details at a certain point if they have to fill out any kind of request form, but let them do that.

3. Ask questions. “Is there anything we can do about X?” “Would it be possible to move my payment date to Y day instead so it’s not coming out of the same paycheck as my rent?” The answer may be “no.” That’s not a failure on your part. But a good customer service person may have an alternate solution. 

hey folks! as september rolls around and everyone gets back to school, the studyblr community is getting a bit more crowded! I thought to help everyone (myself included) get back into the swing of school (and therefore having things to post!) I’d create a little challenge. Each day, post a picture (or text post) following that day’s prompt, and be sure to tag them #universi-tea challenge so I can see!

Goals for the semester

What are you excited about?

What’s in your bag?

Study essentials

Favorite study snack

Your handwriting

Daily routine

Before/after

Good morning!

Good night!

Favorite subject

Least favorite subject

Something you’re proud of

How you study best

Supplies + reviews

Shelfie/pic of your books

Your favorite part of your school

What’s in your pencil case?

Show off your favorite back to school outfit!

Doodles

Coffee or tea?

Your study style

Favorite way to take a study break

Study playlist

What motivates you?

Favorite quote?

Favorite study spot

Your to do list

The best thing about school

Your top 3 tips for school

Unidentified Maori woman holding a patu. 1900s