Exchanging Manning for the dusty corridors of Fisher, I've sublimated all urges into some long overdue research for an Art History essay. My old habit of leaving things to the last minute seems to have followed through from high school, but this time round, I'm not so sure I can pull it off like in the good ol' days.
Like I’ve mentioned, being thrown into second year head first is awesome if you don’t have work. Tackling a 2000 word essay on ideals of femininity in Victorian art has definitely blown the HSC essay into a projectile further out than former planet-but-not-big-enough-to-be-one Pluto. Currently I’m in a stage of not knowing whether I’m either deconstructing nineteenth century femininity or my own masculinity. But hey! I can still be a man even if I am doing a feminist question…right?
Though I did Extension 2 English, I chose poetry as my medium, not the essay. As much as HSC essays encourage sustained argument and logic (what I'd like to think), it really does fall short in preparing you for the demands of the research essay. There’s the endless amount of reading that I discovered I had to do. But not everything’s relevant, so I have to trawl through and gleam what I can, keeping track of all references and making sure I’m not plagiarising. There are the problematics of the question itself: am I making broad assumptions? Am I providing enough evidence and clarification? Did I just overlook the fact that there were 8 other questions to choose from!? Maybe I’ve bitten off more than I can chew?
I know that this assessment shouldn’t be getting to me but I can’t hide the fact that it is. In an act of catharsis I had my hair shaved off this morning, quite a radical change to the usual mop; it's not a smart move either considering the changing weather. I have to admit, the question has unknowingly infiltrated all facets of my life. Even when supping a coke in Manning and contemplating the mysterious mechanics of that $3.50 pie machine, my mind gravitates towards the corsets and petticoats.
Maybe I should’ve started work a wee bit earlier...
Comments
aw.. yi-long i saw your msn name and was going to offer some help with the essay but wait - i've only completed FIRST YEAR ARHT!!!!
and dont worry, that darn pie machine has got the better of many of us. ive spent several blogs complaining about/pining over it!
gooood luck!
asako
Posted by: asako | April 27, 2007 05:56 PM
Corsets AND meat pies... what an image!
But I reckon you need to chill out a bit. Uni essays can be intense, especially when you realise you are no longer allowed to write things you know to be true unless you acknowledge where they come from. I think perhaps they should have started us doing that in the HSC. But then what would have been in the footnotes? Maybe "regurgutated from the mouth of my teacher".
So think of it as a creative process, if its capturing your mind its capturing your interest too!
Posted by: Davina | April 28, 2007 10:13 AM
see, this is why you do engineering instead of english major. you cant go wrong with technical reports.
p.s. engineers designed that pie machine.
Posted by: adoz | April 29, 2007 09:08 PM
Adoz, you value a pie machine over your mate. The engineers who designed that pie machine must be terrible people...
Posted by: Yi | May 3, 2007 04:14 PM
azza, eng kids do not rule the world. (but pie machines are pretty fabulous)
ps english majors ... developed the word "pie"
Posted by: hum | May 4, 2007 08:29 PM
oh,I am now busy with the Art History essay.And it is always my habit to leave it to the last minute.:)Best wishes~~
Posted by: Emily Lan | August 22, 2007 07:11 PM
^^I am now busy with several Art History essays...You are so great to finish them on time!
Posted by: Emily | August 22, 2007 07:20 PM
Hi Emily. Well that ARHT essay's long in the past. New ones are coming up and are possibly more out there than last semester. Hope your essays go swell.
Posted by: yi | August 22, 2007 08:07 PM