May 30
See? I ARE an intellectual
1965
Went to the movies: Cheyenne Autumn with Marcia and three friends. It was good, but not as good as “How the West was Won”,its big brother.This time, NINE swearwords.
MK was pestering S. She was wearing pig tails and he kept fiddling with them.
1977
The reform dress movement idea is proving to be much more practical. That is, there are dozens of contemporary articles on the subject; the library has probably about an eighth of them. This may be the time for a trip to the Library of Congress (at last!!). I’ll get as much done on campus as possible before next Monday, and go down then. I expect to be impressed by that library! The idea of doing research there is absolutely thrilling! (Very close to the vibrant feeling I felt while using the library at the Harvard Business School. If I had gone to an Ivy League School, I think I would have collapsed from excitement; I am so easily impressed.) I am trying to be very organized, which may be my salvation. Tomorrow I have no lecture (only Jan’s bit on research) and have to see my department chair. Once I am done with with prepping the next lecture, I can go to McKeldin for more of the pursuit.
I also finally finished Hofstadter’s “Social Darwinism in American Thought”. The last few chapters were especially good, and I think I can do a fairly respectable job on the oral report. I don’t expect to knock anyone over with my startling insights. This is all so new to me, that I am apt to get caught up in the obvious and superficial. But I think if I am honest about my own viewpoint, it will work out. Not try to sound like I understand more than I do.
Comment 2023
What I still don’t understand: how so many Americans who reject evolution (biological Darwinism) are so willing to explain inequality using Social Darwinism.
1978
This is another “yesterday” entry. My lack of self-discipline is appalling. How long, I wonder, will I try to stuff my large, round head into that small square hole? I did practice piano for an hour, and I sort of read French for a while. (Tried it without looking in the dictionary. It took less time to read what little I understood.) HOWEVER! I also watched two movies (Oliver Twist and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini) while I feebly went at the rug WITH A WISK BROOM, rather than turn off the TV and vacuum it. Pathetic. So far today I have done the laundry and the dishes.
I also went to the department and made up a schedule wherein I work from 9 to 1 every day at Turner Lab. (And here it is, 9 AM, and I am on my ass, as usual.)
1980
Once this is all over, I hope I can do a lot more recreational reading…novels and such. Right now, even having books around is a temptation too strong to resist.
I also wish I could type and walk at the same time. I get my best ideas when I’m moving.(On the bus, on my bike, walking to campus). Maybe I could hypnotize myself into feeling like I was walking.
My main idea: the usefulness of semiology, of perceiving clothing/people systems as communication.
What I would give to be able to play “Maple Leaf Rag”!!! All the practice in the world isn’t going to make me good enough. It just ain’t in my fingers.
My second idea: the humanists are part of a larger group, the theorists, the paradigm builders. Scientists are the paradigm testers. We need both, and most researchers are one or the other. If we don’t communicate with each other, we won’t grow or advance. We can’t wait until those rare scholars come along who both theorize and test. Change happens too fast, and the academic structure favors intellectual specialization. Interdisciplinary research, ideally, should bring together theorists and testers. Multidisciplinary research so far has only brought together different sorts of scientists. Do theorists work alone? No reason why, though, is there?
2003
Today is the sunny day I asked for! I have some yard work and some computer work I can do, and I must do both. God, I love summer. Yesterday I did super job of cleaning my desk. Now it is still too small, but at least I can find stuff on it. Time to move on.
Comment 2023
It’s hard to ignore how very hard I was trying to sound intellectual when I was in graduate school. Eventually, I did learn how to write like a scholar. Now if I could only un-learn it. Nothing destroys writing like writing a dissertation.
2024
Facebook memories reminded me today that sometimes I work with something other than words.
