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[fidrich]

So I decided, at the very last minute, to change the topic of my first IR essay. I keep swinging between mild amounts of terror because I am so behind on my reading and the bibliography is going to be teeny tiny and feeling inordinate amounts of enthusiasm for the topic. I want to argue that the realist conception of power is totally baw because

Comments

[miss_sophia]

I majored in government and East Asian studies in undergrad and my almost-finished master's is in international relations and communication, and that sounds like a great essay to me. IR theory can get sort of tedious, so I'm glad you're into it, at least right now. :) I totally know the whole "behind on reading and way too close to deadline for comfort" drill. That's pretty much my whole academic career!

And I will pay you to use the word "baw" in your essay. XD

[fidrich]

Ooooh, man - the more I hear about your academic life the more *___* I get, I hope you know. XD But you probably know about this whole damn realism thing which is what I'm kind of bogged down in explaining before I can get to the 'omg language and dominant culture and STUFF' bit. Wah.

Hee, I already have a bunch of academic dares :P My favourite is to turn in an essay all in purple ink and on purple paper. Polish!housemate still insists that American!housemate's essay (which was about whether international institutions could ever stop war) should have run along the lines of 'we'll just blow everyone else up and then there will be no war!'

[miss_sophia]

LOL, well, it's not very glamorous right now since I'm just a stay-at-home mommy who is going on three years behind on finishing the damn degree already. :P But if you've ever got any questions about the track (whether it be about careers, further education, or a particular substantive issue), I am glad to try (operative word: "try"!) to answer them. :)

Yeah, I know good ol' realism. Never was a fan of it myself, because I'm a warm-fuzzy-shinyhappypeople type of gal. I always see realists as a bunch of old white dudes sitting around a room and ranting about how in THEIR day, it was a dog-eat-dog world, and it's going to be like that now and forever, because there will always be someone trying to tilt the world order in their favor. I'd just like to believe in a better future, especially since the original realists weren't around for the Internet and all that -- in other words, ways we can use to better understand and communicate with each other. Then again, the Internet can be used for destructive purposes, too, like recruiting

[fidrich]

Not glamorous now, man. But it's pretty awesome (and explains those conferences in Malaysia you were telling me about