The exceedingly long gaps between updates can be attributed to the overwhelming power of my first semester back in grad school. Fortunately as of this past Friday I completed my first semester as a PhD student. Overall, I am happy with how the semester went. Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement. After twenty-fours hours of celebration and recovery, it seems appropriate to divulge some advice on how to make next semester less stressful and more productive. Thus the following three points are the main lessons and changes I intend to implement for classes next spring.
more →
Throughout the semester I have been re-introduced to some intriguing topics in First World War history. While already familiar with the fundamentals of the war, including the histories of most of the participants, I have been drawn towards the experiences of the Dominion forces from Australia and Canada. Having lived in both Australia and Canada, I wrongly assumed that I had been exposed to all aspects of their Great War history. After attending lectures and reading various tomes, the realization that much remained to be learned has compelled me to take a closer look at those aforementioned participants. Because of Masters experience in Ontario a collection of Canadian works proved rather easy to gather. Australian literature, however, is proving to be illusive. Apparently living in Australia in the 1990′s, and being in middle school at the time, does not help me locate good synthetic works to being my studies on the Australia experience. Thus, if anyone is aware of any important books please leave me a message.
Having relocated to Hattiesburg, MS from Virginia Beach, VA, I’m inching closer to starting my PhD. Let us hope that I can finish unpacking before I dive into reading and research. Since “Going to Southern Miss.” is the most popular post on this site, I figured it might be nice to start accepting questions perspective grad students may have on the grad school experience. Knowing full well that my advice was rather limited, I imagine there are many readers still wanting more information. Getting input from fellow students and friends was, based on my experience, priceless. That said, questions regarding finding the right department, or what to expect at a typical program, are welcome. As noted on Ross Mahoney’s blog, we will be comparing our grad experiences. Hopefully our postings will help future students prepare for either an American or British graduate history program. From asking questions and readings the comparisions, I hope a solid illustration of grad life emerges.
Back in March I was accepted into the history PhD program at the University of Southern Mississippi. Why I did not announce the acceptance back then is a hard question to answer. It is not because I was too busy, or that I thought it was not worth writing about. Sure, I was waiting to hear back from other universities, but that was not the sole factor. Rather, I was not sure what to say besides the fact that I got in to the program. For such an important moment in my life I wanted to be certain I could write a post that best expressed my thoughts on the entire application process, while offering some advice to those following in my academic foot steps.
more →
Be sure to read “Actually, You Ought To Thank A Liberal” over at Progressive Historians. I think the post makes a fine point in highlighting the duplicities of American politics.
more →
Synopsis
The purpose of Thompson-Werk is to present the musings of a US War and Society doctoral student. Discussion topics principally center around the World Wars and Vietnam.
The opinions expressed on this site are not be confused with those of my colleagues, employers, friends, family, and/or anyone else associated with me.
Contact me with any comments, complaints, and/or questions.
Responses
- Remembering the Battles of the Isonzo - Thompson-Werk: [...] year I wrote a [...]
- 66th D-Day Anniversary - Thompson-Werk: [...] the liberation of Western [...]
- Acquisitions - Thompson-Werk: [...] Not wasting any time, [...]
- Tweets that mention A Story of Whom? - Thompson-Werk -- Topsy.com: [...] This post was mentioned [...]
- Robert: Is that a quote? [...]
