comps group: take 1

though i'm just a few weeks past handing in my master's portfolio, i've officially begun preparing for comps. two weeks ago, i met with my advisor and she approved my comps questions. then last night, i met with a couple of cohort-mates who will be taking comps with me and we drew up a plan of action to sort the readings from the various classes we've taken over the past 3+ years and to study them with interest and depth.

our meeting was filled with (for me, anyway) a really wonderful blend of nostalgic and new energy. on the one hand, these are women with whom i began my doctoral journey and whose writings and thoughts have inspired me over the years. however, since most of my cohort-mates are part-time students, we have barely had opportunities to see or study with each other since our first year and so our paths have seemed to veer in different directions. being back together to take our comps is refreshing and energizing.

i am excited to learn from these inspiring women, to read and write alongside them again, and to remember dr. sipe's words: that we all have a legacy together. i'm sure i'll write more posts about comps over the next ten weeks, but as you can see, it has already become that perfect rwl doctoral studies blend of stress and excitement. one thing i've enjoyed about my cohort is that we all seem to tear through everything we're reading, picking it apart with passion and curiosity and making deep connections to our lives and work. even this initial meeting seemed to stir up this same blend among our now tiny group: we are all so excited to re-read and remember, but we're terrified about the time limitations.

last night, sitting together around a table and taking notes, we commented that it felt like it had been ages since we'd done this. and at the same time, we couldn't believe that we'd made it this far.

GSEcret

last year, with a group of GSE students, i participated in a project called GSEcret. the goal was to get GSE's staff, students, and faculty talking about issues of race and racism in the academy. GSE folks were asked to submit anonymous postcards regarding their experiences with race and racism; these postcards were presented as an exhibit in the spring, and we gave some workshops around them to help keep conversations going.

starting last week and over the next year, GSEcret is going to be posting a postcard per week on its blog: penngsecret.blogspot.com/. the GSEcret project encourages everyone (both GSE folks and non-GSE folks) to use the comments section on the blog to take up, question, comment on, etc the issues that come up in these postcards.

some things i'm involved in at GSE

1. asian american/pacific islanders in education -- we're a small GSE student group.  our meetings span a variety of interests from talking about what we're doing in school, to talking about issues important to the aapi community, to getting together and eating at a restaurant.  if you're interested in joining, contact me or look for listings in GSE's weekly newsletter 'InsideGSE.'

2. GSEcret -- this is a collaborative project between three GSE student groups: aaagse (the association for african american graduate students in education), aapie (asian americans/pacific islanders in education), and wscr (white students confronting racism).  the project spans this academic year and the goal is to get GSE folks in a dialogue about race and racism in their lives and at GSE.  this fall, we've posted posters that advertise the project.  each poster holds postcards that anyone can pick up.  the backs of the postcards are blank and we're asking people to draw or write stories, questions, and experiences related to race that they've had.  people can anonymously drop these postcards in the orange boxes around GSE.  this spring, we plan to exhibit these postcards as part of an exhibition/discussion event.  if you're interested in participating, you can contact postagsecret@gmail.com.

3. the teach-in project -- i guess this project is my baby.  ali michael and i are working together though to implement it.  the goal is to encourage out-of-classroom spaces of learning, examination, and discussion into issues that pertain to the lives of students, staff, and faculty both in the space of GSE and in our everyday lives.  anyone is welcome to facilitate a teach-in.  you can read more about this here: melissakapadiabodi.com/op.html.  if you have any questions, contact me!