Summer Projects

We're really coming to the academic doldrums now, with a goodly proportion of the scholarly community away from their desks for the summer break. I, however, am acutely conscious that I have quite a bit of stuff to consolidate before my change from part-time to full-time doctoral study in October. One project that I must concentrate on over the 'holidays' is the acquisition of some skill in (reading) German, in order to cope with the vast quantities of Pauline scholarship in that language. I seem to remember that this was a thought floating vaguely around my head last summer, which conveniently got forgotten by more pressing business. Now it has become pressing in its own right and I have been looking into taking some sort of crammer course in the autumn. Fortunately the university just over the hill from me (literally: I can walk there in 15 minutes - pity it takes me three hours plus to reach the one where I'm registered!) has an excellent language centre running a course that fits the bill perfectly. My lack of German is a particular source of chagrin as my granny was from Cologne (via Antwerp)....although she died when I was seven, and I don't actually recall her ever speaking her native tongue in my presence. I did do about 2 years of it at school, but didn't enjoy it much and dropped it in favour of physics for o-level. So I must pick up where I left off a LONG time ago! There's a few helpful sites online that I could look at too, but I could really do with an audio course to put on my MP3 player that does not concentrate on ordering food or asking directions. I also intend to re-read the Pauline epistles in their entirety (in Greek) again, just to get them more firmly fixed in my memory, and refresh my rather pathetic Hebrew (i.e. remind myself what the letters sound like). I'd like to think that I could continue with the Aramaic, but I think that I'll have enough on my plate as it is - especially as the children break up in ten days time.

Progress Reviews and Other Stuff

I really, really intended to get around to producing some written work this week. I'm acutely aware, and somewhat uneasy, that I've spent most of the time since my last supervisory meeting reading without getting anything concrete down. It's been fascinating stuff - the Jewish apocalyptic thought, how this mode of expectation appears in the words of JC, and how much Paul was thoroughly of this tradition. I'm hoping that it will give a framework into which Paul's use of language concerning death and resurrection will click nicely. However - best intentions and all that - I never actually got round to committing my thoughts to, I was going to say paper, laptop. The surprise news about my funding necessitated some time online filling in forms and phoning people about filling in forms. Then all of a sudden I received an email telling me that I had to fill a progress review form whose deadline was the next day! I'd previously understood that, as a part-time student I'd not have to bother with this this year as my timescale was double that of the full-time student. Apparently not. Another goodly amount of time form-filling, liasing with my supervisor, drawing up provisional programmes of study - something that hadn't even crossed my mind as I'd been bumbling along. Stuff like this always takes much longer than you think it's going to. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing of emails, it all got sorted in the nick of time. So, no actual work produced. Again. But I'm going to have to get cracking. I noticed that one of my supervisor's comments was that he wanted to see evidence that I was getting to grips with academic German. Ulp! I mean, I've found a website that might be useful, but that's about it at the moment....

There's a lot I should make a point of scheduling in: academic German, more regular Greek reading, brush up on the measly amount of Hebrew that I do know, be more organised in my general reading and note-taking. In brief: Get Serious!

Maybe I should cut down on the blogging, but I not only find it cathartic, but it really does help my writing brain to limber up so that I can put words down more easily. And it is the end of the day now, teatime to be precise, and I have a few moments finally to myself.