Look what finally arrived! It wasn’t just a dream ... I really am done. Now, tell me more about these “rights and privileges.”
Gone Grant: UC Pacific Rim Research Program Ends
I have a very clear memory of finding out that I’d been awarded a UC Pacific Rim Research Grant, because I thought I’d been rejected. I was kind of on a break from grad school in the spring of 2012, working on ChinaFile at the Asia Society and living in Princeton. As I rode the … Continue reading Gone Grant: UC Pacific Rim Research Program Ends
What to Keep? What to Toss?
I’m now into the one-week countdown before leaving Shanghai, and it’s going to be a busy week. I’ve sorted through all my clothes and packed one suitcase, made arrangements with my (somewhat annoyed) landlady to end my lease early, and taught my class at warp speed so we’ll finish next Monday afternoon, 24 hours before … Continue reading What to Keep? What to Toss?
GradHacker: My Dissertation Sweater
“If your dissertation were an object, what would it be?” As I write in my first GradHacker post, published today, I had to answer this question a couple of years ago when I attended a summer school at Heidelberg University (ah, Heidelberg). I replied that my dissertation was a hand-knit sweater, which turned out to … Continue reading GradHacker: My Dissertation Sweater
False Finishes
So, I guess I’m done? Sort of? Maybe? Almost? It turns out that there’s an unexpected amount of ambiguity about when exactly one finishes a PhD. When I got my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, the graduation ceremony was the official point of completion. That’s not the case with a doctorate—especially if, as I did, you … Continue reading False Finishes
Doctor for a Day
When I was nine or ten years old, my mother introduced me to the Sue Barton books that she remembered from her childhood. The books are a midcentury pulp series that follow the education and career of Sue Barton, the world’s most competent and most good-humored nurse (and a redhead!). I devoured all the books—multiple … Continue reading Doctor for a Day
At Least I’m a Productive Procrastinator
You would not believe how many people have sent this comic my way lately: Apparently, there’s a vicious rumor circulating that I’m a world-class procrastinator. There is, perhaps, a grain of truth (but just a grain!) in that rumor. Of the 12 types of procrastinators pictured here, I am unquestionably ten of them: I’m not … Continue reading At Least I’m a Productive Procrastinator
Into the Groove
On Saturday afternoon, I sat down at my desk with a cup of coffee, intending to open up the file containing Chapter 1 of my dissertation, make a few adjustments to what I’d already written, add a conclusion, and send it off to my advisor (just under three weeks later than promised, which is practically … Continue reading Into the Groove
Still Life on a Sunday Afternoon
[Posted on a Monday morning because the Internet here was cranky last night and I only have so much patience—meaning, very little.] On the screen: Chapter 5 of my dissertation, about child welfare issues during the first years of the People’s Republic of China. Approximately 75% finished. On the needles: Hitchhiker scarf. Approximately 90% finished. … Continue reading Still Life on a Sunday Afternoon
Birthday Resolutions
“Happy birthday!” the immigration officer at Hongqiao Airport said to me an hour ago as she stamped my boarding pass to Hong Kong. Her sentiment caught me off-guard; Chinese border officials rarely even return my greeting of “Ni hao” when I hand over my passport, let alone make small talk. The fact that she noticed … Continue reading Birthday Resolutions
Maura Elizabeth Cunningham 