This post is part of a series. View the last post for context.
It’s spring break at both UTD and my daughter’s elementary school, so what could have been a fairly relaxing week for me instead involves my daughter taking over my office with glitter markers and jelly beans. Right now she’s texting me from her iPad asking if she can have Ramen. Insert crying face emoji. Don’t get me wrong, she is amazing, smart, fun, beautiful, and perfect. It’s just that she asks me for something every 30 seconds. Insert three crying face emojis.
So, let’s talk about our shared topic of interest, the MAIS. As I explain in the video, the last two semesters of the program consist of the Capstone and Research Project, part of a progression beginning with the Foundations course (which I’m taking now) and Library Research Skills that culminates in an interdisciplinary research project. I’ve already done some reading on my project, which is an exploration of how memes created and purveyed by online far-right extremists function similarly to symbols such as those used in Hermetic magical systems. Next week, my synthesis paper is due, so I’ve got to sit down and hammer out how I’ll blend the theory of dimensional accrual and dissociation with identity hermeneutics to explore this topic. I also need to start thinking about how I’ll conduct research. I know I’ll be doing digital ethnography, but I’m not sure on the specifics yet.
Meanwhile, I’m getting to the part of the semester where I’m beginning to imagine how my final project for poetry workshop will look and feel. I’ll be creating a digital mini-chapbook consisting of four poems and an accompanying 2,000 word essay. I had ambitious goals for this project at the beginning of the semester, but responsibilities have increased at work and failed to decrease at home, throwing a sizable wrench into my plans.
This week at work, I’m either conducting or sitting in on a total of ten interviews for four different positions this week, on top of everything else. I feel overwhelmed.
I know I mentioned in my last post that I’m looking forward to summer, but I probably did not effectively convey just how much. Last night, I literally dreamt of being on a beach. I was riding a horse-sized lizard, but that’s neither here nor there. I think you get the point: I need a vacation.
How is your semester going? What kind of interdisciplinary research project would you like to tackle for the MAIS degree? Any other thoughts, please share!
Don’t forget to watch the video above, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check back every Monday for more in this series. As always, email kristen.walker@utdallas.edu with questions and comments.