Los Guadales

krappyrubsnif

I do get out. On the other hand the rambling nature of this thread is getting to resemble a beer-fuelled conversation at the Larrik, so I might as well stay in. Cheaper, too.

Could we have a thread that mimics conversation at the White Lion - even cheaper. (Belch, mutter, fart.)

Slabber

It all started about a disagreement about who was looking at who.

ADGS

I disagree about this thread resembling a conversation at the Larrik, because at no stage have I become overwhelmed by despair or yelled 'In the name of all that is unholy, why are we here?"

krappyrubsnif

'Here' being the Larrik, I assume?

ADGS

Yes, although in keeping with modern theology I tend to think of it as being less a place than a condition of despair, like other aspects of Hell.

tosscat

I thought you liked grammar Slabber? 'Who was looking at whom' surely?

Slabber

Quite right. A dative!

krappyrubsnif

I am getting worried about this site. First, we have the Bench of Doom opposite Tesco, then we have the Potholes of Death by the station, now we have the Pub of Despair.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Slabber

I assume that's not a reference to your own orifice.

Sorry in advance.

ADGS

Stroud Green: Twinned With Mordor

(actually, when watching the Lord of the Rings films, I misheard 'Easterlings' and thought that one of Sauron's subject races was the Islings. Clearly this would exempt the Haringey side of the road from any such evil, though)

Reg

Arky, out of interest what is the MSc in and how have you found studying at Birkbeck? I see the ads but have never met someone who has been.

Arkady

@Reg
Thank you for providing me with a displacement activity. I am half way through an essay entitled "Critically assess the claim that global governance has existed since the nineteenth century in order to regulate the spread of industrial capitalism" and my brain is melting slightly.

My MSc title is 'Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict'. Two of the four modules focus on that; one on the theory of ethnicity and nationalism and the second focussing on the international context. The other two modules are optional, and (big bonus of Birkbeck) these can be chosen from anywhere in the 'School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy'. Birkbeck are in the vanguard of demolishing the artifical lines that have divided and hampered the social sciences for decades. For instance much of the most important current work in International Relations involves restoring sociological theories of agency; IR was theoretically weak prior to this - essentially it was really just security studies - and this contributed to its failure to predict the end of the Cold War. I'm doing my option this year on 'International Security and Global Governance', and the stuff I'm taking from there has been hugely influential in assisting my core studies. I'll be doing a dissertation (on the Turkish and Kurdish diaspora in North London) this year too.

Birkbeck only has evening classes. This means I can work full time and study too (though it it take a serious work ethic - I was pleased to discover I had one and wished I'd found it during my undegraduate degree). It does mean that it tends to be less sociable that other universities though, one has to make an effort to hang out with ones class mates. Drinking time yes, but some of the most fruitful discussion occur outside of class in my experience.

The lecturing has been excellent. Two out of the four have been of world-class academics. Seminars more mixed, depending on whether the tutor can be bothered to spend the time organising and teaching small classes (so that you have to prepare and therefore have meaningful discussions) rather than just a free for all banal banter at the end of the lecture. In the latter case ones self-motivation has to be high in order to achieve well.

I'd recommend it.

Arky