It is odd to be past the Labor Day weekend and not have just started classes. Yet here I am, with no classes on the horizon. Normally I would subject all of you to a post about which particular classes I was taking this semester and what I expected from them. I obviously cannot do so.
However, there are plenty of other things that I can do which both help me learn as well as help me to prepare for the day when I do find myself in a program on my way to a Floppy Hat(tm)! So, since I can’t share reflections on upcoming classes, I will resort to regaling you with ramblings regarding my relatively short-term plans.
Write – I hope to submit an article for publication before the year is out. I also plan to submit a paper to the Mid Atlantic Regional Meeting. I have a couple ideas regarding paper topics, and I might flesh some of those out here at the Floppy Hat and get some feedback as to which topic you all think would be the most worthy to pursue for next March. As for publishing an article; I already have a rough draft of the piece together. In fact, after I hunt down some additional sources and polish it, I would feel comfortable enough to submit it to a journal. Whether or not it gets published is another issue in entirely.
Learn German – I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to make this a reality, but it is basically a requirement. Had I had the opportunity, I would have corrected this gaping hole in my application during my MA program, but no one–and no program–is perfect. So, I plan to learn German this year.
Avoid forgetting Hebrew, Greek, et al. – I spent years learning Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, Ugaritic, Middle Egyptian, etc. Now that I’m not actively in classes I’ve begun to worry about how I can keep each of these ancient languages in my head. Hebrew isn’t too hard, as I know it very well and commonly read the Hebrew Bible. Greek is similar, though I’ll need to force myself to read portions of the Jesus Festschrift. Aramaic will require more work, but perhaps I can read some of the targums? Ugaritic is basically the same, though I guess I could try my hand at the KRT epic. However, you now begin to see my dilemma. With X number of languages and X number of hours each evening (I work a day job) how in the world am I supposed to keep each of the languages I’ve learned from succumbing to atrophy? I begin to despair.
Read – How else does one learn? Really, is there anything more to say? I’ll give an update at some point as to my reading list for the upcoming months.
Blog – One way that I have been able to process information in the past is by blogging about it. This gives me an outlet for what I’m learning that I would normally achieve via writing papers, asking questions in class, giving presentations, etc, etc, etc. I think you can safely expect more activity here at the Floppy Hat in the coming months.
That about covers it. For those of you beginning classes, good luck! For those teaching classes, good luck! For those engaging in other pursuits, good luck!