Paper Season

Paper season has officially begun. I'm currently outlining one for my Byzantine class, on the public image of the Macedonian emperors. I didn't have much experience with Byzantine history before this class, but I'm finding it really challenging and fascinating. The figure of the Byzantine emperor is a hard one to pin down, and the scholarship I've encountered so far that grapples with it is really engaging. I've really enjoyed Magdalino's work, as well as Dagron's. I'm not quite sure of the shape the paper will take yet, but it will probably be a lit review of work on Macedonian art and propaganda. Perhaps I'll share here it as it takes shape.

I'm also working on finding a topic for my first research paper required for the program, done in conjunction with my research seminar. The Medieval Study here at CUNY is planning a conference for the spring semester, and I'm thinking I should perhaps pick something I can workshop and present at the conference. I could pick a new travel narrative to play with. Some investigatory work needs to be done here, obviously, as I need to have an annotated bibliography in two weeks.

In the few spare moments I have between these things and my class readings, I'm looking into fellowships for next year and trying to plan my summer. The summer will most definitely include a refresher Latin course (which I hope to test in at the end of the summer). I'm also looking at the application for the Cloisters internship, which could be a really fun and productive way to spend some time at the Cloister and acquire some teaching skills.

Just some thoughts. It's a pretty exciting time for me. It's the first time in a really long while that I'm not perpetually exhausted, and it's done wonders for my focus and engagement. Simply having the time to spend doing the things I love has reminded me why I love them. Which has been a very, very nice thing.