H- holy shit

[justira]

So. Thesis draft came back today. With comments. For those of you who don't know, my thesis is a semiotic analysis of language in a legal context -- specifically rape testimony. So my thesis has basically four sections: semiotics, language and law, language and gender, and the rape/laws about rape/rape testimony/rape trials chapter. Awesome. For the record, this means I have been reading alllll about rape all year. 49 sources, guys! In case anyone wondered why I've been staying out of the sexism and race debates -- fyi, this is why. My thesis produces kind of a high rage quotient in me, so until I am done with it I've been trying to keep a lowish profile.

Anyway, uh. Turns out my thesis draft was not made of fail? I feel a lot better! The final draft is due in a month, and I'm hoping to break 100 pages by then. But god, what a load off.

Comments

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

Hooray for a successful draft!

That sounds like a fascinating topic, but really harrowing. No wonder you're staying out of hot debates right now.

[justira.livejournal.com]

I have certainly learned a lot from doing my thesis research. I've been considering putting out parts of it on my journal, actually -- modified for plebes people who are not as huge semiotics dorks as I am. The parts that people around here might be interested in -- about gender, for instance, and how it's not a property but a performance. Might help illuminate some discussions of gender/race, if people are more aware of current theories about how gender and race work in society. Or just reading for nerds like me >.>

But yeah, it's been... a little difficult sometimes? I'd actually been doing pretty okay until last week, when I started having nightmares about rape. Really detailed nightmares. That went on forever. I was not happy.

But... I'm hoping that this will help, in some way, to try and... even things out in the legal world, a little. I know my piddly thesis isn't going to matter outside Reed, but I think it could have the beginnings of a serious article in it somewhere. Plus, since I plan to be a lawyer (civil rights, I hope!), this has been a tremendous learning experience for me. I'm going to wager I'll be a lot more aware of the problems with the legal system and how law works -- anthropologically/sociologically speaking. It will be an interesting awareness to bring to law school, I think.

[kamili.livejournal.com]

Hey, want to share your thesis with me? I'd be interested.

PS
Law school thoughts?

[justira.livejournal.com]

Sure, if you like! Although, um, I am very sorry, I have serious problems connecting LJ names to real-people-names -- which Reedie are you? ._.

Law school! Point one: no way am I going straight to law school after Reed. Full-time job is SO MUCH EASIER than school, and also they give you money for it instead of taking it. So the plan is to take two years to work, de-stress, and write some things. Then law school.

Now, WHICH law school... This question occupied most of last semester for me, back when I thought I was still going directly to law school.

I guess... my current preference is Stanford. It's among the best, I hear, and it also has a good business school -- I've been toying with the idea of an MBA/JD. I was going to apply to most of the big ones, I think. I was considering USC (University of Southern California, not Carolina) as a kind of safety, I guess. I've... actually struggled with myself on that one. I count is as a safety because I have legacy there. But for that very reason I'm hesitant to apply. I'm still not sure if I would. The thought of applying somewhere I know I have legacy makes me feel dirty, although I head people do this all the time?

I've also looked at UChicago -- I know Reedies have contacts there and I hear they like us, plus it's a great linguistics school in case I want to continue those studies.

In general though, I need to look at which schools have good civil rights law programs. My general lawyerly goal is to try to help the people who are systematically screwed over by the legal system. I'm not sure if it's best to do this by practicing law (knowing me I would do like 90% pro bono cases and never make money ever) or by trying to be a judge -- or go into politics. Either way, a law degree seems a necessary -- or at least highly beneficial -- credential in my quest to save the world =P

[kamili.livejournal.com]

It's Kris! (Your friendly neighborhood OMG-almost-done-with-1L)!

[justira.livejournal.com]

I don't think I knew (remembered?) you had an LJ! Now that I know it's you--

OMG TELL ME ABOUT LAW SCHOOL! How are you! In general HOW GOES!

(You can move this to email, if you want, same username at gmail)

[kamili.livejournal.com]

Law school is the BEST THING EVER. Love it so much. Seriously. You should totally come visit next year if you like, and I can take you to some of my classes and show you the AWESOME that is legal education. Obviously the job market sucks right now, so people are kind of bummed about that, but it's a lot less bad here than it is at non t10 schools (at least people still *have* job offers).

I'll toss you an actual e-mail so you have mine, so you can ask specifics if you like, but in general, wow. Love my profs, love my friends, love the softball and libraries and amazing student groups and everything. I may be biased because I love this damned school, but I could not be happier.

[justira.livejournal.com]

PS: Thank you again for the LSAT books! =D

[justira.livejournal.com]

Oh, PS: the MBA is for my nascent idea of starting a non-profit. I've been kicking the idea around for years -- the current iteration has combined some of my goals into the idea of a nonprofit that is kind of a resource for other nonprofits -- specifically, in designing business strategies, in making web sites that help them reach out, and law consulting. I hope. We'll see.

My LSAT and GMAT peactice scores give me hope, but sigh! Reed has been hard on my GPA =(

[kamili.livejournal.com]

High LSAT/low GPA is the place to be for law schools. Seriously. Way better than the reverse. Ob-v high on both is great, but I know plenty of people here with 170+ LSATs and ~3.0 GPAs.

[lassarina]

U Chicago! I COULD DORK WITH YOU IN REAL LIFE!

I mean, um.

The downside to U of C is that we locals call it "where fun goes to die." So if you take that route, make very sure you can find things outside-school to remind you that you have a soul.

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

I would *totally* read your dumbed down de-semioticized thesis.

P.S. Did I ever tell you I applied to Reed?

[justira.livejournal.com]

WHAT NO YOU NEVER DID!

I found Reed by sheer luck -- would never have known about it except my high school counselor (I picked her after rejecting my originally-assigned one, so the drama!) knew about some schools for WEIRD FOLK.

But yes, I think I would like to put some of the gender stuff here on LJ. Would be interesting to see what people think!

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

I can't remember how I decided on it as a place to apply. I considered it very seriously, but in the end I needed to escape to the East Coast. It seemed like a really cool place, though.

I can't venture much opinion on the quality of Stanford's law school, but I used to work at the med school and I can tell you that it's beautiful there. I know that's not a reason to pick a school, though. ;)

[invocations.livejournal.com]

I would be really interested in reading your thesis if you decide to post parts of it. (Particularly to get me thinking about the gender/race intersection.) You would definitely have to plebe it down for me! ^^

[invocations.livejournal.com]

NO WAIT- WHAT THAT PERSON SAID BELOW IN THE SPARKLY STUFF!!

[shuraiya.livejournal.com]

DUDE, I actually went to a lecture last semester by a professor in the history department about the language of judicial affairs and how the word "victim" is used in different ways and contexts and just lsdkgjl;sdkh;ld

[justira.livejournal.com]

Oh god the sparkly XD

Sure! Once it's spiffied up a bit I can totally distribute copies to anyone who wants it.

Can you tell me more about that lecture? I am interested!

[shuraiya.livejournal.com]

Embrace it LOVE IT IRA

Fantastic, I can't wait! I'm actually in the middle of reading my sexy pants linguistic professor who I am in love with's dissertation on Candomble in Bahia, Brazil. I love reading this stuff. XD Besides, I need to start thinking about what I'm going to write my thesis on, ughhh...

OH WELL. It was all about "the war on crime" and especially how language is used to connote innocence or guilt, especially in the case of victims-- for example, there is a "victim" and an "innocent victim", and it's VERY IMPORTANT to catch when one is used over the other, because then you can tell the bias of the person reporting (or what have you).

When "innocent victim" is used, it's typically in a case where the person is in a situation where they have absolutely no control over it-- the example he used was 9/11, the people in the Twin Towers. They were "innocent victims" so to speak, because they were normal people who were just doing what they normally did.

HOWEVER, when "victim" is used, it's usually when the person, FOR SOME FUCKING REASON THAT MAKES NO SENSE, is so-called guilty for having been in the situation they were it. For instance, rape. This pisses me off especially in caps-locky ragey ways that I am trying very hard to refrain from doing right now but anyway, basically a rape victim is not an "innocent victim", because she probably did something to deserve it-- you know, like EXISTING. Or being drunk. Or wearing sexy clothes. You know the drill. The same with people killed accidentally in drug busts. WELL THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, NOW SHOULD THEY? It's all very prejudiced language.

If you want, I can get the name of the professor who gave the talk so you can look him up! It was very interesting, if not incredibly aggravating at times. XD

[ellisbben.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of the 'blaming the victim' effect comes from prescriptive views of how women should behave. There are entirely too many people who start out deeply antagonistic towards women who are out late/drink any alcohol at all/aren't white/fail in any way to fit a stereotypical "pure, obedient daughter" or "good wife and mother" model; blaming the victim is an easy thing for them because they start out with an antagonistic attitude towards, y'know, most women.

[shuraiya.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree. :(

[ellisbben.livejournal.com]

On the bright side, the more obvious a prejudice becomes, the easier it is to call someone on it.

[ash-mantle.livejournal.com]

Hai.

Congratulations. Them fucked up societal urges are a downer. I hope you keep rockin' academically, preferably until you have rocked yourself some distance away from things that are, you know, terrible. Or not, if that's where you're headed.

Er.

Good fortune to you?

...Yes.
Yes, I think so.

That info you and I talked about is going in your lj messages momentarily and then in your mailbox.

[cap.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the successful draft. I'd love to read it.

Which semiotics traditions to you draw from?

[justira.livejournal.com]

I'm not really a fan or Saussurean semiology. I do Peircian (Or Peircean, what have you) semiotics -- icons, indexes, symbols, all that jazz. Those are the only two semiotic traditions I've been exposed to, really, as they're the two most well-known in linguistics studies.

[ellisbben.livejournal.com]

I want to read it too. You should probably post it somewhere. :)

[lassarina]

I, too, am interested in this thesis.

Though I probably should not read it unless the boy is staying over that night, so he can snug me. :)