My other life: Moving into the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society
How many lives do you live? I’m not talking reincarnation, but about the different roles that one individual can have. As you may know, I am a graduate student as well as triathlete. Push the mind. Push the body. Rest, refuel, repeat.
Training is going great and I have some great triathlon related news to share soon, but today I want to write about my other life. I am in my second year of the University of Victoria’s Masters of Arts program in English Literature with a special concentration in Cultural, Social, and Political Thought. I am pleased to announce that the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society (CSRS) offered me an opportunity to participate in their scholarly community as a graduate student fellow.
I have accepted, of course. As a graduate student fellow at the CSRS, I will receive some funding, scholastic opportunities, and my own, private office. I’m particularly excited about having some private work space so that I can better separate home time from work time. Blurring the boundary between work and home may appear attractive and convenient, but over time it takes a significant mental toll.
I am particularly lucky because very few MA students get full-size, private offices, especially offices with calming garden views.
The CSRS is a community of academics dedicated to the scholarly study of religion in relation to all aspects of human society, from law and politics to family and culture to history, the sciences and the arts. They have no affiliation with any religion and no religious agenda and are equally interested in Eastern, Western, ancient and contemporary religions.
During my time at the centre, I will work on my thesis—investigating how, before and during World War Two, Walter Benjamin, H.D., and T. S. Eliot reposition different religious traditions to mobilized a concept of hope in a seemingly apocalyptic time—participate in daily scholarly discussion, and deliver a public lecture on my thesis topic.
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Congrats, Leif. good blog post, helps me understand your other life. (I was always a little fuzzy on that). My life has had more than a few dimensions lately, I am just beginning to sort out the realms of fantasy from reality , dreams from needs, self from humanity, and love from infatuation. Yes, I should have had this figured out a long time ago, I’m a slow learner.