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intertribalI. From Paul Brooks, former editor of Houghton Mifflin (which published Rachel Carson's The Edge of the Sea and Silent Spring), about Rachel Carson:
Indonesian:
III. Professor Cooley liked my crazy 5-page memo. Correction: he "really liked it". When he came into the Poli Sci office to say my memo was on his door (when I followed him he just handed it to me though), he said I "should do something with it, like maybe a senior thesis topic." Which is pretty awesome. Although I was talking about a lot of stuff in the memo, it was all stuff that I feel pretty passionately about... the legacy of colonialism, modern colonialism, nationalism, the relationship between Southeast Asia and the West, statebuilding... I can do that. I can be that.
I love that he handwrites his responses to the memos, and that he writes long-ish responses. And so many comments in the margins, from agreement to suggestion to tongue-in-cheek: I wrote how much I hated all of the readings and I had low expectations for the last one I reviewed, and he wrote, "I aim to please!" Aw. I like feeling validated. He also wrote that many of the assumptions I was criticizing in the memo were unfortunately the assumptions that many in the international relations academic community are stuck in - assumptions, in particular, about third world countries and how they relate and compare to each other. And while I don't like those assumptions, it's always more fun to write when you're trying to change minds, rather than preaching to the choir.
Born in 1907, she had made her own way by her talent, persistence, and early awareness of what she wanted to do. She was going to be a writer... she assumed that the way to become a writer was to major in English. But in her junior year, fascinated by a compulsory course in biology, she switched to that field. Had she abandoned her dream of a literary career? Only later on did she realize that, on the contrary, she had discovered what she wanted to write about.II. Part 1 of a new project I've come up with - translating things my father has written in Indonesian into English. Mostly so I can figure out what he wrote about, partly so I can keep up my Indonesian, and partly just to spread the word. This is the opening paragraph called "'The West' and Serat Kala Tida." (Serat Kala Tida is a piece of famous Javanese literature, apparently)
Indonesian:
Pujangga pamungkas, Ronggowarsito, menjelang akhir hayatnya menulis Serat Kala Tida atau Puisi Zaman Gelap. Puisi sarat keprihatinan dan mungkin rasa putus asa ini kelahirannya memang mungkin tak terelakkan. Sejak runtuhnya Majapahit sampai ditulisnya puisi ini di tahun 1873, Jawa, pulau dan lautan sekitarnya digetarkan dan terkoyak-koyak oleh kobaran peperangan, kegaduhan pemberontakan dan aliansi-aliansi politik yang kacau. Di abad sembilanbelas, Jawa dan sekitarnya memasuki puncak tragedi sejarah.English (or my best attempts at it):
Approaching the end of his life, the final poet, Ronggowarsito, wrote Serat Kala Tida or Poem of the Dark Ages. The creation of this poem laden with concern and maybe a feeling of hopelessness was indeed perhaps inevitable. Since the downfall of Majapahit until the writing of this poem in the year 1873, Java - the island and surrounding seas - were shaken and torn by fires of war, tumultuous conflicts and chaotic political alliances. In the 19th century, Java and its surroundings arrived at the peak of history's tragedies.
III. Professor Cooley liked my crazy 5-page memo. Correction: he "really liked it". When he came into the Poli Sci office to say my memo was on his door (when I followed him he just handed it to me though), he said I "should do something with it, like maybe a senior thesis topic." Which is pretty awesome. Although I was talking about a lot of stuff in the memo, it was all stuff that I feel pretty passionately about... the legacy of colonialism, modern colonialism, nationalism, the relationship between Southeast Asia and the West, statebuilding... I can do that. I can be that.
I love that he handwrites his responses to the memos, and that he writes long-ish responses. And so many comments in the margins, from agreement to suggestion to tongue-in-cheek: I wrote how much I hated all of the readings and I had low expectations for the last one I reviewed, and he wrote, "I aim to please!" Aw. I like feeling validated. He also wrote that many of the assumptions I was criticizing in the memo were unfortunately the assumptions that many in the international relations academic community are stuck in - assumptions, in particular, about third world countries and how they relate and compare to each other. And while I don't like those assumptions, it's always more fun to write when you're trying to change minds, rather than preaching to the choir.
