Things My Prof Told Me

After taking six courses, there are three ways to finish your MA in Liberal Studies at SFU. First is to take one more elective and then a graduation seminar, known as the "capstone" course. Second is to do a major project; it must be academically based, but can (and has) take many forms. Third and final is to write to extended thesis papers (25 plus pages each). These latter two options require approval of your proposed project/papers.

When I first started GLS, I had planned all along to do the coursework and go the capstone route, but this semester just past, I thought I'd see about writing two papers instead.

As it happens, my Avant Garde prof is also head of the department, and so I met with her last night to discuss my possible papers.

Things my prof told me:

• she usually doesn't encourage students to got the papers route; in fact, she paid me a high compliment, saying that she wished all her students would write as well and clearly as I did. She thinks my writing two papers would be great.
• she thinks my Kandinsky paper (that I wrote for the course) would be a fine starting point for one of my thesis papers. Furhter, she said that Kandinsky is a hard artist to understand and that I seem to really comprehend what he was all about.
• she would like to see my Kandinsky paper published once it's done, even it's "only" (her wording) for the department's journal, but the implication is she would like to see it in an academic journal somewhere.

She also said that she wants me to be done by the end of 2007. Well, if all goes according to plan, I should be able to do that. One paper on Kandinsky, and one on Death in Venice, and we're off to the races.