KSDSG

I may have given the impression in earlier posts that graduate study is a rather solitary pursuit. In fact, it is really a collaborative effort. Proof of this can be seen in the Fulbright "Korean Studies Dissertation Study Group." Early in our grant period, Katherine Lee contacted me and several other Fulbright junior scholars who were working on our dissertations. It was decided to meet monthly and to give either reports of what we were doing or submit articles, chapters, or other writings for review and critique. This helped us to stay focused on what we were doing since we had to be responsible to each other. Moreoever, it was wonderful to get to meet so many nice people who I might not have talked to otherwise had I just stayed working on my own.
From right to left, Katherine who studies Korean "traditional" music and how Koreans understand it today, Jodi-lynn who studies mask dance theathre and its potential for use in therapy, Josie, who study how Koreans watch and understand movies, Mike, who studies the history of Korean prisons, primarily during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) and me. As you can see, there were vast differences in what we studied but that actually helped us gain different perspectives on our research and learn things we might not have otherwise.

Katherine on the left, me in the middle, and Josie on the right.

I applied for the SSRC fellowship workshop but was rejected. Mike had been accepted to the workshop the previous year. Here he points to the SSRC bag he was given, mocking me. I deal with his taunting with in my usual mature fashion, by burying my face in my hands and weeping.

I learned a lot from all the members of the group, both about their own fields and about my own research through their criticism. Thanks in part to them I found out that I will have one article published in the Korean Church History Foundation's journal. I also submitted another article which they checked for consideration. So the group was great, we had a lot of fun and got a lot of work done. How often does that happen? I hope we can continue it in some form in the future.