Oh, to be a boy in the 18th century...

What fun it would have been to sit and play with my very own flying squirrel...on a chain. Do you think that they are well behaved when you take them for a walk? Yep, this is what I have been immersing myself in lately at school.

I have begun studying for my prelims, starting with articles dealing with the late 1700s and heading into the turn of the century. In about 8 months, I will spend 14 hours answering questions about the work I'm doing now. 8 hours of written testing and 6 hours of oral testing will grant me my candidacy, and I will be on my way to becoming Dr. Sarah. Now, I just have to study my rear end off and make sure that I pass.

I am currently reading Jennifer Roberts' article on this image by Copley and how it symbolically represents the ideas of travel and the "dilemma of transit." This work, done in 1765, was shipped to London as Copley's first major international exhibit. It came back to rave reviews of its beauty, with only slight criticisms of its "over minuteness." All in all, she makes some interesting connections between elements of Copley's painting and the activity of travel to which the work was exposed. Interesting, and a great example of the ways in which American scholars of today are drawing connections where earlier scholars have only hinted or skimmed.

Well, done with the musings and back to my readings....