Monday, August 3, 2009

Whew!

Well, my two months of cramming combined with the three preceding years of classes paid off! On July 18 I finished my comprehensive exams, and within a few days after that my professors read them and determined that I knew enough. So I passed! In my mental categorization of things, this exam was the most daunting part of my doctoral program. I am very thankful to have passed it. Now it's on to the more fun part: writing my dissertation.

I am not being facetious when I say the dissertation is more fun. I enjoy writing, particularly about things I am interested in and knowledgeable about. I will be writing about the syntax of the stanzas of madrashe poems of Ephrem of Nisibis, one of the most talented poets the human race has ever produced. Now that's fun!