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Living in perpetual liminality – LGBTQ+ Rights in today’s Albania.
Liminality is a concept that intrigues the anthropologist. It has been the topic of much anthropological and social research in the last 100 or so years. It was first explored extensively by the European ethnographer Arnold van Gennep when he proposed the three stages of the rite of passage; separation, marginalization, and aggregation (van Gennep…
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1939 – Why the destruction of Albania’s National Theater is more than just the loss of another building.
Today is a dark day in Albanian history. For over a two years now a war has been waging in regards to the National Theater of Albania, located in the heart of Tirana. Today at 4 am in the morning, it was torn down. In the cloak of darkness – maybe in a bid to…
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A brief history of Albania, Kosova, the geopolitics that created them, and why this matters today.
A lot of people are fascinated with Albania and Kosova. This is good for me because when I write grant applications to fund my research there, my proposal instantly becomes “mysterious” and “intriguing.” Yep, there’s nothing more appealing to a grant committee than these small, predominantly Muslim countries in the Balkan peninsula, with their long…
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Imposter Syndrome: Symptom of a broken system.
I was under the impression that Imposter Syndrome was a relatively new phenomenon. But a little research suggested otherwise. A brief overview of the literature shows that scholars have been researching Imposter Syndrome at least since the ’70s, if not earlier..meaning people have been struggling with it for just as long. If not longer. Today,…
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A reflection on academia
I don’t mean for my posts to be discouraging. Quite the opposite, I hope they can foster some sort of feeling of solidarity perhaps? Add to the already circulating calls for change? For the longest time, I have known that I wanted to be a professor and make a career for myself in academia. I’ve…
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An update from your friendly neighborhood Albanian Archaeologist
Well, dear friends. Your friendly neighborhood Albanian archaeologist has gone a bit MIA of late. Why so, you may ask? Life – more specifically, life in academia. This is more a note to check in than a proper post. Check-in with who exactly I’m not sure, but if you’re reading this; Hi, I’m letting you…
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Email Etiquette
Email etiquette is one of the most important skills to have in your repertoire as an academic. I know, you’re thinking, really? Emailing? We all know how to email. But you would be surprised. What inspired this post? I have many friends who are now in the process of searching for an advisor for their…
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The Grad School Application Process
I know what you’re thinking. It’s still August, why are you talking about applying to grad school, the deadlines are months away. Well maybe I’m just an overachiever, but I’ve always found that getting a head-start on bureaucratic type processes, like grad school applications, is always a good idea. These things take longer than you…
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Thoughts at the airline gate – WIFI withdrawal and phone dependency
I wrote this post two months ago while waiting for my airplane to go to Albania. In the midst of working and travelling it somehow got lost in the depths of my tablet. However, having now returned home and recovered from my jetlag, the post has resurfaced. Without further ado; the musings of an Albanian…
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The Albanian Archaeologist 