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Culture,Politics,AcademiaandOther
ShinyObjects

HowtoReadinCollege
StayingAfloat:SomeScatteredSuggestionsonReadinginCollege

Thefirstthingyoushouldknowaboutreadingincollegeisthatitbearslittleornoresemblancetothesortof
readingyoudoforpleasure,orforyourownedification.

Professorsassignmorethanyoucanpossiblyreadinanynormalfashion.

Weknowit,atleastmostofusdo.Youhavetomakestrategicdecisionsaboutwhattoreadandhowtoreadit.
Yourereadingforparticularreasons:togetbackgroundonimportantissues,toilluminatesomeofthecentral
issuesinasinglesessionofonecourse,toraisequestionsfordiscussion.Thatcallsforacertainkindofsmash
andgrabapproachtoreading.Youcantaffordtodillydallyandstoptosmellthelilies.Youmightnotthinkthats
theidealwaytolearn,andIwouldsortofagree.Butontheprofessiorialsideofthings,wefeelarealobligationto
coveraparticularfieldofknowledgeinthecourseofasemester,andwecantdoitallthroughlectures.Norwould
Ipersonallywanttotalkatmystudentsdayinanddayout.

Sookay,ifyourenotgoingtoreadeverythingwithintenseprecisionandingorydetail,thenhowareyougoingto
readit?WhatIhopetoprovideinthefollowingpageisafewoftheStupidAcademicTricks[tm]aboutreading
thatIvelearnedovertheyears.Thesearentfoolprooftheywontworkforeveryone.Theyalltakeawhileto
master,throughtrialanderror.ThisaintCliffsNoteshere.

SKIMMINGFORARGUMENTS:

INTRODUCTIONS,CONCLUSIONS,SIGNPOSTS

Thefirstrule,insomewaystheonlyrule,isskim,skim,skim.Butskimmingisnotjustreadinginahurry,or
readingsloppily,orreadingthelastlineandthefirstline.Itsactuallyadisciplinedactivityinitsownright.A
goodskimmerhasasystematictechniqueforfindingthemostinformationintheleastamountoftime.

ImgoingtouseBenedictAndersonsImaginedCommunities(VersoPress)inmakingmyargument.Itsafairly
clearpieceofacademicwritingonanimportantsubject.

Letmetakeyouthroughaskimofthisbook,bitbybit.

Inthefirstfourpages,asanundergraduatereaderinacoursewherethebookisassigned,youshouldonlyreally
careaboutthissentence:

Theaimofthisbookistooffersometentativesuggestionsforamoresatisfactoryexplanationoftheanomalyof
nationalism.

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HOWDOYOUKNOWWHATTOIGNOREANDWHENTOIGNOREIT?

HOWDOYOUKNOWTOSPOTTHISSENTENCE?

1.Experience

Whenyouvedoneitenoughtimes,youllknowwhensomeonesgoingoffonatangentorexploringissuesthat
youdonthavetimetodealwith.

2.Context

Itsoftenclearfromthetextitselfwhensomeoneismakingasidepointorexploringanextraneousissue.

3.Objective

Whyareyoureadingthis:whatisthesubjectofthecourse,thefocusofthediscussion?Supposeyourereading
ImaginedCommunitiestothinkaboutnationalism:Andersonsthoughtsabouttherelationshipofnationalismto
Marxisttheory,whilenottotallyirrelevant,arentdirectlygermaneeither.Ifthiswereaclasscentrallyconcerned
withMarxisttheoriesofhistory,oronMarxistrevolutionsandtheirrelationshiptonationalism,itmightbe
anothermatter.

4.Signposts

IwillargueisasignpostIftheVietnameseinvasionandoccupationofCambodiaisnot.

OKAY,IFOLLOWEDTHERULES.

NOWLOOKWHATIFOUND.

Mypointofdepartureisthatnationality,or,asonemightprefertoputitinviewofthatwordsmultiple
significations,nationness,aswellasnationalism,areculturalartefactsofaparticularkind.

Tounderstandthemproperlyweneedtoconsidercarefullyhowtheyhavecomeintohistoricalbeing,inwhat
waystheirmeaningshavechangedovertime,andwhy,today,theycommandsuchprofoundemotional
legitimacy.

Iwillbetryingtoarguethatthecreationofthesearetfactstowardstheendoftheeighteenthcenturywasthe
spontaneousdistillationofacomplexcrossingofdiscretehistoricalforcesbutthat,oncecreated,theybecome
modular,capableofbeingtransplanted,withvaryingdegreesofselfconsciousness,toagreatvarietyofsocial
terrains,tomergeandbemergedwithacorrespondinglywidevarietyofpoliticalandideologicalconstellations.p.
4

Goodjob.Buttheseareprettytrickypassages.Tablethemforawhile.

MORESIGNPOSTS:CONCEPTSANDDEFINITIONS

Atthebottomofpage5,topofpage6,youllsee:

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Iproposethefollowingdefinitionofthenation:itisanimaginedpoliticalcommunityandimaginedasboth
inherentlylimitedandsovereign.

Thisiskey.Youllwanttounderstandallthecomponentpartsofthisdefinition.

So,lookformoresignposts:

Atthetopofpage6:

Itisimaginedbecausethemembersofeventthesmallestnationwillneverknowmostoftheirfellowmembers,
meetthem,orevenhearofthem,yetinthemindsofeachlivestheimageoftheircommunion.

topofpage7

Thenationisimaginedaslimitedbecauseeventhelargestofthem,encompassingperhapsabillionlivinghuman
beings,hasfinite,ifelastic,boundaries,beyondwhichlieothernations.Nonationimaginesitselfcoterminous
withmankind.

middleofpage7

ItisimaginedassovereignbecausetheconceptwasborninanageinwhichEnlightenmentandRevolutionwere
destroyingthelegitimacyofthedivinelyordered,hierarchicaldynasticrealmnationsdreamofbeingfree,andif
underGod,directlyso.

Whyarethereellipses()inthelastpassage?

HereswhatIsnippedout:

Comingtomaturityatastageofhumanhistorywheneventhemostdevoutadherentsofanyuniversalreligion
wereinescapablyconfrontedwiththelivingpluralismofsuchreligions,andtheallomorphismbetweeneach
faithsontologicalclaimsandterritorialstretch

Thistakestoomuchtimetounpackanditsnotdirectlyrelevanttoyourcomprehensionofsovereignity:ifyou
dontunderstandwhathemeansbytheterm,youwillhavetoseekcomprehensioninthetextitselforfromthe
dictionaryifyoudounderstand(moreorless),thenthispassageisadiversion.Ifyouwerereadingthistextina
courseonthehistoryoftheReformation(whichyouwouldntbe)youmightneedtothinkaboutitmore.

Moreonthedictionaryshortly.

bottomofpage7

Finally,itisimaginedasacommunity,because,regardlessoftheactualinequalityandexploitationthatmay
prevailineach,thenationisalwaysconceivedasadeep,horizontalcomradeship.Ultimatelyitisthisfraternity
thatmakesitpossible,overthepasttwocenturies,forsomanymillionsofpeople,notsomuchtokill,aswillingly
todieforsuchlimitedimaginings.

Incontrast,thisisworthunpackingcarefully.

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*FINALLY,e.g,theendofdefinitions

*deep,HORIZONTALcomradeship:unpackthisword,itssignificant

*SUCHLIMITEDIMAGININGS:maytellyousomethinginterestingaboutAndersonsattitudetowards
nationalismashedescribesit

Okay,sonowyouveskimmedtheintroductionandfoundsomekeypassages.

Nowwhat?

INTHEMIDDLE:SEQUENCEOFARGUMENTS

Youdonthavealldaytowasteontheintro.Youvegottogetasenseofthewholebook,gettothemiddleofit.
Heressomestepstohelpyouskimyourwayintotheheartofthings.

1.Notethesequenceofchaptersbylookingattheirtitles:whatdoesAndersonseemtothinkheneedstoprovehis
generalargument?

2.Readtheintroductionofeachofthechaptersassigned,andperhapseventheonesnotassigned.

3.Returntoeachchapterasassigned,inthesequencetheyappearinthebook.DoexactlywhatIoutlinedforthe
intro:readtheintroductiontothechapterandlookforthekeyargument(s)itcontains.RELATESPECIFIC
ARGUMENTSBACKTOGENERALCASEINTHEBEGINNINGANDCONCLUSIONOFTHEBOOK.

4.Sketchoutanoutlineofthesequenceofargumentineachchapter:whatevidencedoeshemustertoproveeach
specificpointandinwhatorderdoeshemusterit?

EXAMPLE:CHAPTERTWO,CulturalRoots

pp.9totopof11:wellwrittenmaterialaboutreligion,sentiment,andsoon,BUTitsNOTwhereyoullfindthe
centralARGUMENTofthischapter.

Youstarttoseethisinsteadonthemiddleofpage11:

inWesternEuropetheeighteenthcenturymarksnotonlythedawnoftheageofnationalismbuttheduskof
religiousmodesofthought.ThecenturyoftheEnlightenment,ofrationalistsecularism,broughtwithititsown
moderndarkness.p.11

Abitlater,onpage12:

Forpresentpurposes,thetworelevantculturalsystemsarethereligiouscommunityandthedynasticrealm.

Soyoureadthischaptermuchasyouwouldtheintroduction,butthistime,sketchoutthesequenceofargument:

I.Nationalismandnationalcommunitiesreplacereligionandreligiouscommunities.

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II.Nationalismandnationalcommunitiesalsoreplacethedynasticrealm,theoldmonarchicalorder,aroundthe
sametime.

III.ThishappensinWesternEuropeintheeighteenthcentury.

IV.discussionofreligiouscommunity:summaryofsomeofitsfeatures(commonsacredlanguage,criteriafor
membership,nonarbitrarinessofthesign,hierarchicalorganization

V.reasonsfordeclineofreligiouscommunities:explorationandexpansionofEurope,demotionofsacred
languageinfavorofvernacular

VI.discussionofdynasticrealm:porousbordersandvaguesovereignities,expansionbywarfare,dynastic
marriagesandparticularformsofritualizedhierarchy

VII.declineofdynasticrealm:forreasonsthatneednotconcernushere,e.g.,justskipthedetails

VIII.otherfundamentalchangesbesidesdeclineofthesetwoformsofsocialorganizationwerenecessarytomake
nationalcommunitiespossible:theideaofsimultaneityandchangesinconsciousnessoroutlook

THINKABOUTSEQUENCEANDWHATDIFFERENCEITMAKES

ThisisthehardestthingofalltograspaboutbothreadingANDwriting.Manystudents,whenwritingpapers,
understandthatyouneedtoclearlydefineanoverallargumentandplaceitupfrontinthepaper.

Butafterthatpoint,manystudentpapersoftencontainamoreorlessrandomjumbleofevidencewhichhassome
vaguerelationtotheargument.

Todevelopanargumentwell,eachpointshouldleadlogicallyandsequentiallytothenext.Theresatransition
betweenchapter2and3inImaginedCommunitiesthatprovidesanexampleofthis.Andersonsdiscussionof
printcapitalismandthewayitchangedtheoutlookof18thCenturyEuropeansleadslogicallyintothenext
discussion,ofsecularnationalconsciousness.HisnotionofsimultaneityiscriticaltohisargumentinChapter3.

Outliningthesequenceofargumentinreadingsshouldhelpyougraspthisassumingthereadingiswellwritten.
Thisis,ofcourse,aperilousassumptionwithacademicwriting.

WHENTOGOFORTHEDICTIONARY,
WHENTOPUZZLEOVERWORDSORREFERENCES

Whenatermcomesupwithgreatfrequency,andseemstomeanalottotheargumentathand,youmustbesure
youunderstandit.IfyoudontgetwhatAndersonmeansbysimultaneity,forexample,youreclearlymissing
somethingimportant.

TakeAndersonsuseofthewordallomorphismmentionedabove,onpage7.Itsprobablynotworththetimeto
figurethisoneout,sinceitsnotdirectlyrelatedtothekeyargumentsofChapterOne.Soskipoverit,unless
yourecurious.

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(forthecurious:itsatermfromlinguisticsandgeologyfortwoormoreformsofthesamethingmorphemesin
thecaseoflanguage,crystalsinthecaseofgeology)

FOOTNOTES

Footnotesarehugelyoverusedinacademia,butlearningtoreadthemisstillanimportantskill,(particularlyin
history!)

Therearefivedifferentbasickindsoffootnotes:

1)Logrolling

Whenscholarsarecomplimentingoracknowledgingeachotherswork.Youcitemywork,Illciteyours.Nottoo
importantunlessyouretryingtoreconstructtheintellectualbiographyofthescholaryourepresentlyreading,or
tryingtofindworkthatmightbecomparabletothebookyourelookingat.Sometimesamusingwhenyouget
AntiLogrolling,e.g.,footnoteswhicharetherestrictlytodisssomeotherscholar.

2)Weirdlittlestuffthatdistractsfromthemainpointbutwhichisstillkindofinteresting.

Thisisthematerialthatdidntfit,butthatthescholarcouldntbeartogiveupon.Ifyoureskimming,youdont
havethetimetosparetolookatthesekindsoffootnotes.Ifyouredoingresearch,itmaybeadifferentmatter.

3)Oh,bytheway,theresoneteenytinylittleexception.

Thiscouldbeimportant,evenifyoureskimming.Sometimesscholarsstickbig,hairyproblemswiththeir
argumentdowninthefootnotessomewhere.

4)Look,Ma,Ididthereading.

Scholars,especiallyjuniorscholars,needtoprovetotheircolleaguesthattheyknowthescholarshipinthefield
thattheyareworkingon.Somanyfootnotesarelaundrylistsofrelevantbooks,orrecapbodiesoftheoryona
particularsubject.Relevantifyoureresearching,butnotrelevantifyoureskimming.

5)Youwantproof?Illgiveyouproof.

Evenifyouareskimming,youmaywanttoknow,whenyourefacedwithasubstantivefactualclaimbyanauthor,
justhowthatpersoncamebytheirfacts.Youllprobablyhavetolookinthefootnotestofindout.Ifyoucome
acrossafactualassertionandyoufeeltheneedtoknowthesourceofthatfact,thenreadthefootnoteevenif
youreskimming.

Forexample,ifyoureadAndersonsfootnotes,youllfindthatheoftenusesevidencepertainingspecificallytothe
DutchEastIndiesandFrenchSouthEastAsia(presentdayIndonesia,Singapore,Vietnamandsoon)tosupport
generalarguments.Thismightbevalid,butyoumightalsowonderifheisntgeneralizingfromtoonarrowabase.

Whenheisntworkingfromthisbodyofprimaryevidencewhichheobviouslyknowsbestthenyoumightwant
tocheckinthebibliographytoseewhatsecondarysourceshesusingaboutothercountries.Notetheirdateof

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publication.Quiteafewofthesesourcesareolderones.Mighttherebeanewerscholarshipthatwouldcomplicate
matters?

Italsodependsonthereading.Andersonsbookisabroadlycomparative,generallyarguedbook.Notthatmuch
ofhisbookisgoingtoneeddetailedreferencestoprimarymaterial:thisisasynthesizingbook,anoverviewof
manydifferentliteratures.Itisdifferentfromamonograph,atightlyfocusedstudyofsomespecifichistorical
subjectorera.Inamonograph,footnotereferencestoevidencemaybevery,veryimportant.

TheDictionary

Yes,sometimesyoudontneedtoknowwhatawordmeans,likeallomorphismabove.Butifatermrecurs
regularlyinatext,orseemsparticularlycentral,youMUSTlearntopickupadictionaryandfindoutwhatthe
authormeans.Learntokeeponebyyoursideanddonttrytobluffyourwaypastsuchaterm.Aninitialmistake
aboutthemeaningofatermcanrapidlymultiplyintoagiganticmisreadingifyourenotcareful.

TAKINGNOTESANDPREPARINGFORDISCUSSION

1.TheHiLighterEventHorizon.

Dontuseahilighter.Theyreuseless.Youllendupmarkingeverydamnthingunderthesun.

2.Trywritingdownkeyargumentsandmakingyourownoutline.

3.Markthingsyoudontunderstand,areasofuncertaintyandsoon:bringthemtoclass.

Thatsthewholepoint,youknow:youshouldneverbeafraidtotalkaboutwhatyouwereuncertainabout.Far
fromit.

4.Marktwoorthreeareasofpotentialdisagreementordebate:constructaCRITIQUEofthereadingtoshare
duringdiscussion.CRITIQUEisnotCRITICISM:Donotfollowascorchedearthpolicy,butdontfeellimitedby
yourownparticularfeelingsandreactions:itsgoodtothinkthroughareasonedcritiqueevenwhenyoudont
necessarilyagreewithit.

AddendumApril27,2006

WelcometoanyonewhohasfoundthispagethroughthenewSwarthmoreCollegemainpage.

Thisisarelativelyoldpagethatcoulduseagraphicalsprucingup,butIhopemostofyoureadingitfindituseful
nevertheless.

TherearetwocaveatsIshouldaddabouttheadvicegivenhere.

1)NONEofthisadviceappliesifthereadingyouredoingforclassisaworkofliterature,aprimarydocumentor
ifyoureotherwiseoperatinginadisciplinewhereclosereadingiscentrallyimportanttothewaythediscipline
thinks.Youcantskimanovelorapoem.Youoftenshouldntskimadocumentthatyoureusingashistorical
evidence.Therearesomedisciplineswhereitcanbeverydifficulttoskim.Worksinbothanalyticandcontinental
philosophy,forexample,oftencanbebadlymisunderstoodifyouskim.Differentrulesapplyalsoinreading
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articlesorpapersinthenaturalsciences,thoughtosomeextentwritingstylesinthesciencescomepre
skimmed,e.g.,theyredesignedtocommunicateresultsanddesigninacompactfashion.

Broadlyspeaking,myadviceismostusefulinthesocialsciencesandinreadingmanyworksofliteraryorcultural
criticism.

2)NONEofthisadviceappliesifyouretakingaclassfromaprofessorwhoisextremelyintentonthefull
completionofthereadingineveryparticular.Youalwayshavetoassesstheindividualquirksandpeculiaritiesof
everyprofessor,andifyoureprudent,youllaccomodatethosesensibilities.Adifferentkindofcalculationenters
ifyouretakingaclassfromaprofessorwhoisexceptionallyexactingaboutwhattheyexpectyoutogetoutof
reading.Thenyoushouldlookatthesyllabusandask,Isthisprofessorreasonableintheamounttheyassignin
relationshiptotheexactingdemandstheyplaceuponstudents?IhavetaughtclasseswhereIexpectmuchmore
preciseandcarefulreading,andinthosecourses,ItrytoadjusttheamountIrequiredownward.Ifademanding
professordoesntdothatwithreadingmaterials,thenwhattheyreexpectingisthatyouwillproportionately
investmoretimeonthatcoursethanonanyotheryouaretakingthatsemester.Theissueinthatcaseisnotwith
howtoread,butthelargerartoftimemanagementandthetradeoffsthatcomewithit.Atthatpoint,whatyou
shouldaskyourselfis,DoIexpecttogetsomegreaterbenefitoutofthisclassthatjustifiesthegreaterinvestment
oftime?Oristhisclassforsomereasonabsolutelyessentialtomyplans?Ifyoudecidetotakethatcourse,be
suretoaccomodatetheviewsoftheprofessoronwhatconstitutesgoodwork.SayingthatProfessorBurkesays
itsoktoskimisntgoingtohelpyoumuchwhenthegradescomerollingin.

OneResponsetoHowtoReadinCollege

DavidChudzickisays:
February2,2011at1:54pm

Idontknowifyouveseenthis,butotheradviceonhowtoreadabookquickly:

http://savageminds.org/2007/10/01/howtoreadagoodbookinonehour/

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