This week I’ve focused on scheduling and preparing for my oral defense, as well as preparing my poster for the festival of scholars that will occur on the 17th.
The best thing about preparing a poster and oral defense simultaneously is that each of these tasks inform the other, and I find myself revisiting my thesis in order to inform my work. I get excited when I think of a problem and revisit my thesis only to discover I’ve already addressed the problem in my writing.
Beyond the oral defense and poster presentation, these last couple weeks I’ve taken time to focus on the future. Of course, we had our 5-year plan which I discussed last time, but more specifically I’ve taken the opportunity to ponder the future of the intellectual work I’ve begun with my thesis. That is, I’ve encountered so many great books and fostered a deep intellectual curiosity about architecture and architectural theory, that I think this project will continue to grow in my mind, if not on paper, for a really long time. I plan to keep reading (and like I just said, maybe writing) until I’ve probed all of the areas and tangents relevant to the work I’ve begun. The thing is, I believe there is no corner in this wide world, or in the realm of academia, that architecture does not reach. Architecture is informed by life, and all the myriad aspects of life that make this world a profound mystery. Architecture provides a tangible means of exploring and engaging with almost every facet of life in one way or another and has an ability to engage on theoretical levels with intangible things either through design, politics, values, etc. etc. etc.
While I hope to have produced a crystallized thesis that is sufficiently broad (not too difficult when thinking about architecture) as well as sufficiently focused, I know that my pursuit and engagement with architecture will be lifelong.
In conclusion, here’s to the future; of my engagement with architecture and the development and continued intellectual work related to architecture in the Anthropocene.