Crumpets's two-year AMA

[Crumpets]

I just realized today marks two years of me posting on Atlas. So, I'm marking the occasion by attention-whoring and jumping on the bandwagon with an AMA thread.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

You are an educator, yes? And yet, you have studies the post-Communist East, as I recall. How does one make sense of the two?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

What is the best way to tell you apart from all the other D-WA avatars?

[Xing]

What's your favorite neighborhood in Seattle?

[Crumpets]

You are an educator, yes? And yet, you have studies the post-Communist East, as I recall. How does one make sense of the two?

I'm not an educator in the sense that I'm a teacher. You might have me confused with Xing, who I believe is a teacher, or at least in education, or maybe just something I posted when I was a tutor last year. But my main focus academically is in foreign relations with post-Communist countries with occasional ventures into counter-terrorism to keep people interested.

What is the best way to tell you apart from all the other D-WA avatars?

In terms of politics, I was probably the most pro-Clinton of the group, and probably the most Bernie-skeptical (read: Clinton hack). In terms of posting style, I don't know. I think I'm younger than the other Washington Dems, so maybe that shows.

What's your favorite neighborhood in Seattle?

I've always thought the Junction area of West Seattle along California Avenue is really under-appreciated. It's kind of like Ballard was before its mega-gentrification of the last decade, with lots of middle-price, independent stores and restaurants.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Fascinating. Are you still in graduate school then? And if you're in Washington, would it be at UW? That's one of the schools I did/plan to look at, owing to the Ellison Center for Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asia Studies.

[Crumpets]

Fascinating. Are you still in graduate school then? And if you're in Washington, would it be at UW? That's one of the schools I did/plan to look at, owing to the Ellison Center for Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asia Studies.

I'm in between undergrad and grad school, just saving up money, trying to get some work experience in my field, all that stuff. I went to UW for undergrad, and my specific program was the Jackson School of International Studies Honors Program. But the Ellison Center is definitely a great school. They always had great talks lined up, and the alumni I know from the program are all pretty darn successful in their own endeavors. Plus, the Director of the Ellison Center was actually my thesis advisor last year, so I always have to give it a good word.

But right now, I'm mostly applying for IR jobs in the DC area. My original intention was to move there last winter, but a variety of family issues came up that have pushed that plan to this summer, so we shall see.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Radnitz? I cited him in my thesis. And I may have cited Ellison himself (I think I only read him and cited him in an earlier draft)!

EDIT
1) I myself would at some point love to grab an MA from UW, but if I seek a graduate degree outside of Detroit, it would likely be for a PhD owing to the funding options. Regardless, both UW's (Washington & Wisconsin) have what appear to be attractive programs (where a doctoral "minor" or specialized field could concentrate around the work of their CREECA's).
2) What specific positions are open to someone of your qualifications?

[rpryor03]

What's your BA in?

[Crumpets]

Radnitz? I cited him in my thesis. And I may have cited Ellison himself (I think I only read him and cited him in an earlier draft)!

EDIT
1) I myself would at some point love to grab an MA from UW, but if I seek a graduate degree outside of Detroit, it would likely be for a PhD owing to the funding options. Regardless, both UW's (Washington & Wisconsin) have what appear to be attractive programs (where a doctoral "minor" or specialized field could concentrate around the work of their CREECA's).
2) What specific positions are open to someone of your qualifications?

Yep, Radnitz! That's awesome that you cited him. What was the topic?

In terms of what kind of positions I'm looking for, my main asset is probably my languages, since I speak French, Spanish, and Russian as well as elementary Romanian and Arabic. So, I've been looking at a lot of translation-heavy open-source intelligence analyst positions and assistant research positions at consulting firms and think tanks. A lot of people I know with a similar background as me that have graduated in the past few years are working as global security analysts, which also sounds like a great job as well.

What's your BA in?

International Studies with a focus in Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Peace, and Security. They melded together a bunch of majors right before I got accepted to the school, so it's a bit of a mouthful.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Radnitz? I cited him in my thesis. And I may have cited Ellison himself (I think I only read him and cited him in an earlier draft)!

EDIT
1) I myself would at some point love to grab an MA from UW, but if I seek a graduate degree outside of Detroit, it would likely be for a PhD owing to the funding options. Regardless, both UW's (Washington & Wisconsin) have what appear to be attractive programs (where a doctoral "minor" or specialized field could concentrate around the work of their CREECA's).
2) What specific positions are open to someone of your qualifications?

Yep, Radnitz! That's awesome that you cited him. What was the topic?

I cited his "Color of Money" article, which associated post-Soviet privatization in Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan with the success of the "Color Revolutions"; his point of comparison was Belarus, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan, each of which underwent substantially less privatization and did not see those same stirrings in response to fraudulent elections and the like. My thesis was, summarily, on post-Soviet democratization and how economic development and religious affiliation influenced such. I can PM a link if you'd like (though I can't guarantee it's any good).

You must be logged in to read this quote.

That sounds awesome. My aim is somewhat similar, though I'm looking to stay in the Detroit area until after I acquire my MS.

[Seattle]

You seem like a Seattle local, what high school did you graduate from?

Also, it looks we're both '16 UW grads, if my math guestimating is right.

Do you plan on returning to the area post-MA/job experience? Or does your field relegate you to a life in the DC area?

What was your "senior thesis" on (whatever JSIS calls it)?

[Crumpets]

You seem like a Seattle local, what high school did you graduate from?

Lakeside

Also, it looks we're both '16 UW grads, if my math guestimating is right.

Yep! What was your major?

Do you plan on returning to the area post-MA/job experience? Or does your field relegate you to a life in the DC area?

I don't have any solid plans for grad school other than "I want to go to grad school," but one thing I've seriously considered is going to grad school in the UK. I was originally planning on going to St. Andrews in Scotland, but switched over to UW at the last minute, so that would probably be pretty high on my list.

What was your "senior thesis" on (whatever JSIS calls it)?

JSIS has a kind of weird "thesis" program, where students participate in a "Task Force" which is usually a small cohort who work on a several-hundred-page policy paper which is then reviewed by someone in the field. My group's was the unbelievably broad issue of "Human Rights in the Middle East," which we narrowed down to "how compatible are Islamic notions of human rights with western notions" and looked at the issue on a country-by-country basis. I focused on Iran and Bahrain, and specifically how to promote human rights in situations of US-backed minority rule (in Bahrain) and political Shi'ism (in Iran).

I also was in the Jackson School honors program, which has a more traditional thesis-writing component. For this one, I looked at some of the political discourse in Belarus (mostly state-run media and opposition publications, since they don't exactly have public debate over issues). Scholars have noticed an odd divergence between the political debate and the political reality between Belarus and Russia with both government and opposition sources tending to promote an extremely rosy picture of the relationship between Lukashenko and Putin, even while Lukashenko has been promoting moving away from Russia economically, and most internal sources say their relationship has gotten increasingly sour over the years.

I analyze this discrepancy through the lens of post-traumatic identity reconstruction, looking at both World War II and the collapse of the Soviet Union as moments which define the Belarusian cultural identity. Basically I argue that, for a variety of reasons, the notion of "Sovietism" is still alive and well in Belarus, and all political movements must appeal to it if they want to resonate with the Belarusian people. One easy way to do this is to essentially pretend (maybe not the most accurate word) that the collapse never happened and that Belarusian-Russian politics have been held in stasis since the 80s. I can go into more detail if you're curious, but it's a really dense 71-page paper, so it's hard to summarize.

[Seattle]

I'm a Garfield grad. Interesting that you almost went to St. Andrews. One of my best friends went to U Prep and then there. You two would've probably been in the same class.

My major was Econ with a minor in Urban Design & Planning. I really wanted to do a REECAS minor too, but ran out of time. Only needed 5 more credits to get it- the . I also regret not having majored in linguistics from the onset of school, but alas I wasted too many underclassman quarters getting mediocre grades in pre-engineering classes.

That's right- it's called Task Force. Both of your papers sound fascinating. Makes me almost miss writing research papers. What's your favorite/least favorite part of the process?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Have you ever been to Russia/Eastern Europe?

[Crumpets]

I'm a Garfield grad. Interesting that you almost went to St. Andrews. One of my best friends went to U Prep and then there. You two would've probably been in the same class.

My major was Econ with a minor in Urban Design & Planning. I really wanted to do a REECAS minor too, but ran out of time. Only needed 5 more credits to get it- the . I also regret not having majored in linguistics from the onset of school, but alas I wasted too many underclassman quarters getting mediocre grades in pre-engineering classes.

That's right- it's called Task Force. Both of your papers sound fascinating. Makes me almost miss writing research papers. What's your favorite/least favorite part of the process?

If you graduated high school in 2012, you probably know a couple people I went to middle/elementary school with.

Have you ever been to Russia/Eastern Europe?

Yes. In 2012 I went to Turkey, in 2014 I went to Russia (Sochi), and last summer I did a tour through Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Azerbaijan (briefly), Russia (Moscow), Croatia, and Bosnia.

[Seattle]

If you graduated high school in 2012, you probably know a couple people I went to middle/elementary school with.

Yes. In 2012 I went to Turkey, in 2014 I went to Russia (Sochi), and last summer I did a tour through Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Azerbaijan (briefly), Russia (Moscow), Croatia, and Bosnia.

Haha, I did graduate in 2012, so probably

I was also in Bosnia/Croatia (and Serbia) in early August visiting some relatives. Would be funny if our timing overlapped. And in 2015 I was in Romania/Bulgaria/Georgia (UW study abroad seminar).

What did you think of your time in the Balkans? I'd love to hear your opinion on the differences you saw.
And isn't Georgia the best? I'm itching to go back.

Any must travel to places?

[Crumpets]

And in 2015 I was in Romania/Bulgaria/Georgia (UW study abroad seminar).

No kidding! Mary and Ileana's seminar? That's the same program I piggybacked on to get over to Europe. I wasn't a matriculated student, so I had less work to do, but it cost a bit more. After everyone else left, I just stayed over there.

Now I'm really distracted and have to ask important questions like: did you know Archil was a supporting actor in one of the only Romantic comedies to be made in independent Georgia? And if so, do you know where I can get a copy?

What did you think of your time in the Balkans? I'd love to hear your opinion on the differences you saw.

I loved Sarajevo. It has so much soul for as small of a city as it is, and people there were really sociable and loved to talk about America and their personal stories - which as you might expect are all fascinating. Plus, the city has a really interesting layout. It's in a valley up against mountains, and the medieval city is kind of up on a hill. As you go downriver, the city is like a timeline, and you walk first through the Ottoman quarter, then the Austrian-Hungarian quarter, then the Yugoslav quarter, then all of the modern areas. They've left a lot of the scars from the war in place as a sort of memorial that is probably much more powerful than any monumental statue or garden that you might see in another city. Also, the food is delicious.

Zagreb is a lot bigger than Sarajevo, but it's Old Town still has a pretty intimate feel, even if it is a bit touristy. I think Zagreb is kind of trying to make itself a destination for honeymoons, because there's a lot of love-themed art and slogans. The main cathedral is very beautiful, and I was fortunate enough to be there for evening mass (the only time I actually go to church is when I'm travelling), and there's definitely a very strong sense of the city's Catholic identity everywhere you go - as opposed to Sarajevo, which is more in-your-face about its diversity than a faculty meeting at Berkeley. One thing I thought was particularly interesting in Zagreb is that they have a museum of breakups, full of people's mementos from their past relationships and the stories associated with them. It's the only museum that can make you laugh at a shoe or tear up over a stuffed toy.

Any must travel to places?

If you can get there, there's nowhere in the world like Havana, and I suspect if we really do normalize relations, it might not be that way much longer. So that would be my top recommendation.

[Seattle]

Yes, it was Mary and Ileana's seminar. I also went on Ileana's 2013 Romania-only program. Had a blast both times. If you get the chance to go back to Romania, you need to go to Transylvania (Brasov/Sibiu/Sighisoara/Cluj). It's much more interesting and beautiful than Constansa.

Does Mary have a copy? You should contact her. I found it for sale https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiVk6zc0KnUAhVL2GMKHQWrAzYQFggkMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.trigon-film.org%2Fen%2Fmovies%2FBlind_Dates&usg=AFQjCNEm4_eN2nCH9xqWU7Jb1wxxTq8VTw&sig2=b7mnXFP50qDrE3NtDAgArA. Archil was the ultimate guide. We loved him.

Favorite excursion in Georgia? I think I get your brief visit to Azerbaijan- David Gareja monastery? Did you get to visit up at all near Kazbegi? Roska/Ketrisi/Sno River valley? That was my favorite part of the trip.

Glad you loved Sarajevo, it's a beautiful place, albeit difficult for me to visit- particularly, as I found out, when doing so alone. I haven't been to Zagreb, but it's on my list with Ljubljana. Belgrade really surprised me when I visited some family friends there this summer.