Working hours

As a doctoral candidate, most of my working hours are spent in the office, reading and writing on my dissertation. Therefore, I was very grateful to have inspiring coworkers whose determination to prepare lessons and do their own research and studying motivated me to stay in the office even if I ran out of ideas for a moment. A team spirit pervaded our shared space that each of us used to further their own project.

This whole endeavor of a four-month stay in the US would not have been possible without the help of my academic advisor, Prof. DiGiulio, who really took the time and made the effort to guide me in my research during (and before) the time I spent at MSU. We met weekly to discuss what I had written or thought about in the past days; for me, it was a great opportunity to get familiar with a different style of advisory in the academic system, while also being supported by my home university in Germany. I thoroughly enjoyed having an expert in my particular field of study to talk to and present my ideas to.

Sports

But of course, my stay wasn’t all work no play: Early on, I joined the gym, one of my happiest places on campus, where I could relax and enjoy my free time. Making use of the abundant facilities and the huge campus got easier after the Mississippi heat (and humidity) made way for cooler temperatures in October. I was told that the landscape architect of the MSU used to work on golf clubs, and this is easily perceivable in the rolling hills and meandering walkways that seem so typical of US-American universities to the German eye. I spent lots of time exploring campus and the cute little town of Starkville on foot and bike.

© Johanna Schubert

No stay would have been complete without rooting for the university teams at various sports events. With the help of patient friends, I felt my knowledge of football, soccer, and basketball growing from game to game that I usually followed from high up in the nosebleeds. Ever present during these games, feared by all enemy teams, and proudly rung by each and every Bulldog (the nickname for MSU’s student and teacher body) was the cowbell. The piercing sound of several thousand cowbells rung at critical points during the game (sadly, less in celebration) made the need for earplugs more than apparent.

© Johanna Schubert

Social life

Starkville is a university town where most people have some connection to the university which brings work and, of course, lots of students into town. Tuesday evenings are spent at trivia night, Wednesday evenings are reserved for line dancing and country swing; on Thursday to Saturday nights the so-called Cotton District is mostly reserved for after-class enjoyment – lecturers prudently keep out of the otherwise popular restaurants and bars.

The weekend sees empty parking lots on campus as many students head home to their families. Nevertheless, student clubs offer the opportunity to make friends and learn something new even on these less popular days. I joined the ballroom dance club and made friends in the Lindy-hop club, which led me to various excursions to the neighboring town of Tupelo, Elvis’ birthplace. Be it at the dance school in Tupelo, or the yearly ‘Dancing-with-the-King’ event, I had lots of fun going on adventures with friends from dance.

My knitting club took me off campus to the local library, and – with the help of newly made friends – to even more adjacent towns, Columbus and West Point which together with Starkville make up the Golden Triangle (GTR). I am in awe of this diverse and international group of knitters who overcome their differences to build community through a shared hobby.

From my perspective, small town living makes community building especially important, and US-Americans seem to excel in this necessity. I was honored to be invited as a guest reader in GTR’s own book club which during my time saw controversial discussions about online discourses in general, the ‘manosphere’ in particular, debased human behavior, and technical details of futuristic dystopias.

Travels

My stay in Mississippi was highly educational not only in this respect but also in learning more about southern US-American culture and about its academic system. Nevertheless, I stayed in only one place for a longer time, which makes me curious to explore more cities and universities in the long run. During my stay, I was invited to present my research at the PAMLA conference in San Francisco which gave me the opportunity to change scenery for a week and see one of the quintessential cities on the Westcoast. The stark contrasts of the city between extreme human misery on the one hand and high-tech everyday life on the other will stay with me for a long time.

© Johanna Schubert

The US seems to me to be a country of many differences. I experienced small town university life for some time, but on my end-of-term travels from Texas to LA I saw rural living, highways and gravel roads, tourists, motels and mountains, the vast nature of the national parks, lively cities and Disneyland. This truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which I am unbelievable thankful for.