Nearly one year
About a year ago I had my interview for the PhD scholarship that I have now. A bit later I went to London, saw my friend Lars, stayed at Richmond and was reminded of my lost love who lived close by. On the 17th of November I received an Email with the all clear for my scholarship as a final approval.
I then went to Glasgow, enjoying what I thought would be my last think-free holiday for a while. I had a drink in Oran Mor, met some friends and a heavy sadness accompanied me for the whole trip. I knew from now on I have to focus on my studies again and wont be able to just rush off into the night or rush off to UK, especially Glasgow or Scotland. Seems I was already aware of how much I am going to miss my 2nd home.
Back in Berlin I started reading, endlessly reading, some writing and a lot of thinking. Within this first year I found out that what I really wanted to write about wouldn’t have enough solid ground to base a PhD thesis on it and I was relieved my Prof changed my topic during my interview already. I by now have written 75 pages and have a rough idea where I am going, and an even better idea of what I want to find out and implicate.
Sadly that means that my possible trips to Scotland wouldn’t happen for and within the thesis, but that wouldn’t stop me from going anyway. So I did, this summer but this is to be told in another blogg entry.
Now, since I know that Lessing didn’t translate Hutchesons work out of curiousity or interest but because he needed the money, I also know how to put things. Who can ever say that just because you did a job for the money it didn’t influence you. I know I got some impressions by my stupid pocket money jobs. Its all about the introduction. If you put things right there, you don’t need to worry about anything.
The really funny thing or rather epiphany moment was, when I found out that not just Hutcheson left his mark on Lessing. No, our good dear german poet was influenced, I mean hugely influenced, by Ferguson. Adam Ferguson made Lessing think and there we go again, cause this is really something i can emphasize in my thesis and I will.
Yeah, Scots played a role in german enlightenment, more important for me and my thesis - they did so with G.E. Lessing, one of the most important poets and thinkers of the enlightenment, whos works are still read in schools today. And since also Goethe admitted to be drawn to scots I can just put the balance right, to give Scots a little place in german thinking.
At the end, we are quite similar, aren’t we? Genetics and all, Saxons came from the middle of Germany, the area where Goethe, Lessing and Schiller worked and came from themselves.
:)
