who is your academic foe?

i have met my academic foe in elie kedourie. i have to read his book 'nationalism' and write a ten page book review on it, and let me tell you - it's been one of the more difficult and dare i say..boring..reads i've encountered. there is a reason i am studying geography - because i like to see how things play out on the landscape, and how it affects us, our environments etc. i steered away from sociology in first year and ventured into the realms of geography, and have not looked back since. let's just say, for me, it's what's best. i don't do well with the abstract concepts of knowledge, self-determination and categorical imperatives. but alas, elie kedourie has bombarded me with such terms and concepts and i am forced to wrap my unwilling mind around it. it's difficult, after four years of being taught to think one way, to just switch gears! there's currently a battle in my head when i read this book - one part of my brain is desperately trying to understand, while the other part is kicking and screaming at the thought of these new sociological constructs refusing to let them in. yesterday was tough, but i barrelled through about forty pages. today, somehow i think the part of my brain that is revolting is slowly giving up, because i am breaking through to understanding what this man is trying to say. it's been a good day for elie and i, but it is not yet over. there stands two more chapters between myself and victory over elie. and i'm off to conquer.