School's out for the summer!

I had my last tutorial today, hurrah! So I've officially completed my first year at Oxford. Pretty exciting, and it sure went by quick.

It's a bit hard to feel all that free, as my tutor and I talked all about the scary exams next spring and about the work on my dissertation over the summer, and the languages... But still, no scheduled papers to write or Greek to translate is fantastic!

One really nice thing is that from here on out I'll be focusing on the topic I choose, rather than one that's assigned to me. I will have to revisit the less-than-fascinating topics when I study for exams next spring, but until then it will mostly be work on my dissertation. I still haven't decided exactly what that will be on, but I'll be meeting with my new supervisor soon and she may have some ideas. Her name is Jane Baun and my supervisor says she's very nice and easy to work with.

The topic that's looking most likely right now is Constantine the Great's transition from his devotion to the Invincible Sun (Sol Invictus), which was a kind of pagan monotheism, to Christianity. I mentioned this idea in an e-mail to my former Constantine lecturer, and he said it is "is both complex and extremely important, and would make a very good dissertation subject." Alrighty then! But it's not certain yet as there are other interesting options, and I'd like to hear what Jane thinks.

So what next? Here's what will be keeping me busy over the summer:

- reading about Constantine and other possible dissertation topics
- working hard on my websites in the hopes they will bring in a better income for school (and travel!) expenses
- hopefully contributing to BBC Religion & Ethics!
- starting to learn German, which I'll be taking a formal class on next fall
- trying to keep up my Greek
- going to Rome

Yep, that last one sounds like the most fun to me, too! And we are all booked to do it! We will be in Rome July 14-20. We're so excited. We got a great deal on the flight and on a B&B, which is right next to Vatican City. It's a family-run place with just three rooms, has unanimously glowing reviews from former lodgers, and has a roof garden with a view of St. Peter's Basilica! CAN'T WAIT!

David and I have both been to Rome before, but David was only 18 and doesn't remember much, and I was only there for about one full day on a bus tour in 2000. So we look forward to really exploring it good. In addition to its general fabulousness, Rome is great for my academic interests - full of early Christian history and art, and Constantine built the first St. Peter's - and all the photos will make a great addition to my travel website. It will also be tax deductible, because my websites are considered my job by the tax man! Good stuff.

We plan to take one day trip while we're there, which will probably be north to Assisi, home of St. Francis and a basilica decorated with some of the best frescoes in the world. (I've just finished an upgrade to the Assisi section on Sacred Destinations - check out the fun satellite map!) Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...