5:51 AM:

The grades are in, and the papers have been returned: B in Masochism, A- in Theory. I'm looking at the former as pulling a draw from the jaws of defeat. The latter seems fair enough, and it's nice having a second grade above a B+. (That I'm supposed to be getting straight A's, and that even my two A-'s would be a slight blot on the record of anybody else in this program is something I'm trying not to think about too much.)

The comments of the Black Marxism and Masochism professors both more or less boiled down to "You write well, but this paper sucks." No real surprise there.

The theory professor, on the other hand, had more to work with, and clearly has my number. I got back a page and a half of comments, criticism, suggestions for further reading, and warnings concerning my future in academia, all of it on the mark and helpful. In particular, he provided a great description of my critical mode, one I plan to use down the line: "suspicious utopianism." That's me, all right.