#university dissertation

[hepbaestus]

Why is deciding what to write my dissertation on so difficult??

Like I have a couple of ideas but could I write 12,000 words on them? Probably not.

[aquietplacetostudy]

days of october 🍂

aka coffee, daily walks and never-ending thesis work

[real-batman-thinker]

People say that dc stands for disregard canon and haha yes funny but also let’s talk about that. It’s is literally a modern mythology!

(Spoiler: I can love and hate Bruce Wayne and all of your headcanons are actually canon)

The idea of “canon” is actually quite new in terms of human storytelling goes. Especially before we started writing non-religious texts, we have spent centuries we were telling ourselves and our communities the variations of the same stories over and over again.

Our memories aren’t perfect and the stories aren’t being told in a vacuum. This meant that each version shifted to meet the storyteller, story receiver, and the context in which it’s told.

This meant that while there was some nebulous core that all the variants of a story floated around, there was a level of flexibility embedded into the medium.

That’s why, for example, we can see so many different variations of Greek myths all claiming to be the “real truthful version” of the myth. It’s not that alternative versions of the myth were lies or uninformed, it’s just that the myth was too big to be held by any one story.

Similarly, DC comics and their characters have been in public imagination for 100~ years. These stories and characters are MASSIVE. There is no possible way to contain it all in one story, and that wouldn’t be fun or impactful, hence, why they are always resetting things.

It is also helpful to think about collective storytelling and the fact that even specific comic runs are rarely the result of one individual lone wolfing it out.

So if we know that the DC world is too big to be confined to a single story, that those stories are collectively created, AND that stories exist to fill needs – then all our fan speculation here is contributing to the myth of the DC characters!

If there is a need for themes/strengths/moral lessons that speak to the tumblr audience and if the story can fit, and still be identified as being in line enough with the original myth, that it is a part of the mythology (as simple as that)!

And I know there tends to be this weird reverence for commercialized work (and an inverse undervaluing of the importance of fan works), BUT with how long DC has been running it is likely that every person who has been contributing to the comics (at least for the past forty years) was once a fan. It has always been fan-work.

But yeah, as long as you can make a compelling argument for it’s connection to the nebulous story core (and such arguements whether implicit or explicit are necessary for any head canon/interpretation to go viral on this website) then you are joining your ancestors in a long line of contribution to mythology!

Happy myth making :)

[jumezat]

Lets settle this once and for all!

[saintcirce]

Please do a whole post about phd applications, funding applications, fellowships, TAships etc. Would love your take on it. Thanks

I'm chronically horrible at responding to asks, so this is coming later than you probably expected!

For context, I'm now a second year PhD art history student about to take her doctoral (comprehensive) exams in April. I applied for PhD programs during the last semester of my master's program, which was a terminal degree through a different university than the one I currently attend.

I applied to two PhD programs in the United States and two in the United Kingdom: the processes are different, particularly when it comes to funding. The former will automatically consider you for funding and it's expected, at least in the humanities, that they will grant you tuition remission and a stipend for at least four years (potentially more, depending on your particular program). It's also possible to win additional fellowships, either through your university or a third party. For example, I have departmental funding (ie. a stipend that I receive for being a Graduate Assistant) and an outside fellowship from my university's Graduate School. My department applied for that fellowship on my behalf before I even enrolled. The other American university to which I applied also offered me tuition remission and a stipend, but it was less than the university I currently attend.

Two general notes about funding in the United States: (1) it often changes to account for rising cost of living but that does not necessarily mean you will be making a living wage, and (2) it often changes depending on whether your school has a Union. Graduate workers at my university are currently working to unionize, which would not only guarantee a living wage for union members but also offer protections for international students and student parents. There are a lot of benefits but the TLDR for funding is that unionizing often means the difference between $28,000 and $45,000 yearly stipend (see this article from the Boston Herald about BU's graduate student union). Graduate Assistants are often not allowed to hold a second job outside of the university and it's also difficult to do so when you are (a) working, (b) completing coursework, and (c) independently researching. My museum fellowship, which I'm due to begin in a couple days, jeopardized my funding status and I had to fight my university for them not to take away my fellowship. It ultimately worked out because I had my department chair's support but not all students are similarly supported—and not all departments are willing to advocate for their students.

Pivoting to UK schools: the TLDR is that they offer very little funding for international students and the funding that is available, either through the institutions themselves or outside organizations, is often not enough to cover the cost of living. Tuition is largely cheaper than in America but the difference was not significant enough for it to factor into my decision. If you're interested in more detail, I'd recommend reaching out to @therepublicofletters who actually attends a UK institution. She can also tell you more about how their programs are structured. Unlike American PhD programs—which involve at least two years of coursework, doctoral exams, and graduate assistantships before defending your prospectus and beginning dissertation research—UK programs ask you to apply with a prospectus that you will use as the basis for dissertation research that you begin immediately upon entry. The difference is that American programs typically take 5-7 years to complete whereas UK ones are only 3-4 years. While this may seem convenient in the short term, I was advised that American institutions (museums, universities, etc) often prefer PhDs from American institutions because of the extra work completed.

Setting aside this technical information, I chose the four programs to which I applied based on vibes. I had a master list of schools and advisors and I contacted each one to see if we fit in terms of academic interests and personalities. I did not want to work with an advisor I didn't like and who didn't like me—or who had so many students that they had no time for me. Aside from speaking with them personally, I also reached out to their current advisees: students will often give you a more honest perspective on faculty and the department as a whole. I would almost lend more weight to what the students say than any of the professors because they are and/or will be your peers. They are also the people who will give you the most honest information about how professors and the department view students of color, women, queer students, etc. Art history and the humanities are fairly white, straight, and male dominated, so it's important to get a read on how non-normative (for lack of a better collective term) individuals are treated. I used this information to narrow down my master list to four schools, each of which I would be happy to attend. Whether I was admitted to one or to all four, I would have a place to go where I would be content and able to find community.

This is a personal note but something to consider when it comes to advisors is gender. That should not be a determining factor but I realized after committing to my current school that this is the first time I've worked with a male advisor. I love him dearly and he is one of the most encouraging scholars I have met but there have been occasions where there is a disconnect based on life experience. That said, I know many people who have had no issues at all!

Throughout this whole process, the name value of the schools was functionally irrelevant. In my experience—and that of the numerous individuals who advised me during the application process—your advisor is far more important than your school. While this will necessarily vary by discipline, you want to work with someone who has connections and/or knows how to network. For example, an older scholar will likely know everyone and their mother whereas a younger scholar will know fewer people but likely be more present at conferences, etc.

In the end, what matters most is your happiness and stability. Will you like working with your chosen advisor? Will you like taking classes in other disciplines within your department? Will you be able to make friends and/or have civil relationships with other graduate students (ie. will people steal books you need because they know you need them, like at Columbia)? Can you afford to live in whatever city in which you school is located? Are they paying you a living wage and/or offering you alternate opportunities to apply for funding?

I chose my school based on the graduate community, my advisors (I now have two), and the funding package. There have been incidental issues that I could not have anticipated, but on the whole, I do not regret my decision because I prioritized my happiness when I was applying and did not make decisions based on what I thought other people would want. This is a huge commitment and you need to be self-motivated, to rely on your love of the subject, to make it through the hard times.

My last bit of advice, which I received from my undergraduate advisor: don't go into debt for art history! If a program isn't paying you and/or isn't paying you enough, then they're not worth your time. Know your worth and ask for what you deserve, never be afraid to negotiate funding.

Let me know if y'all have any other questions! This was a long one but I hope it was helpful.

[beartitled]

I’m struggling

/silly

Mini announcement

There’s probably going to be less posts? I dunno for sure, most likely will be posting old art or some sketches

Currently concentrated on finishing writing and drawing my diploma project, so need some time to get over with it 💪

[socstudies]

I should be sleeping but I can't stop thinking about my dissertation so I keep getting out of bed and padding across the cold floor to my desk to scribble some ideas down. and I just can't believe lately how lucky I am to have cold feet and goosebumps bc I don't want to forget my ideas before tomorrow.

like so many people around the world now don't have that luxury of a university education, so many people in my own country don't either. and so many people over history have risked everything by protesting or quietly resisting so that young women like me can go to university - go to school ! - and devour the library whole because there is so! much! to learn! and we are ao so sooo blessed to have access to rhe resources we do

[louferrignojrofficial]

i need something new to waste all my time and energy on. 911 is gonna go on hiatus soon anyways, and i’m not really interested in the hotshots storyline they’re doing next episode, or to find out what’s happening in 8x08.

none of the shows everyone else is watching are interesting to me. and my brain hates me so it won’t let me turn my phone off despite everyone being sad or coming up with hopeful theories that my pessimist brain can’t accept.

[viky-somebody]

who needs plot when you can focus on incessant worldbuilding instead, to the point that you write out university dissertation of the trans woman who went on to invent first documented stable multiverse travel, which marked the start of multi-dimensional commerce routes and the new common calendar era between worlds.

[oxford-outis]

And just like that, at 1:15am on a random Friday morning in March, my dissertation is done!

Just got to get final approval tomorrow morning reading to submit before the noon deadline. Let’s hope I didn’t fuck up the formatting too badly😂😭

[secondwheel]

Reading back and forth

[petrichara]

Shops are decked out in Father’s Day kit. Rude

[tragic-ships-tournament]

curios curios, how many optimus prime and elita-1s were submitted ?

why did i just unearth the secret oplita fandom

[yourlocalabomination]

I’m sorry but has no one made a The Stanley Parable AU with Tinky and Ted????? Hello???

[defectivegembrain]

Wow looking at funded PhDs in the humanities is really like. nobody thinks your work is important to society.

[boyhood]

12 years apart: still deeply annoyed about working at my laptop