the personal prevails
Well, I have yet to begin writing my dissertation, but I am so happy with the topic and my outline that I cannot wait to get some feedback from the CandW crowd this week. And after reading “The Apparently Bearable Unhappiness of Academe,” all I can say is that I am so glad to be writing about something that I am personally invested in. The more I read abstracts of others, I feel that we’re all thinking, reading, and writing about the same thing in often similar ways. And that stresses me out. I always feel like someone else will have said it better, so what would be the point of me repeating it?
At least with my topic and connection to NOLA, I know that my dissertation will be more of a personal journey…a way for me to heal from the trauma of losing my home as well as analyzing how/why evacuees turned to the Internet to help themselves heal and get much needed information.
Also when reading the Inside Higher Ed article, I began thinking about my future, when I might go on the job market, when I might fit having kids into this whole plan, where I might end up teaching, etc. Thank goodness I am so ready to get out of FL and start my life in AC, otherwise I’d be tempted to stay in school longer to avoid thinking of these topics!
2 Comments
Daisy,
I read that article on Inside Higher Ed. Wow, man, I was afraid to comment after reading the comments. People got mad at just about everything. Don’t worry, friend, common sense probably says that job disatisfaction (at every stage) is the same in lots of professions. I don’t know why people were getting so worked up, though.
On another note, I really like you topic a lot. I can’t wait to see where it goes.
So you know, I started reading Free Culture for fun. It’s so different when you’re reading Lawrence Lessig NOT for a class!
So I was reading this article on identitytheory.com. The article is about memoir and truthfulness. I know your dissertation is a personal account, and not memoir, but I thought you might like the article anyway. http://www.identitytheory.com/nonfiction/naselli_truth.php