A new academic year, a new blog
post. I would like to welcome all
new-comers to the lab and I hope those of you who are new to Leicester have now
settled in. It was great to see such a
large turn-out at our first event of the term.
Like many of you, I have just begun a new phase in my academic career,
as I officially commenced my PhD last Monday.
I am one of the very fortunate few to have secured funding, researching
nineteenth-century science and print culture as part of the ConSciCom Project. My first week was something I had anticipated
for around five months, after my application for the studentship proved
successful. I have heard so much about
the euphoric highs and abysmal lows of doctoral research from my friends in
academia, but this was the point at which I began my own three year odyssey. I would like to share with you my first
impressions of life as a PhD student.
I completed both my BA and MA at
Leicester, and spent seven months of my year out working in the university
library, so my first week in many respects did not feel like a hugely different
experience. Although I'm incredibly
happy to be here, I do sometimes wonder if I will ever leave. In 500 years time, archaeologists will
probably unearth my skeleton in a local car park, my spine crooked from far too
many hours spent hunched in front of a computer.
As I sat down at my desk on
Monday morning, there was the overwhelming sense of 'Where to start?' I cannot emphasise the weirdness of beginning
what is essentially a full-time job, yet the time being almost entirely your
own, to do with as you please. In the
absence of any better ideas, I read a book (one relevant to my research, I
should add). In fact, I spent a large
amount of my time during the week just sitting and reading. I admit it doesn't make for the most exciting
narrative, but I happen to enjoy it. Occasionally,
I went to the library to borrow some more books, then immediately regretted
this decision when I came face to face with the Fresher hordes. I would then retreat, feeling old and
untrendy.
Wednesday was a big day, as it involved
induction events for the School of English (for reasons I won't bore you with,
and despite being a historian, I'm based in the English Department). I attended the events relevant to new PhDs,
including the inevitable round-table session in which each student introduces
themselves and their research, much in the manner of an addiction support
group: 'Hi, I'm Matthew Wale and I study nineteenth-century science
periodicals'. This was followed by a
welcome reception, complete with free wine and food, which are obligatory
wherever academics gather en masse. As a new PhD
student attending social events of this kind, you very quickly learn to
condense the explanation of your research into as short a summary as possible. Everybody you meet will at some point ask the
question: 'So, what are you working
on'. No matter how passionate you are
about your chosen subject, repeatedly explaining it over the course of a few
days encourages you to be succinct, as you begin to tire of your own voice. It is, however, always genuinely fascinating
to hear about everyone else's research and a joy to meet so many people who are
unapologetically enthusiastic about their particular fields of study.
I have been repeatedly informed
by both fellow students and academics that a PhD is lonely endeavour. My first week, by contrast, has been very
sociable. Long may this continue! Despite this, I have come to the conclusion
that regularly working from home is a dangerous thing. I am currently living entirely alone for the
first time in my life, which has both benefits and potential problems. Whilst I am never disturbed by parents or
housemates, there is always the risk that I could go an unhealthy length of
time without any form of human interaction.
After some consideration, I came up with two possible solutions to this. I could, like Tom Hanks' character in Cast Away, draw a face on a football and
speak to it whenever I felt the need for conversation ('Wilson!'). Alternatively, I could try and get out the
house more. I have decided the latter
option is probably the best and consequently I have resolved to spend more time
working on campus (unfortunately, English research students don't get designated
offices). I hope this will give at least
the illusion of a 9-5ish job and go some way to maintaining my grip on sanity
(a tenuous thing amongst postgraduates).
Although I got a fair amount of
reading done, I admit that very little actual primary research occurred in my
first week. I like to imagine this is
fairly typical, but I have been seeking to remedy this in my second week. I did, however, find time to join Twitter. You can follow the continued adventures of a
doctoral research student at https://twitter.com/mrmrwale, though I have yet to
master the art of the Twitterati.
Good luck everyone, whatever it
is you're working on. I look forward to
seeing you all at future labs.
