What it means to do PhD research in 2008
Posted by bellanna on April 19, 2008
Or, more precisely: how it differs from PhD research undertaken in, for instance, the 1990s.
One of the key differences, in my view, is the current abundance of materials, conferences, symposia, blogs, groups, e-journals, mailing lists, and so many other spaces in which critical (and less critical) debates are formed, aired, revisited and critiqued. What should my relation to these materials be? To what extent am I supposed to be aware of the trillions of bites of information flickering past nodes on a daily basis? Does the PhD research contract have a (hidden) section on the time allotted to these quests?
I am not only concerned about the time investment of making sense of this information, of categorising this input into workable chunks with a hierarchical structure. Rather, I am more pensive about being reassured. Assured that I am aware of the key concepts, debates, problems, arguments, and developments in my field of research. That if I fail to include any of these pivotal discussions, I do so out of choice, not out of ignorance.
Rest assured this is only a thought-in-passing; in no way do I suffer from feelings of incapability or self-doubt. At least not to any inhibiting degree. Moreover, I have not even officially started my research. Thus, these thoughts may be swiftly undermined, surpassed and dissolved within a very short time-span. If not, I’ll be sure to address them.
