Pondering a PhD

[jhameia]

So, some of you probably know it took me about two years to figure out what it was I wanted to do for my MA degree.

This program is only one year. By the end of August I am expected to be done, completed.

I'm not sure what the project will actually end up looking like. For one, it's a Research Project, so it doesn't have to be a thesis. Will doing a non-thesis thing mean I have less of a chance getting into a PhD program?

My idea is this:
1) Read up on lots of theory (so far, race, postcolonialism, postmodernism, performativity)
2) Do a lit review of early proto-steampunk works (Edisonade, Victorian pulp, Gothic lit) and other writings from the Victorian era in the English-speaking work that deal with the racialized Other (I have a couple of books of missionary stories).
3) Analyse how racialized bodies are written about then.
4) Compare how racialized characters are written now, within the new boom of steampunk lit of the last, oh, 5 years or so.
5) Ideally, end with a general framework for RaceFail Avoidance in Steampunk. Alternatively, embark on a creative writing project of my own (I can do this.)

Still not quite sure how the theory is going to play into this. I'm focusing on the lit, although I've got a couple of recs on performativity theory.

Thoughts?

With all this, I've got to decide at the very least if I'm staying in Canada after my MA. I could go home to figure out my PhD except then I'd have to go through the hassle of moving my shit all the way across the world. I could try to stay here to find a job, although I'm not sure as what (maybe a lecturer... I kinda think I would do okay with that; but I might score a lecturing job at home too).

My dad wants to go cycling in Belgium in September, since my flight will take me through Amsterdam Schipol. So I gotta figure out what's going to happen to my stuff here and how long I'll be gone for.

I just had the idea of maybe analysing South East Asian myths and folklore. Not just Malay literature, but also comparing with myths and folklore from other SEA countries too, to see how they compare, similarities and divergences. The thing is, I don't know what they would fall under? And I have zero background in that kind of ethnographic type stuff.

I would eventually like to return to Malaysia.

Anyways, that's thinky thoughts for now.

Comments

[rose-lemberg.livejournal.com]

The work you describe is PhD-level in scope. Lena Reynoso at UC Berkeley is working, or was working on a similar project with Alan Dundes. This is a folklore project, potentially an interdisciplinary lit-type project, and/or potentially an anthropology project. It is too big for an MA. You are welcome to email me off-list at rose dot lemberg at gmail or better yet surface in gchat. I have a Ph.D and training in these areas and will be happy to talk you through this.

[shweta-narayan.livejournal.com]

(And just ftr, I asked Rose to pop in if she had advice :) )

[rose-lemberg.livejournal.com]

And I am sorry for barging in, Shweta asked me - I hope it is all right. To add, I myself trained with Dundes (and others) at Berkeley and work as a professor now, although in a somewhat different area.

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

Meep! Which project are we talking about here? My proposed MRP or the folklore project (which I'd like to do for my PhD)? Although the proposed MRP does sound like it's too huge for 50 pages... I'll have to run it by a prof for sure.

[rose-lemberg.livejournal.com]

I am sorry this is meep-inducing. Those are sexy ideas and I would love to see them written. Both projects are great. But I recommend a much narrower approach to your research topic. The reason people often stay for 12 years in graduate school is an overambitious research project. Those projects are exciting, relevant - but too big.

Both your proposed MRP as outlined, and your Malay folklore project are PhD-length endeavors in the best case scenario.

For your MRP, I suspect you will start running into problems at step 1). There is *a LOT* of theory on these issues. A *lot* of theory. To just read up on this theory is a huge endeavor, but in order to actually know how to engage with this theory and incorporate it effectively into your work, you will need to read exemplary empirical studies that draw on this theory for similar projects. That in itself is a lot of reading. Usually people take coursework in the first 2-4 years of graduate school to cover theoretical ground, converse with others, present at academic conferences, and draft chapter-kernel papers. This preparatory work would make your project feasible.

Step 2) is also overambitious, as you will not have space enough to summarize these works, let alone do any kind of deep analysis, in 50 pages. This can be solved by severely limiting yourself - to 1, 2 or 3 works.

Step 3 is spot on. This is a great research question.

Step 4 - you will have already exhausted your page real estate by the time you get here, and you just added another dissertation-size research question to your project.

Step 5 - could be more productively approached outside of academia.

What I want to stress here is that when professors at good schools look at papers submitted with PhD applications, they do not want to see depth. (I am assuming here that you will use the MRP as a stepping stone to a PhD, forgive me if I'm wrong). Since there is only so many pages your MRP can have, you will have to choose between breadth and depth. I strongly recommend going with depth. "How are racialized bodies depicted in Novel by Luminary and Comparable Novel by Contemporary Luminary, using [for example] post-colonial theory" will be awesome, preserve your sanity, and leave you with plenty to work on later.

Hope this helps somewhat... I would also recommend that you start with text. Choose the text (1,2,3 texts) that you feel most strongly about. Identify the examples you want to work on. Then look for theory to illuminate your examples.

Of course, your professor might have a completely different take on this :)
Rose

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this advice! Step 1 and 2 are definitely the overexertion part of the process... right now I'm skimming theories and trying to decide exactly whose theories I'll be using, as well as get a general feel for what goes on in older lit. I don't want to do any indepth analysis; just detect some general trends wrt race in English-language literature from the Victorian period. So I'll also be zeroing in in terms of geography too - right now I think I'll be looking only at lit set in Victorian England and America.

Right now it's all about courses and funneling my ideas into something workable. The proposal isn't really due until January, and research doesn't start until summer (8 months coursework, 4 months research project work) so I'm sort of flailing around sketching out what I think I want to do.

I don't know if the MRP will be the stepping stone to a PhD, but looking at Malay folklore is definitely an idea I'm keeping for my PhD, assuming I can find a school that can help me with this.

Thanks again so much for the feedback!

[rose-lemberg.livejournal.com]

Are you committed to staying in Canada? We will be hosting a lecture by a Canadian folklorist/ethnographer in early November and I can ask her about good Canadian schools for potentially studying Malaysian folklore. U. of Newfoundland has a solid program. In the US, Indiana, OSU and maybe Berkeley.

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

I think if I were to stay in Canada, I would continue in the field of steampunk and literature, with modifications to the original plan.

I'd love love love to continue on with work in SEAsian folklore, but I don't feel as strongly for it in academia as I do science fiction... it is, however, definitely a project I'll want to pursue on the side in the future!

[shweta-narayan.livejournal.com]

So, thesis might emerge from data (this is what I am hoping for in my PhD *grins*)

Other than that, this is utterly not my field so I am clueless, but I wanted to cheer and note that all of this sounds awesome, all stuff I'd love to read once I have brain.

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

Thank you~~~<3

[qian.livejournal.com]

Your research project sounds cool!

Being a lecturer in Malaysia is a bit of a secret dream of mine -- it seems like a nice life. My cousin is an architecture lecturer at Taylor's; what I gather is that while an MA is the minimum postgrad qualification you'd need, you get paid more if you have a PhD. I'm not sure what the job market is like for lit/folklore people, but I'm sure you could find something!

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, well, to be honest, it's just a step better from being a teacher in a government school! I'm not sure I want to work in an environment so politically toothless, tbh, but at the same time, I would love to go home and do something in education! I'm pretty sure I could get a decent job teaching English at maybe Taylor's (I live in Subang, and SS15 is our college hub) but I'd also like to add something to the academic field there, you know?

[qian.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I want to work in an environment so politically toothless, tbh

Er, if you think academics in Malaysia are completely politically indifferent then I don't think your future students are the only ones with something to learn.

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

It's not that they're indifferent. It's the fact that students aren't allowed to be political. It's not something I know how to negotiate.

[qian.livejournal.com]

But none of the most vital politics is ever allowed. I don't know, "toothless" is the last word I would use to describe the Malaysian academic/political scene as I've experienced it, if only because it is such a dismissive term for such continuing, committed activism.

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

I don't really have another word for it, though =/

But also, I haven't been in the Malaysian academic scene since 2001, and no one I know back home is involved in academia at all. From the outside perspective, I don't know what goes on in there.

So your perspective is actually quite heartening! I was suspecting (I picked up "Multiethnic Malaysia" when I was home and my mind was blown by the awesome work in it!) but I've been disappointed so many times by various things, I would rather walk in ignorant and be pleasantly surprised, than too idealistic.

[qian.livejournal.com]

"Repressive", perhaps? That's pressure from the top down. "Toothless" implies there's no pushback. My interaction with Malaysian activism was relatively limited (a couple of months' internship at a local NGO + a BFF who is an arts graduate from a local college -- which apparently automatically means you are into activism). But the impression I got was that local activists have lots of teeth and they keep gnawing -- the old ones exhaustedly, the young ones with passion.

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

Ooohhh. That's definitely a much better term!

At some point I'll go home and actually find my way into local activism. Right now when I go home it's all about the holiday and my family, so haven't had the energy to invest myself.

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

Also, of course I have stuff to learn! Learning never ends!

[jolantru.livejournal.com]

Your research project sounds great.

What do you plan to do when you graduate?

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

That's the question I'm avoiding!

[dimension-view.livejournal.com]

If you're planning to come back to Malaysia to teach, I think Monash would be a good option to lecture at. Yes, it is a private institution, but from what I've heard from friends and observed from attending talks, Monash has a vibrant arts and social science faculty. I notice that many academics from that faculty actively engage with current issues in Malaysia and actively speak up about it.

Just a suggestion ;-)

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

Interesting! And in my neck of the woods too.

I harbour a secret desire to teach at Taylor's College in Subang Jaya, and start a library cafe in the SS 15 hub. I know! I know! So cheesy, going to my alma mater to teach, but man, who wouldn't want to be able to teach while living in their childhood home?!

[dgreymatter.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

No, doing a non-thesis thing will not lessen your chances on getting accepted into a PhD programme. As far as doctoral programmes are concerned, you need to have a pretty good proposal and it looks like you've got one there.

I also have to agree with some of the comments above; lecturing in Malaysia is great. I for one harbour a yet-to-be-fulfilled dream of teaching in a Malaysian uni. Monash has got quite an exciting humanities and creative writing research base, characterised mainly by the academics there. Though I want to go back to Universiti Malaya where I worked as a research assistant at the Gender Studies dept. The dept looks a bit sad, and the library even sadder, but I've got a soft spot for it for some reason.

I'm not sure whether you can teach courses full-time with only an MA. I'm certain that you can tutor or teach part-time. Though, you won't get paid as much as a someone with a PhD. And in the world of academia, a person with a PhD is always considered first ahead of those who do not when it comes to job appointments. It's an ugly truth that I had to learn, which is why I'm doing a PhD now. But then, when you're aiming for something, you can feel that you have now is not enough. Start planning, but enjoy what you're doing NOW!

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

I know a while back Taylor's was looking for an English lecturer and required only an MA - it seems to be the lower lecturing positions? My brother's ex was lecturing at KDU while doing her PhD.

I hadn't looked at Monash too closely when I last research universities in Malaysia. But this is iiiiiiiiiinteresting to hear!

[(Anonymous)]

As a former lecturer, I'd say that getting a PhD is a good idea IF and WHEN you are very sure that teaching is what you want to do, especially if you're toying with the idea of returning to M'sia. Getting a PhD in M'sia and not being part of the academic/research field could very well mean a waste of your talent and money.

When I left, private colleges were still paying very little compared to non-education industries and especially considering the paper qualifications that I had. This together with the fact that they are more concerned with how much work and students they can load on you doesn't make it a very ideal environment for professional growth. Most of my colleagues started off in private colleges to gain experience before moving to private unis and attempting their PhDs there.

This is because private universities are reviewed more stringently when it comes to the qualifications of a lecturer. Yes, the minimum is an MA but if you want to be considered for a promotion, you'll need to have a PhD or at least am in the process of getting one. The creative industry (or at least most of the field in my line - mass communication) is still one that is values experience more so the rule above doesn't really apply 100% but literature may just be a different ball game. I was with UTAR when I left and they have a Chinese lit department that was doing quite well - almost all the lecturers were either taking their PhD or were already PhD holders. On top of that, part of your performance review includes conference attendance/participation as well as no of papers published by industry-related journals (and other stuff).

I never got around to getting my PhD because it didn't fall into my future plans and to think, I spent nearly five years deciding on this. It requires a lot of time and energy not to mention focus (you need to have the stamina to pick one topic and run with it for a minimum of three and a max of five years) and it has to be a topic that adds value and is new to the field. For my area, lets just say that by the time I'm in the thick of things, it wouldn't be a new thing anymore but just something that has been discussed over and over again.

Even if I got my PhD, I have to think of what I would be able to do in Europe, especially France, with it and there, it is very hard to break into the academic background (even more so in my case, because I'm a non-native French speaker) so ultimately, it would be really pointless to get one...not to mention costly. Even teaching English in Europe is hard for non-native speakers. I know of many Asian friends who have English teaching qualifications but are often sidelined because they don't look "white" enough and sad to say, that is what most students there want. Plus over time, with changes like children, goals like PhD gets sidelined. I don't have any regrets though - after all, if I can't get a PhD now, I can always do it later.

If you still would like to explore this idea for a PhD, try approach a few professors in some of the unis back at home who specialise in this area and talk about this with them to see what their viewpoint is on the matter. Maybe from there, you can see if this is something worth going into or if you need to tweak your ideas. :)

Btw, there is the neighbour next door (Singapore) for you to consider. Last time I looked, NUS has a pretty good arts and social science department and the professors there are quite friendly (at least from the Sociology dept when I met them during a conference).

This is the brother's ex, btw.

[fantasyecho.livejournal.com]

Weird! I remember you telling me about your PhD (or plans for it) and I was pretty envious!

I've started to plan how I would ask around to see what to do next, but you know my family doesn't really have very many academic friends. I know NUS looks good, and it does have a great SEA research institute that I'm looking into, but I don't want to pack my life and move back now for just one chance, if I can further my field here.

[(Anonymous)]

I *was* very keen on it and was fortunate to have a colleague who was working on his PhD from USM (on film) at that time. After asking him as well as checking back with my professor, I was told to sure of what I wanted to do before embarking on this; "you've got to pick a topic that you know you'll have something to say even after three years of research and still be passionate about it". On top of that, it has to contribute something new and relevant. My trouble was and still is that 1) I can't seem to stick to one topic (oops) and 2) timeliness (I have lots and lots of worries about it being relevant and current). That couple with the fact that I'm constantly moving after a few years and married with a toddler makes it hard to focus on a PhD. :)

Re academic supervisors, you can surf the sites and approach these professors - just to make contact and build a relationship. Alternatively, if you're not sure of your return to M'sia or SG, you can approach profs specialising in SEA studies - won't matter where they are based. At least once they know you, they can advice you or point you to the right person/direction even if they aren't your supervisors. :) Academic journals are a good way of finding authors/people who may be in the same field and trust me, if you're in a niche field like neuroscience, SEA studies, the writers tend to be that circle/group of people. :)

If you like, I can look into Wiley's (am working with them now) database of SSH (Social Science & Humanities) journals and see if there are any SEA authors - there are bound to be a couple. :)