Sunday, April 7, 2013

Rebecca Schuman's Thesis Hatement

If you're on the fence about getting a PhD in Literature or considering leaving academe mid-PhD program, take a look at Rebecca Schuman's insightful article in Slate "Thesis Hatement." Schuman's article makes many fine points, here is a snippet:

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Don’t misunderstand me. There is unquantifiable intellectual reward from the exploration of scholarly problems and the expansion of every discipline—yes, even the literary ones, and even if that means doing bat-shit analysis like using the rule of “false elimination” to determine that Josef K. is simultaneously guilty and not guilty in The Trial. But there is one sort of reward you will never get: monetary compensation from a stable, non-penurious position at a decent university.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_dFpKZo54w

4 comments:

  1. Yes! Well said! Oh...I should add here that I finished my PhD but I'd have to say that I did ask myself at various times throughout my degree what was I doing??

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  2. :D. You are very kind. My absolute best to everyone here. Let our recovery be illuminating and beautiful.

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  3. @Anthea--me too!

    @Rebecca--So glad you found it to our site and thanks again for a great article

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  4. Enjoyed Rebecca's article very much: did an excellent job of making the painful truth amusing.

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