PhD entry #1
In the past couple of weeks, we have been encouraged to keep a journal of sorts so not to lose track of the research. It has been pointed out to me that I do tend to get lost in my own enthusiasm for, well, any subject under the sun. This is me, then, trying hard not to stray too much off the path.
It is week 2 of my first year as a PhD student. I am actually still an MPhil at this level, as the Upgrade/Transfer happens at the end of the first year. The notes I will take during this year will feed into said Upgrade by showing how my work has progressed. Or regressed, or digressed, or stalled.
Part of me wants to summarise the seminars, lectures and such that we've been part of since the beginning of October, but this is supposed to be about me and my research, not about the university.
Zoom seems to be a good way to start: my chosen field of study is fairy tales, European tradition within that field, and I will look at the characters deemed villains in the tales. I endeavour to trace the evolution of said characters from evill moste foule to the complex nuanced characters we are more accustomed to in the 21st century.
At this precise moment, I am attempting to narrow that down even further by picking one narrative to focus on from the myriad of fairy tales available. Easier said than done. Straight away, I identified one problem and that is that by choosing a male villain (e.g. the Wolf in LRRH), I was removing myself from the conversation about female villains (e.g. Cinderella's stepmother). Taking on two villains seems like the kind of broadening of my research that I have been advised against. I am not convinced, however, that one could be spoken of en passant during my discussion of the other. Further research appears to be necessary and I should make a note to check how scholars before me have tackled this issue.
By dividing the villains by gender, it was relatively easier to pick narratives I felt could fill 3 years' worth of research. Bluebeard and the Wolf from LRRH come out on top in the male villains category. Cinderella's stepmother and the fake princess in The Goose Girl strike me as the more interesting of the lot in the female villains category. Here, it becomes evident that the former belong to the French tradition whereas the latter are most recognisable in their German variants.
I think I will stop and sleep on it. Again.
It is week 2 of my first year as a PhD student. I am actually still an MPhil at this level, as the Upgrade/Transfer happens at the end of the first year. The notes I will take during this year will feed into said Upgrade by showing how my work has progressed. Or regressed, or digressed, or stalled.
Part of me wants to summarise the seminars, lectures and such that we've been part of since the beginning of October, but this is supposed to be about me and my research, not about the university.
Zoom seems to be a good way to start: my chosen field of study is fairy tales, European tradition within that field, and I will look at the characters deemed villains in the tales. I endeavour to trace the evolution of said characters from evill moste foule to the complex nuanced characters we are more accustomed to in the 21st century.
At this precise moment, I am attempting to narrow that down even further by picking one narrative to focus on from the myriad of fairy tales available. Easier said than done. Straight away, I identified one problem and that is that by choosing a male villain (e.g. the Wolf in LRRH), I was removing myself from the conversation about female villains (e.g. Cinderella's stepmother). Taking on two villains seems like the kind of broadening of my research that I have been advised against. I am not convinced, however, that one could be spoken of en passant during my discussion of the other. Further research appears to be necessary and I should make a note to check how scholars before me have tackled this issue.
By dividing the villains by gender, it was relatively easier to pick narratives I felt could fill 3 years' worth of research. Bluebeard and the Wolf from LRRH come out on top in the male villains category. Cinderella's stepmother and the fake princess in The Goose Girl strike me as the more interesting of the lot in the female villains category. Here, it becomes evident that the former belong to the French tradition whereas the latter are most recognisable in their German variants.
I think I will stop and sleep on it. Again.