Yesterday was a potentially stressful day, but after a successful meeting with my dissertation director first thing in the morning, I was able to have a stress-free, relaxing day.
The meeting in short:
1. We're going to schedule my written exams for February 18-20 and my oral exam for March 5th, barring any scheduling conflicts from my two other committee advisors.
2. I'll plan to attend the Modern Language Association conference in December. MLA, aside from providing a new citation style guide every four years, conducts annual meetings during which job search committees hold interviews (in hotel rooms) with potential candidates. I will have at least half of my dissertation completed by this time so that my answers to the interview questions can be phrased in present tense rather than future. So, "I argue" rather than "I will argue." It makes a big difference. I probably will not come away with a job placement from this meeting (and will be lucky to attend any interviews at all, actually), but my director believes this will be a good learning experience and is extremely encouraging of my attendance.
3. Aside from a single change to a single sentence, my dissertation director is ready to approve my justification. The justification is a required document written by the doctoral candidate that explains why certain texts were selected for the exams and how these texts will inform the candidate's research interests. I sent my director a copy of my rough draft over the holiday, and she only wants one single change. Apparently I've improved as a writer, if she's happy with the rough draft! I'm excited. (Besides, the justification is little more than a formality. Nobody else besides my committee members will see it. The graduate school just has to see the approval form on file to move me forward in my plan of study.)
Our meeting lasted about an hour, which was nice because I hadn't had a chance to sit down and talk with her for a few months. I felt relieved and validated. The moment that boosted my self-esteem (and motivation, frankly) was when I started explaining my dissertation idea to her, and she perked up and said, "Oh yes. That's a very good point. I don't think I've read anything like that before." *grin* I knew I'd figure it out eventually. Basically what happened was as I was reading for my exams, I realized a lack in the scholarship in regards to this particular question. Not wanting to go too far into it and bore my readers, I'll just say that my dissertation will basically be about the transvestitism in drama as well as on stage. Nobody has quite struck the heart of the issue yet, which has been irritating, but I'm happy to be the one who responds. :)
What I didn't mention in the meeting is how these dates for my exam are going to help work with my personal life as well.
February:
16: Students' papers are due
18-20: Written exams
23: Students' mid-term exam
25: Students' grades (on both paper and exam) due
21 or 28: the stuffing the invitations/addressing the invitations weekend with Mom and Lauren (which I originally didn't think I could attend, but might be able to now!)
March:
5: Oral exam
7: Amy's bachelorette party
12: Fly out to SF for a conference and paper presentation
13: Paper presentation
16-20: Spring Break
21: Amy's bridal shower
This means that after Spring Break, I will return a happy, calm bride--who has the chance to be a bride!! :D I will be able to enjoy the last few months of the engagement so much more. I'll be able to pack and plan without the threat of exams hanging over my head. :)
This is Amanda as a happy student.
And this is Amanda as she signs off to go spend the evening in the library's graduate student study room! :)
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