The short answer? A PhD is a big long essay. More like a book than an essay. An academic book. An academic book that has do fulfil a whole truckload of requirements, the biggest of which are a) contributing new knowledge to the field and b) demonstrating a clear and excellent understanding of the literature (stuff that’s already been written) in the field of research.
The long answer?…
Well, firstly, I’m doing my PhD thesis on swing dancers. Mostly Melbourne ones. I’m framing them as a fan community (a la Henry Jenkins, Matt Hills, Camille Bacon Smith, etc), and am most interested in their media uses. This media use is centred on the internet and online technology – I’m interested in talking about how swingers use online media in their face to face fan activities. I also talk about swingers as performing their fandom. That’s an idea I’m borrowing from stuff Matt Hills suggested, which dove tails nicely with Judith Butler’s work, and I think there’s one guy – Kurt Lancaster – who’s into this, that I should follow up.
a revised version of the djing paper. Down load it here.
i’m going to keep editing it til it’s in a more deliverable form – like 3000 rather than 4500 words. i could cut out the djing bit altogether and make it a paper about swing culture generally. or i could edit out the djing bit and start again. oh well, i’ve given it another bash, and i’ll leave it for now…
I’m between work jobs.
i’m giving a paper on djing in the department today/tomorrow, and i need a copy i can print out at work. so i’ve emailed it to myself and i’m uploading it here. ah, the ultimate public private…
Download file
…about that paper. should just get over it and bloody do the thing, right?
pft. yeah, like that’ll happen any time soon…
ok.
so chapter 5 is so done. well, the first draft of chapter5 is so done. it needs work, it’s 16 000 words long (despite that big 5000 cull the other week), but it’s damn sexy. and off to the Supes, who assures me we will Meet Soon to discuss it. Right On!
meanwhile, i’m pissing about thinking about sewing, avoiding reading some more Jenkins, Hills or Hines, and having a quiet moment of worry about the paper i have to give in three weeks time.
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