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A Thesis Abstracted
I found writing up my thesis to be an exciting time. I have always enjoyed writing (hence this blog), but the assembly of so many words, ideas, arguments, was something new to me. For various reasons (publication, the fact I’m writing this before my viva, copyright), I cannot publish the thesis online here. I can,…
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When does a PhD end?
When does a PhD end? This is a bit of an awkward question. I’ve now handed in my thesis, typed, proofed and bound, and am waiting to have my viva on 2nd October 2015. My PhD isn’t officially over until my examiners, Tiffany Stern and Christopher Tilmouth, decide that my work is good enough and…
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A Sea Change
I have big news, so big that I can no longer sit on it. From September 1st, I am going to be a lecturer! More precisely, I will be a lecturer in Restoration and eighteenth-century literature at Newcastle University. I cannot wait. I also cannot devote more time to a longer post, although I promise…
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The Zotero Quest
Those who know a little about role-playing games (RPG) may be familiar with the concept of ‘levelling up’. When your character acquires a certain quantity of experience (all experience is quantitative in these games), they pass from their current level to the one above, becoming – in a variety of ways – more powerful. In…
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On the Legality of my Thesis
My thesis has five pictures in it. They have caused me quite a lot of problems, enough to merit this post, which will – I hope – veer between entertaining lament and useful advice about copyright and doctoral research in the age of the institutional digital repository. My thesis has five pictures in it. They…
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Orphan Black and General Sensibility
Have you been watching Orphan Black? I have, and enjoying it immensely as a way to get away from writing up my PhD. Unfortunately, though, the fact that my thesis is all about performance makes it pretty much impossible to ignore my research completely when watching a TV series. Especially this one. I can’t help…
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A wave o’th’sea
My posts have been few and far between of late, as I am nearing the end of my thesis, and pouring my energies into making three years of thinking and reading presentable. I couldn’t, however, resist a little post about these lines from The Winter’s Tale. Florizel is watching Perdita. FLORIZEL When you do dance,…
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Theobald’s Baobab Theatre
Almost a decade ago now, I spent two months of my summer holidays teaching English in Madagascar as a volunteer for The Dodwell Trust. I worked in the capital Antananarivo, in the cattle town of Tsiromandidy and in Vatomandry on the eastern seaboard. Wherever I went, I met so many extraordinary people and learnt so…
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Lead Weights on Rubber Sheets
I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve written a summary of my PhD. When I created this blog, I had five chapters (on editors, theorists, actors, illusionists, and ambassadors), and instituted blog post categories accordingly: the way they have fallen into disuse is but one symptom of the gradual evolution of this…
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An Article Comes Forth
So, back in the mists of time, back before this blog and even back before the start of this thesis, I decided to read some writing by Madame de Staël. Everyone should do this. In my case, I read her Corinne, ou l’Italie, her De la littérature and her De l‘Allemagne. My interest in Shakespeare…