Monday, February 22, 2010
A Man of Few(er) Words
Today, I traveled up to Old Ivy for my graduate program's weekly works in progress seminar. Normally, I don't attend, but this time around it was my turn on the chopping block. I submitted the chapter draft I completed last November in hopes of getting good feedback from my friends and colleagues.
In contrast to previous occasions, this one went relatively well. Granted, half the department didn't show up. Seriously, one side of the room was completely empty. I'm beginning to wonder if the emphasis on 20th century technology makes people uncomfortable. (A talk I gave as part of my graduate fellowship also had surprisingly low attendance.) But the people who did show up actually read the paper and gave polite and almost entirely supportive feedback.
Nevertheless, despite its objective success, it was a subjective...failure? No, too strong a word. Let's go for disappointment. Because although my colleagues had many good suggestions, I left the room thinking three things:
1. I have no idea where my work fits into the broader historiography...not just the literature around my specific topic, but of Cold War science, industrial research, or innovation as a whole.
2. Structurally, there seems to be no way to write about two simultaneous scientific investigations in an elegant fashion. (i.e. without resorting to a "Meanwhile down the hall in Lab B..." transition.)
3. Next time I need to make sure my chapter doesn't exceed 50 pages.
Yes, despite my best efforts, this chapter was 61 pages long (not including images).
The chapter draft I'm currently working on is 58 pages, and shows signs of going on at least another 6 or 7 more.
This is not padding. I am not deliberately trying to write long papers. But the story I'm trying to tell is complicated and I worry about leaving out details.
Unfortunately, the choice may not be mine anymore. Rumor is that the department is going to impose a 300 page limit on dissertations, partly as a courtesy to outside readers and partly to facilitate the transition from manuscript to published book.
So now, my adviser wants chapters to be 45 pages or less. This is a reasonable request, but a frustrating one all the same. I'll shorten the two chapters I've been working on...somehow. And I'll do my best to be more concise in the future.
Sadly, the past isn't always simple. Maybe when I'm a better historian, I'll be able to make events conform to these kinds of external writing requirements.
Today, I traveled up to Old Ivy for my graduate program's weekly works in progress seminar. Normally, I don't attend, but this time around it was my turn on the chopping block. I submitted the chapter draft I completed last November in hopes of getting good feedback from my friends and colleagues.
In contrast to previous occasions, this one went relatively well. Granted, half the department didn't show up. Seriously, one side of the room was completely empty. I'm beginning to wonder if the emphasis on 20th century technology makes people uncomfortable. (A talk I gave as part of my graduate fellowship also had surprisingly low attendance.) But the people who did show up actually read the paper and gave polite and almost entirely supportive feedback.
Nevertheless, despite its objective success, it was a subjective...failure? No, too strong a word. Let's go for disappointment. Because although my colleagues had many good suggestions, I left the room thinking three things:
1. I have no idea where my work fits into the broader historiography...not just the literature around my specific topic, but of Cold War science, industrial research, or innovation as a whole.
2. Structurally, there seems to be no way to write about two simultaneous scientific investigations in an elegant fashion. (i.e. without resorting to a "Meanwhile down the hall in Lab B..." transition.)
3. Next time I need to make sure my chapter doesn't exceed 50 pages.
Yes, despite my best efforts, this chapter was 61 pages long (not including images).
The chapter draft I'm currently working on is 58 pages, and shows signs of going on at least another 6 or 7 more.
This is not padding. I am not deliberately trying to write long papers. But the story I'm trying to tell is complicated and I worry about leaving out details.
Unfortunately, the choice may not be mine anymore. Rumor is that the department is going to impose a 300 page limit on dissertations, partly as a courtesy to outside readers and partly to facilitate the transition from manuscript to published book.
So now, my adviser wants chapters to be 45 pages or less. This is a reasonable request, but a frustrating one all the same. I'll shorten the two chapters I've been working on...somehow. And I'll do my best to be more concise in the future.
Sadly, the past isn't always simple. Maybe when I'm a better historian, I'll be able to make events conform to these kinds of external writing requirements.
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