paranoia
Is there anything in the world more defensive than a Ph.D. student negotiating their reading lists and exam questions? I think not. If there had been a surveillance camera in my early afternoon meeting with Examiner X, it would have captured something approximating the following exchange:
X: This one here, this is an interesting one. Explain to me why you constructed this question comparing Foucault's definitions of archaeology and genealogy, then stacking it up against Deleuze & Guattari's rhizomatic theory.
Me: Um. First, I feel the need to position myself regarding all of French Post-structuralism since always. Blah blah blah I don't know if I believe in it anymore blah. But I can't very well retrain myself at this point and finish this degree on schedule. Blah blah.
X: That's nice, but that's not the question I asked you.
Me: History of the Encyclopedia! Taxonomy! Transition of taxonomic structures to dynamic digital environments!
X: Excellent. I like that. We'll keep it.
Lordy, that man is patient. And we finalized my list, too, so I'm slightly calmer now.
Slightly.
Comments
Ha! I love it! Then they tell you later that you should have narrowed down your topic.
I was just discussing with one of my dissertation groups today how hard it is to get out of the mindset of student trying to please the professor, in order to start writing your own original thoughts. Hopefully your examiner will help with that transition, too!
Posted by: Gina | June 29, 2006 12:44 PM
Perhaps it's unusual, but I’ve never had a sense of ‘prof-pleasing’ as I’ve worked through this program. I’ve always done work that I myself was interested in, and everyone has been very supportive — my examiners in particular. That’s why I asked ’em to examine me. The ‘paranoia’ I describe here is simply an examinee’s need to over-explain any answer, or to back up and see everything in the world from 10,000 feet. (At which point, everything falls in the category of “things that from a long way off look like flies.” But I digress — again.)
Posted by: Krista | June 29, 2006 2:57 PM