As I posted recently I have been waiting for feedback on the first 3 parts of my thesis (which actually constitutes about two-thirds of it so far). I have just received some 'unofficially' from my supervisor at Curtin Uni - her comment: 'it is coming together well'. I will receive a hard-copy in the mail with all her scribbles on it soon so I can sort out the nuts and bolts, of which no doubt there will be many. But I am just stoked that it is actually making sense to a non-Jungian for a start and also flowing as a cogent argument.
That has been no mean feat. The subject is dense, my ideas encompass Jungian theory, the art historical genre of figure-in-landscape in Australian painting, contemporary physics and Tibetan philosophy. The connections are natural for me but difficult to string together for others. My supervisor also advises to write in plain English: 'so your grandmother could understand it'. When you are using vocabulary and language specific to particular theoretical disciplines this is not easy to do.
There is still a hell of a lot to do. I have to write the conclusion, evaluate my findings and tie the whole thing together. Then there will be months of editing. But I can see the top of this mountain.
(Let's hope it isn't volcanic like the one in the image, which was actually a kid's sandcastle I photographed and then PhotoShopped)
5 comments:
A wonderful image and kind of indicative too ...
Wow, how exciting. I like the advice to 'write so your grandma could read it.' Sound, I reckon.
Thanks ST. Yes, having had to read a lot of academic writing in the past few years I reckon it is good advice. A lot of it is just so inaccessible, or requires real commitment. But if you actually want people to read what you have written, then absolutely necessary - still, not an easy thing to do. Much easier to be obscure.
Joan Campbell said:
Hearty congratulations! Essential encouragement to complete the climb.
Just love the volcanic sandcastle: it is very beautiful.
Thanks Joan, and yes, encouragement that is greatly appreciated.
The volcanic crater is a recurring motif. Couldn't believe my luck when I found this one on the beach. Some fairly obvious symbolic references in there if I care to look.
Terrific news, Michelle!
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