Thursday, January 25, 2007

An Introduction, A Start

First, thanks to Billie for signing me up, and thanks to Meagan for the link on your blog. This is a fabulous idea. Dissertation writers need all the support we can get.

So, a brief introduction. I'm Abby, a doctoral candidate in composition studies at the University of New Hampshire. I'm just starting my dissertation on feminist rhetorical theory and composition pedagogy. I (think I am) looking at the ways in which three feminist rhetorical theories can answer challenges to traditional modes of teaching argument. That's the idea at least.

I passed my proposal defense a year ago, I think and, to be honest, have been floundering a bit since. I'm teaching one course a semester and I'm not great at balancing my dissertation work with my teaching. I'm also not great at balancing my work with my deep love of t.v. But I completed the pilot version of my classroom study during the spring semester 2006, I completed the main portion of my classroom study last semester, and I'm including this semester in my classroom study as well -- I figure it's good to have a back-up cache of data.

I am currently trying to get going on my literature review chapter and hope to have some part of a chapter draft done by the end of March. My first posting here coincides with my first actual writing -- I wrote six pages of notes today to get going on that lit review and have just finished reading another article. I'm going to write and read for another hour and a half before heading to dinner. I know it's only notes, and I know it's only 6 pages, but I'm pretty excited to have anything written at all. It's a start.

Good luck to all those reading, writing, thinking, and pacing.

2 comments:

Meagan said...

Hi Ab! I didn't know you were interested in this. Good to have you here.

Billie said...

Hi, Abby, and welcome to DBC! Your work sounds really interesting, and I look forward to hearing/reading more about it. But you are so on point when you write about the juggling we must do to get this work done. The writing is hard, but the juggling is so much harder (IMHO). Welcome aboard!