First – and last (!) Annual Review

I have just had my first Annual Review in the new format with Dr Juup Stelma in the hot seat as independent reviewer, and found it an overwhelmingly positive and thought-provoking process. I was honest about the issues with which I am struggling and the tensions between the framework in which I am working – feminist relational ethics – and the demands of the thesis genre. Juup’s questions were precise and insightful and I ‘stumbled’ several times during the meeting when I failed to articulate my thoughts and actions with clarity. As Eljee noted in her blog entry on her AR, understanding the question you are being asked is key, as is recognising when you are being ‘fed’ questions to help you elaborate your argument or stance. These are things that I will need to work on before my viva, and probably before my mock!

It is a real (and rare) privilege to have the chance to explain your research in depth and at length to such an interested ‘outsider’, and to have to answer questions that have never been posed before. As a result of the discussion I now have a clear vision of what I want to achieve/how I want to organise my final conclusions and contributions chapter, a vision which had hitherto eluded me, and Juup also echoed Richard and Julian’s concerns about clarity of signposting and ‘showing the workings’  in my text.  I left the meeting with a clear idea of the work remaining to be done to make my thesis ‘examinable’ and feeling positive about doing it!

Thank you Juup, Richard and Julian 🙂