Postgrad UK 2008/2009 - (Page 45) www.prospects.ac.uk/PostgradUK Arts and Humanities 45 SETTLING IN The School of English was very Capital of culture Jonathan Olson is studying a PhD at the School of English, University of Liverpool. He explains why he left his native LA for life in the UK. I grew up in Los Angeles where I attended the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University and undertook a ‘Great Books’-style undergraduate programme popular in North America. Liberal arts degrees necessarily privilege breadth over depth, so as an undergrad I kept making mental bookmarks (and often literal ones) in texts I wanted to return to in the future, when I had the time to give them their due attention. Postgraduate study seemed like the rare chance in life to devote a few years exclusively to a topic with minimal distraction. In my case that topic was Milton’s Paradise Lost and the Restoration book trade. So after graduation, I spent a year teaching 9th-grade English (the equivalent of Year 9 or 10) while applying for postgraduate study in English literature. Literature MAs in the States are usually two-year degrees and quite broad in scope, kind of like glorified undergraduate courses. Having just finished four years of coursework for my BA (the traditional duration in the US), I was looking for something more relevant to my specific research interests and was attracted to the UK model of the single-year MA in a limited topic. Furthermore, American PhDs begin with another couple years of doctoral coursework and qualifying exams before commencing principle research for the thesis, which can last several more years. But I already had a particular research project in mind and wanted to get on with it as quickly as possible, so the British model of a three-year period dedicated to researching and writing the thesis seemed ideal. READING UP At the time I didn’t know that www.jobs.ac.uk also lists openings and studentships for postgrads, so all of my information came from browsing university websites and the advice of professors who had studied in the UK. Eventually I decided to attend the University of Birmingham for their Text and Book MA to get some training in bibliographical analysis, 17th-century printing methods, and editorial theory and practice. So I moved to the UK after my 24th birthday and it proved a good decision, the course gave me exactly the background necessary to pursue my PhD research. Towards the end of the Masters course I found out that the University of Liverpool was offering a new Doctoral Studentship in English Book History and Editorial Theory under the supervision of Professor Marcus Walsh. I applied with my research proposal and after visiting Liverpool and a couple of interviews I could tell I would enjoy living here for the next three years or so. Having grown up in a port town, I felt instantly at home and appreciated the variety of museums, art galleries, and theatres all within a square mile. Three years later I’m sure I made the right decision. welcoming, especially Cathy Rees in the school office and Dr Jill Rudd who, as the convener of the first module I taught on, was a patient resource as I familiarised myself with the British styles of teaching and marking. In my second year I enjoyed playing for the University of Liverpool Men’s Basketball Club, which at 26 years old I would have been ineligible to do at any American university. Funding from the University of Liverpool was the primary incentive to come here, but for living expenses I still needed supplementary loans from the US. Unfortunately the dollar/pound exchange rate has not been in my favour! The promise of part-time teaching was also important to me, and for the first two years of my PhD I taught about three tutorials a week on first and second-year literature modules. It may not sound like much work but the preparation and marking definitely add up, so I opted out of tutoring during my third year in order to focus on the completion of my thesis. I anticipate submission at the end of the summer, and this autumn I’ll begin applying for teaching jobs in both the UK and US for next autumn, while I spend the year focusing on publications to improve my CV. My favourite thing about the academic network in the UK is the relative proximity of so many research institutions. Instead of having to fly around the United States just to give a presentation, a UK conference is never very far away since England and Scotland combined are about the size of California. Perhaps the best thing about being a postgrad student is determining your daily schedule. My peak alertness occurs between 10pm and 4am, which makes for odd hours, but being a full-time student without lectures to attend in the morning allows you to work whenever you work the best. But the absence of accountability provided by other jobs means selfmotivation is imperative for success. http://www.prospects.ac.uk/PostgradUK http://www.jobs.ac.uk
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