1/ Hey, #phdchat / #phdlife!
I want to briefly rant about respecting people's research interests. A few years back, before I defended my Ph.D. proposal, I went to Polmeth, a conference political methodology. (Great conference. Great swag!)
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2/ Before one of the sessions started, I struck up a conversation a presenter from earlier in the day. I enjoyed his talk and learned a bit. I told him as much. He asked me about my work. I was "only" a PhD student then, but I knew what I was going to propose for my thesis.
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3/ I told him about it. His response: "That's a blog post not a dissertation." End of conversation.
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4/ He had status in that community; I did not. I figured it was not a good idea to call him a sack of shit, as I'm wont to do. I just stopped talking. He didn't seem to mind.
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5/ It actually fucked with my head for while. Know what doesn't help with
#ImposterSyndrome? Someone implicitly calling your interests and research motivation inadequate.1 reply 0 retweets 8 likesShow this thread -
6/ Removed a few years in time, I can look back with confidence knowing I can do the same work he does. I can contribute to our field. But, had I been in a different point in my life at the time, that type of experience could have pushed me to say, "fuck this, I quit."
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7/ From that experience, it's easy to recognize the basic importance of respecting what people are doing. Even if it's uninteresting to you, it's probably not to them. And, they're putting in work on it, so maybe...don't?
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8/ At a minimum, maybe STFU? Better yet, be supportive and encouraging! (I remember also vividly remember
@MrMeritology telling something like, "good job, that was really cool" on a class project that had me beaming. That stuff accumulates too, but positively.)2 replies 0 retweets 8 likesShow this thread -
9/ But, don't be a dick and do be supportive is only a half the lesson. It also made me realize that my encounter with "that's a blog post not a dissertation"-guy was atypical in that it was an *infrequent* experience. Women experience that shit incessantly.
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Replying to @generativist
I am so glad you didn't quit. I think sometimes professor rivalries trickles down to their students leading to unnecessary comments. I have also been told - "oh you have a new born, then you aren't really that serious" or " it is going to take a long time".
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Thanks! And, wow — that’s especially shit!
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