Diss Diaries: Ranking all of my Dissertations

Now, I might not be the most qualified person to talk about dissertations, but I’m certainly up there: as part of my undergraduate in Philosophy we did a dissertation in each year (insane) and then for my MA I wrote another. So, in total, I’ve written 4 dissertations, which feels wild to write down. I’m going to rank my dissertations based on how good they were, how hard they were to write and how much I enjoyed them overall.

Starting with the worst, we have my first year dissertation. Let’s be real, it was always going to lose because who expects an 18/19 year old to write something of 3rd year quality? It was about superstition and how we try to retain control over our lives in a time of capitalist realism (Mark Fisher, I miss you).

In third place is my MA dissertation, because even though I scored well and it’s a topic I’m extremely passionate about (children in museums and galleries), it was so stressful to write, partly because I was working 9-5 as SU President, and writing my dissertation 5-9 after work. Quite simply, it was hell and I don’t recommend it!

In second place is my third year dissertation. It was about Hozier, love and the limits of speech and language. She was incredibly high concept and I did not execute her well enough, and that haunts me to this day.

The winner, without a doubt, is my second year dissertation - it was about Surrealist women and the concept of the muse and I loved it so much I’m literally getting a tattoo based on one of the artists I talked about. I also did the best in it, which helps.

For those of you going through the depths of dissertation season, remember that there is an end, and in a year’s time you can be reflecting fondly on what it was like, instead of crying into your lunch at the Phillip Robinson. We’ve all been there, but I promise it’ll be over faster than you can say ‘methodology’.