‘Dissertation’ has become a dirty word that no one wants to hear – we don’t want you to ask how much we have written or how much reading we’ve done. Don’t mention it. Hence why I’m procrastinating by writing about my dissertation instead of actually writing it. However, I know how daunting it can be when deciding what to write your dissertation on, so here is how I chose my topic.
However, I know how daunting it can be when deciding what to write your dissertation on, so here is how I chose my topic
I personally felt a lot of pressure when deciding what to write my dissertation on as I wanted this to be my best piece of work I produce during my undergraduate degree. I study English Literature, so the wealth of options available really threw me off, but my process of deciding began by reflecting on previous modules that I had encountered. My second-year module ‘Contemporary Cultures’ hugely inspired me – this has been my favourite module throughout my whole degree, so I knew that I needed to start there. My final essay for this module was on the concept of waste in Claudia Rankine’s Citizen and Danez Smith’s ‘dear white America’, from which I received my highest mark in my degree up until this point. From this, I realised that systemic racism and state control within contemporary literature was something that I wanted to pursue further within my dissertation.
From this, I realised that systemic racism and state control within contemporary literature was something that I wanted to pursue further within my dissertation
Because I enjoyed reading Claudia Rankine’s Citizen so much, I spent time researching her other texts and quickly grew to love her earlier book-length poem Don’t Let Me Be Lonely. But then I kind of hit a wall, as I really struggled to find another African American poet that would make a strong comparison. If you get to this point, don’t hesitate to ask your supervisor for recommendations - mine sent me a few suggestions and led to me finding my second text: American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes.
I was still really unsure for a while about whether I had chosen the best texts for my dissertation, and to be honest, I still am a lot of the time. However, I would say try not to question it too much. Sometimes you just need to commit to one thing and see where your ideas take you. As an extremely indecisive person, I just had to bite the bullet and stick with what I had, otherwise I would have risked losing valuable research time.
I've cried, I've procrastinated, and said "I give up" too many times already
I’ve cried, I’ve procrastinated, and said “I give up” too many times already. But there’s only a few months left until it will all be over. My main advice is:
