Dissertation and Postdoc Day, 13 May 2015
The Spring Dissertation and Postdoc Day will take place on 13 May 2015 at Restaurant Claar, Voor Clarenburg 7 in Utrecht.
What previous participants have said about WTMC Dissertation Days:
“This gave me an enormous push with my dissertation.”
‘I liked best the quality and usefulness of the feedback given/received’
‘The senior commentators gave very good comments that were useful for all of us and not just the one person whose chapter was being discussed’
‘Perfect. Good atmosphere, high quality cuisine…’
‘Excellent format. Great reviewers, very useful day, Thanks!’
On Wednesday May 13th, 2015, WTMC will organize a joint Dissertation Day and Postdoc Day. The D-Day is meant for those WTMC members who are in the final phase of their PhD (in other words, who have completed all of the workshops and summer schools. The P-Day is meant for WTMC members who completed their PhD thesis in 2012 or later.
This is your chance, not only to receive comprehensive comments on your own work, but also to read work by your fellow PhD students / postdocs. By carefully reading the work of others in order to give feedback you can learn a lot about writing. At the D-Day we also discuss more general issues around finishing dissertations, and what to do with them once they are done. During the P-Day, there will be ample opportunity to discuss issues such as funding, mobility and the job market.
The idea of both the D-Day and the P-Day is as follows. Each participant sends in a chapter or article (for PhDs, this work has to be part of the PhD manuscript), or a research or book proposal (for postdocs). During the meeting, each participant very briefly introduces her/his work. Two discussants then provide comments – a fellow participant and a senior scholar. The author has an opportunity to respond to these comments before the discussion is opened to everyone. Each paper is discussed for a total of 45-55 minutes.
We are happy to announce that prof. Trudy Dehue will be the senior discussant of the D-Day. Trudy Dehue is a sociologist of science, working as professor of Theory and History of Psychology at the University of Groningen. She holds master’s degrees in psychology and philosophy, and in her PhD thesis she developed a historical perspective on notions of ‘research’ and ‘objectivity’ circulating in psychology. Her book De Depressie-epidemie. Over de Plicht het Lot in Eigen Hand te Nemen [The Epidemic of Depression. On the Duty to Manage One’s Own Destiny], first published in 2008, discusses the changing meaning of the concept of ‘clinical depression’ and the social as well as scientific consequences of these changes. Her latest book Betere Mensen. Over Gezondheid als Keuze en Koopwaar [Better People. On Health as Choice and Commodity] was published in June 2014.
This D-day will be chaired by Bernike Pasveer ([email protected]) and Govert Valkenburg ([email protected]), PhD programme coordinators of WTMC. The P-day will be chaired by Sally Wyatt ([email protected]), Scientific Director of WTMC. Should there be many participants, a WTMC coordinator or an extra discussant may comment on your paper.
The word limit for contributions is 10,000 words. The manuscript must be academic work-in-progress (i.e. not already published). Do not worry if your text is not perfect yet: this is precisely why you want to discuss it in this forum. The draft should be well enough developed so your readers can understand the argument and the material, in order to get more specific and helpful feedback. Make sure your paper includes a short introduction, explaining how the piece fits into your PhD (or postdoc career), which journal you plan to send it to, or any other relevant details to help the reader understand your plans.
Contact Marjatta Kemppainen ([email protected] ) if you wish to register for Dissertation and Post Doc Day.
