Further information regarding Interzones

Pursuant to the previous post, herewith further information on the Mundus Interzones Doctoral program. The following text is drawn from the general presentation of the program.

Cultural Studies in Literary Interzones

The purpose of INTERZONES is to prepare gifted doctoral students to become the "global academics" which top universities seek out in the fields of European comparative literatures and cultural studies, or high-flying consultants in private business sectors interested in global cultural phenomena.

By investigating culture with innovative and transcultural methods, global professors are no longer ‘outside’ the socio-economic world, but participants in a social texture that includes complexity. At Kalin’s, for instance, a tavern where a yellow line is painted on the floor to delineate the frontier between Slovenia and Croatia, how does Europe exist? Kalin is also part of a bigger venue, full of life, both a cultural space and an interzone.

Whether imperialist, colonialist or, on the contrary, shrivelling as a result of its morbid fascination with the Void, Europe is often defined only in terms of its limits and contours. The conceptual tools (such as identity, otherness, difference, colonization, entropy, etc.) with which artistic and literary productions are analyzed have tended to reproduce, or even to produce, a pre-existing idea of what it might mean to have (or not have) a nation, an ethnicity, a personality, a “Europe”. The failure to nourish and galvanize what could have been a renewal of the Republic of Letters may stem from a simple fact: such tools have simply become obsolete. Cultural studies can be a vital and elegant means not only of conceptualizing communication beyond the automatisms of common conceptualizations, but also as a means to ask HOW communication within and beyond various entities such as personality, ethnicity, and nation… can be renewed and reinvented.

The languages of tuition are French and English. A minimum of 3 European languages is required from the candidates to make them truly competitive in the field of comparative literature and visual culture. Language facilities will be made available to students in each university, at no extra cost.

Student mobility during the 6 consecutive semesters will include 3 or 4 universities, whereby European students will study in AT LEAST one non-European institution.

1) All students go to Bergamo for the first semester to discover the latest theoretical approaches in "Cultural Migrations".

2) Students opt for two main degree-awarding institutions out of the five partners: Tübingen, Bergamo, Perpignan and either Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil or Jawarhal Neru University, India, in which they will spend two consecutive semesters in each: 2 & 3 and then 5 & 6.

3) Depending on the research profile, semester 4 will be spent in one of the other partner institutions, be it a third or fourth partner or one of our associate members: Aix, Barcelona, Brown, Buenos Aires, Cracaw, Mexico, Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle 3, Paris 10, Sydney, St Petersburg or Zürich.
(Names of universities are indicative, as in each case it is specialized research centres, described elsewhere, that welcome students to carry out their research). Out of 180 ECTS credits, 120 are devoted to the PhD thesis itself, and 60 are gained through a choice of multi-task activities aimed at enhancing the employability of future global academics.

Successful PhD students will then be awarded a fully-recognized double degree from their two main institutions, in addition to diploma supplements certifying their achievements in their 3rd / 4th doctoral school(s).

The main area of the program is Comparative Literature with a second and third area of expertise in Visual Culture and Cultural Anthropology. Furthermore it should be noted that fees will be significantly lower than for the Mundus Crossways Master program, being €2400 per annum for EU students and €3600 per annum for Third Country students.

Finally, while Prof Girard will be moving to Strasbourg, (see previous post) his contact details nevertheless remain the same.

Cultural Studies in Literary Interzones

It is my pleasure to announce the formation of Cultural Studies in Literary Interzones, a doctoral program whose purose “is to prepare gifted doctoral students to become the ‘global academics’ which top universities seek out in the fields of European comparative literatures and cultural studies, or high-flying consultants in private business sectors interested in global cultural phenomena”.

As many of you know Prof Dider Girard has been hard at work applying for this grant and I would like to congratulate both him and his team on the sterling effort that enabled them to be the only program selected in the field of humanities, among over 150 applications and 13 awards (the other doctoral programs that were awarded grants include 7 scientific programs, 3 envorinmental science programs and 1 program each in the social sciences and in economics).

Further good news is that the program is set to begin in September of 2010, with 16 doctoral positions who will take up their studies in a even wider variety of universities stretching from India, to Brazil, including universities across Europe. Like the Mundus program the Interzones will award multiple degrees, with students receiving a doctorate from each of their two principal universities, which are selected from a group of five international institutions, including the University of Bergamo in Italy, the Jawaharlal Nehru University in India, the University of Perpignan in France, the Fluminese Federal University in Brazil and the Eberhardkarl University of Tübingen, Germany. The program is structured such that doctoral students being with a semester in Bergamo followed by a year in one of their principal universities, they then proceed to a 4^th university which is selected from a list of partner institutions including the University of Provence Aix-Marseille 1 in France the Hermeneia Group – University of Barcelona in Spain, the Graduate School of Brown University in the USA, the Entre Rios National University in Argentina, the Jagiellonian University in Cracaw Poland, the Iberoamerican University in Mexico, the New Sorbonne University – Paris 3 and the Western University – Paris 10 in France, the European University of Petersburg in Russia, the University of Sydney in Australia and the University of Zurich in Switzerland. It is easily apparent that this is a very exciting program and I will be posting more details about it in the coming days.

Finally, Professor Girard will be leaving Perpignan for Strasbourg at the end of September, he will however remain the coordinator of the Mundus program for the first few months of the new academic year to ensure a smooth transition to the new coordinator. Prof Girard will be working with the Doctoral program and thereby remain closely in touch with the Mundus Masters Program. I’m sure I speak for all when I wish him every success in his new ventures.

Dissertation-writing Tips

by Poonam Ganglani

Dealing with Common Dissertation Difficulties

I’ve put together a few pointers that might help some of you deal with the dissertation if it’s still ahead, based my own experience of dissertationing this last semester. Many of the ideas here are just my opinions on the research process. They may or may not be useful, depending on the methods of study that personally work best for you, and of course the subject of your dissertation. A theory of a co-Mundus dissertationer is that we’re either better as marathoners or sprinters when it comes to the dissertation. I’d say these tips are more along the lines of the marathon method, but they might contain some helpful ideas in general!

1. Confronting the Dissertation
A common problem is the tendency to think of the dissertation as a mammoth task looming closer, making it difficult to even confront it and start organizing for it. A co-Mundus dissertationer and I came up with a solution that greatly helped us throughout the whole process: first things first, demystify the dissertation. The words ‘FINAL DISSERTATION’ are drilled into our heads from day one, perhaps making it seem more threatening than it really is. I was able to start concrete work on my dissertation the minute I decided to perceive it in the same way that I think of a dossier. Think of each chapter as an essay that you need to hand in for one of your courses, and plan your draft accordingly. It might help crossing the most basic barrier of dissertation-dread.

2. How Much Reading?
It’s difficult to decide how much to read, since there’s always more to be learned about the subject. At the same time, it could be dangerous to go on reading indefinitely and without planning — firstly, because you might end up with a more horizontal rather than a vertical knowledge about your subject; and secondly, because you might have less time than you need for the writing process later on, which could become very stressful. I was overwhelmed by the amount of reading I had to do and so developed a plan of action: I organized my reading list by order of importance, and then gave myself a deadline to complete the reading for each chapter. I almost never finished the planned reading by the deadline, but put it aside anyway to begin the writing. This really helped, and gave me better direction while doing intermittent readings later on.

3. Getting Started with the Writing Process
Okay, so you’ve done all the reading, you’re in front of your computer or with pen and paper in hand, ready to start writing…and your mind draws a blank. Sound familiar? Don’t worry if it does, I think this happens to almost everyone at some point. I spent hours sometimes, staring at blank MS Word pages, or coming up with one paragraph at the end of a whole day (and then re-writing it the next). I finally realized what the problem was: the flow of my thoughts was being disrupted by my attempt to simultaneously structure them on paper. It might help to set structure aside when you’re before the screen or paper for the first time. Just pen down whatever your initial thoughts are about the subject, even if it’s haphazard and without any academic form — this will help just getting the ideas out. You can then approach the same text, refine it, and structure your ideas more academically.


4. Thematic or Methodological Framework?
When writing, you usually have a rough skeletal framework in mind around which you structure other thoughts and ideas. Some tend to use the methodology as the larger framework, and then try and fit in the theme of study into the theory. Sometimes however, it might help to try things the other way around: approach your theme of study directly, without being hindered by the need to fit it all within a theoretical framework. Once you have your core ideas down, it will be easier to integrate the theoretical notions where appropriate.

5. The Introduction
As a basic guide, you could try and answer four questions in your introduction: 1.What is the broader context in which the research is based? 2. What theme in particular will the research investigate and what is your objective in undertaking this study? (You could also mention what the research does not aim to pursue, i.e., delimit your objectives). 3. From which methodological perspective will this be considered? 4. And finally, how will the study be organized/divided throughout the dissertation? You could also use the introduction to discuss the research process, particularly if you have some personal thoughts to express about the challenges faced during your research experience. Also, it might help to re-write or refine your introduction once you’ve completed the other chapters, since by then you’d have a more global perspective of your own work.

6. Creative Writing and Thinking
The foremost objective of writing a dissertation is of course, to express your ideas clearly and crisply. However, apart from being a scholarly work, the dissertation is also a piece of aesthetic writing. I liked to think of my dissertation as a challenge in creative writing in addition to its academic dimension (This is just my opinion, and I know that many students feel otherwise). It might help to maintain a vocabulary list. I regularly noted down interesting words and phrases that randomly came to mind over the two years, and integrated some of them into my work, which really helped enhance my writing style.
To get some creative ideas flowing, it sometimes helps to think aloud, either to yourself or to your friends. Exchanging ideas with a colleague during a general conversation could help give you perspectives that you never considered earlier— some that the other person expresses, and others that you spontaneously come up with when talking aloud.

7. Cite, Don’t Cite, or Stereotype?
I am quoting this directly from some writing tips provided by one of my professors in Sheffield. This was of huge help in helping decide whether or not to cite a certain piece of information:
‘When you present a fact or statement, decide whether you need to cite it or not, and whether or not it’s a stereotype. Cite ALL quotes (from the text that you are writing about, as well as from secondary sources. If you present a fact that you didn’t know before reading it in a book, cite it (even if you aren’t quoting anything directly).

Examples-
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was partly inspired by a clipping from a small-town newspaper in Mississippi.” CITE
“Brick, one of the central characters in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, is an alcoholic.” DON’T CITE [However, it’s wise to cite information that is mentioned only once or twice in the text. For example, it might be worth citing a page number for the information that Brick missed his football team’s Thanksgiving game because of a spinal injury (Act 1, p. 43).]
“Modern theatre audiences are much harder to shock than Elizabethan audiences were.” Stereotype’

8. Some Useful Links and Books

- For guidelines on research ethics:
http://www.shef.ac.uk/researchoffice/gov_ethics_grp/ethics

- For laws of copyright: (I thought this link was helpful, although there may be many better ones)
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/

- For Research Methods:
‘The Research Student’s Guide to Success’ by Pat Cryer, Open University Press, 1996.