North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership
OIV Blog – French Institute of Pondicherry
Charlotte Evans, Economic & Social History, Lancaster University ( 2020 Cohort)
It was around 5 AM local time when I stepped out of Chennai International Airport, bombarded by taxi drivers asking where they could take me. I searched the crowd for my name on a placard as the sun rose above the city. Here I was, in the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. I blinked and exhaled, the chaos and noise of the city waking up around me. After beginning my 1+3 PhD studentship during the pandemic and not even being able to visit my CASE partner: the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh for the first few months of my studies, this trip had always felt very far away.
Read MoreConferencing in Atlanta, GA
Peter Duncan, Criminology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of Manchester (2020 Cohort)
A few weeks ago I attended the American Society of Criminology Conference in Atlanta, GA. This was an exciting opportunity for me to present my research into illicit tax minimisation in UK football (or – as I edited my presentation to read – ‘soccer’) to a predominantly US-based audience, in the homeland of white-collar crime research.
Unlike when I travelled with five other PhD students and numerous academic colleagues to Málaga for the European Society of Criminology Conference in September, this time I was travelling with just two other members of The University of Manchester’s Department of Criminology: my supervisor Professor Nicholas Lord and Dr David Buil-Gil. This meant I had to push myself to meet others; an endeavour which is sometimes outside my comfort zone but was ultimately beneficial as I successfully ‘networked’ with a range of scholars in my research area. I feel I have now sown the seeds of productive working relationships both with up-and-coming and more experienced and established colleagues.
Despite always being a nerve-wracking experience, my panel presentation went well (though the attendance might have been affected by the eye-wateringly early start of 8am). I prefer to get presentations out of the way early on so I can enjoy the rest of the day! It’s always comforting when people you present to smile and nod enthusiastically, especially when compared to the alternative ‘puzzled frown’. I had a bit of both…
Conferences in the USA are not like conferences in the UK. If you’re thinking ‘gargantuan corporate hotels’ instead of ‘labyrinthine university departments’, then you’re about there. I’m glad I didn’t show up on Day 1 in shorts, as I did in Málaga (on Days 2 and 3 too), as I would have been even more out of place in the US than I was in Spain; see below a picture of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis’ atrium:
In my conference downtime I had a chance to explore Atlanta’s downtown a bit, which wasn’t quite as exotic as it might sound. I did however get to go to my first NBA game: Atlanta Hawks vs Boston Celtics. It was US sports flamboyance at its most quintessential: flashing lights, cheerleaders, t-shirt cannons, $15 cans of beer (glad that wasn’t my round), and a half-time performance from trap artist Jeezy. Unfortunately, the game was not close; the Hawks could not match the Celtic’s accuracy from outside the D.
Other than the NBA, I sampled the regions local craft beer; a dangerous activity to undertake recklessly – as I realised the next morning – when I found out the pints I had been ordering were 7.5%… Another night brought Southern BBQ fare and Prohibition-era cocktails and cigars in a speakeasy accessed through a red phone booth (if you know the right number to call!). Sadly, I didn’t have time to go the Georgia Aquarium – apparently the biggest in the world with a football (‘soccer’) pitch-sized tank containing (amongst other things) two juvenile whale sharks. One to visit next time, perhaps.
Sadly now my NWSSDTP conference budget is blown… unless, that is, I get some reimbursement for writing this blog? I hope so, because a friend has just showed me the venue for next year’s European Society of Criminology Conference in Florence… Sorry Peter we wish we could !!
Joint AHRC/ESRC Impact Event
Sharon Cooksey, Business & Management, University of Liverpool (2022 cohort)
I’m Sharon, a veterinary surgeon by profession, and I’m just starting my second year of a 4-year PhD at Liverpool University in the Management School. I joined the NWSSDTP Impact Event on 9th November 2022 thinking that it might help me work on this area of my PhD, but I had little idea what to expect.
Read MoreBending Boundaries Podcast: PhDs that move beyond the rules of academia
…with Seren Thomas, Meghan Grant & Ebru Calin
Listen to the latest podcasts here!
Join Seren, Ebru and Meghan as they discuss their experiences of doing their PhDs, as people who are part of groups who often aren’t seen, heard and celebrated in academia. With monthly guests, they encourage visibility, and acceptance of the intersectional layers of our identities within academic research and the PhD process.
By amplifying the voices of minorities that have been rendered silent, “Bending Boundaries” sheds light on the heteronormative, gendered and racialized notions of membership, belonging and recognition in universities which are deeply entrenched in the operation of admission processes, scholarships, graduate departments, and professional organizations.
“Bending Boundaries” aims to break the silence around the history of structural racism, ableism and heteronormativity upon which universities are built globally as well as compensate for a lack of education on equality, diversity, and inclusion in academia. Moving beyond normative assumptions around the concept of “Academic Citizenship” – meaning the socially constructed boundaries of what is assumed to be the ‘ideal’ student affecting who gets admitted, who and what gets funded, who and what gets published where, Seren, Meghan, and Ebru create a space for activism, and self-discovery through conversations that encourage equity and more diverse representation in doctoral education.
North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership 