Englightening adviser talk
Enlightening is a strong word, but is what it feels like when the pieces begin coming together in graduate school, however early in the stage. This is what I had been missing, what I had so strongly in my master’s, but hadn’t yet felt in the Ph.D. There is some necessary self-absorption, inward focus on one’s own process, in graduate school. This is part of the growth. And to some degree (mostly because of working too much, and perhaps the choice of classes), last year I hadn’t gone deeply into what I care about, why I am doing this, and how the ideas I’m learning about are meaningful for me.
Perhaps the most important thing she said was that the next stage of my draft Fulbright proposal that I sent her needs to be connecting some theory, research questions, and data collection methods (i.e., research design). This involves reading a lot, vetting theories, talking with people doing work in the areas, and writing down the ideas. The reading a lot is the first piece I’m going to focus on.
The other thing she said is that if I want to do the comparative, international piece, I need to think long and hard about what that level of analysis lets me look at. What kinds of questions can be answered at the cross-country level around immigration and teaching? Why is the study meaningful at this level? Perhaps the instruction and immigration policy issues are better looked at at the local or country level. And if this is the case, why Spain?
Speaking of the Fulbright, I decided not to apply this year (following what I believe to be the sound advice of my adviser). I will be better prepared to apply next year. But the process of thinking about it and writing down a proposal for my ideas was very generative, and is, I think, helping to get this semester off to a good start.