Dear. Dear, oh dear, oh dear oh dear oh dear. I seem to be saying that a lot recently, which means either the world has become more sigh-inducing, or I am becoming more world-weary. It's probably the latter - I'm aware that I'm one of those who are undoubtedly 'old before their time'. As a toddler I was probably 'One of those children who seem born old', as I think Cyril Connolly once described his schoolchum Eric Arthur Blair. But sometimes I just feel like chucking my hands up in the air and saying, 'Oh, for Crumbs' sake!' And it's all because I made the decision to appear on the telly, innit.
When I appeared on University Challenge a couple of months ago, I had, of course, to introduce myself. This has been described as the most nerve-wracking part of the whole experience - and you have only to watch the programme, week upon week, to see the stumbling students and bungled introductions, as they fumble and bumble and other rhyming 'umble' words while trying to introduce themselves, 'so very 'umbly'. 'I'm Bob, I'm from Walton-on-the-Naze, and I'm studying - er - um - History.' (To take a fictional example.) When I heard I was going to appear on the programme, like all contestants, I had the minor but nonetheless necessary step to take of deciding what to say when the camera first panned across to me. How was I to summarise my studies, my PhD that works in the disciplines of literature, criticism, psychology, psychoanalysis, and history, in just a few words? I had to cut a few corners. So I announced that I was reading for 'a PhD in weird fiction.' Not a bad summary, but of course all introductions by PhD students appearing on the programme are perforce going to be a little short on detail. Because it's not like studying English, or History, or Advanced Woodwork, or Elementary Dressmaking, or any other degree subject; after all, if it were, what would be the point of doing it? A PhD is necessarily a narrowing down of a field of inquiry - in my case, English - and a detailed and thorough examination of a specific area of that field, in order (at least in theory) to throw out new ideas for future research. A number of people who wrote about Loughborough's appearance on University Challenge - the university's first such appearance in twenty-five years - evidently never learned that's what a PhD is. Christ, if that's journalism, then it's really gone to the - but no, I must resist the urge to generalise about a whole discipline just because of a few individuals.
So, what is 'a PhD in weird fiction'? Well, I hope I've amply defined what the term 'PhD' generally means (albeit in a very crude way), and you need go no further than Wikipedia for one fair definition of what 'weird fiction' is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weird_fiction. Or you could even be so kind and benevolently charitable as to buy my book, The Curtained Room, when it is finally published. But, please - next time Loughborough (and I) appear on the programme, do these things before turning your nose up at something you've not even bothered to understand.
Right, rant over. Bile settling. Time for a drink and a thumb through a few volumes of M. P. Shiel ...
Any study of Weird Fiction is a wonderful thing. A.S. Byatt's 'The Children's Book' is up for the Booker. Weird Fiction is almost a way of life, a religion, a raison d'etre for humanity? Final perspectives are the best perspectives -
ReplyDeleteHi, just found your blog. I'm on the Manchester Uni Challenge team, our match was on the week before yours. I was really impressed with your performance, especially as UCL seemed like quite a formidable team to beat too! I totally understand your annoyance with the way people derided your description of your course. There's definitely not enough time when introducing yourself to go into a lengthy explanation of what exactly your PHD entails and, anyway, it's not your fault if people don't know what weird fiction is. I bet most people don't know what microbiology involves but they don't sneer at it if they hear someone introduce themselves as doing a PHD in it. I really think the arts get less respect in this medium than sciences for some reason. I had the same problem when deciding how to introduce my PHD. I'm writing on the development of DIY music in the UK and USA over the last thirty years, but if I tried to explain that in a couple of words then I'm sure people would have ridiculed it so I just had to say I was doing a PHD in English and American studies which is strictly accurate but doesn't really cover what my PHD's about.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, very much looking forward to your second round appearance and ignore the haters!
Best wishes,
Rachael Neiman
Hi Rachael,
ReplyDeleteAh yes, I remember watching your match! It was a good one, and I thought you did really well - I especially remember the picture bonuses you had on those Latin renderings of colloquial phrases. (I got 'Love conquers all' as well, but after that I was shamefully floundering! I remember uttering an enthusiastic 'Nice!' when you got 'head in the clouds'.) I think you're absolutely right about the arts coming in for more stick than the sciences, which people tend to gloss over without comment: some people still view literature and music and other arts subjects as not 'proper' subjects, perhaps because to them they don't appear to have as much immediate 'usefulness' as, say, microbiology. I was probably whinging on a bit about it all - I didn't really mind the comments about weird fiction too much I suppose, otherwise I wouldn't have introduced myself thus. But I was surprised at how much (relative) attention my subject of study attracted, and I think it does raise an interesting question about how people who watch the programme view arts students.
And... DIY music in the UK and USA? That sounds highly intriguing - indeed, wonder what the weird-fiction-bashers would have made of it if you had introduced your PhD thus! Talking of which (kind of), I think it's about time UC had a music round on Factory Records or Postcard or some other small record label: it seems suitably niche/specialist, and so perfect for UC. Who knows? Maybe one will appear in the future stages of the competition?
And talking of that, I look forward to watching your second-round match too. Ours is on 16 November. I wish you luck in yours (I know that sounds oddly retroactive since you've already filmed it), and good luck with the PhD too. And yes - here's to ignoring the haters!
Very best wishes,
Oli
Hi, ok, I'm still here, I'll just leave one more comment if I may! Yes, I agree, maybe it is harder to see an immediate use for arts subjects. My Phd is now officially only dealing with DIY music since 1995 after I decided that there was enough written about punk, post-punk, riot grrrl, etc. and my desire to write extensively about C86 would have to be left aside as I'm more interested in writing about the last 15 years, my supervisors also think it's better to focus on a shorter time period, this one of the joys of post-grad study I suppose, you never know where you're going next! At the moment I'm enmeshed in the Slampt/Kenickie controversy, trying to cut my mammoth chapter on Norwichcore down, trying to write about Welsh DIY while not speaking a word of Welsh, the grand cutecore/cuddlecore/tweecore debate and such weighty issues as where the success of Los Campesinos! leaves the state of contemporary DIY music and whetherDIY and making a profit are mutually exclusive, all really important issues! I suppose there has to be a stage where I accept that there are going to be people who don't get what I'm doing and can't see any point in it (I understand that, I really do) but nobody said academic study had to be universally appealing! I do feel a bit silly when I explain my PHD as it does sound pretty trivial compared to everyone else's topics!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, sorry to ramble, hope your PHD's going well! Thanks for the comment about our match, I did GCSE Latin but don't remember much, I was happy with 'head in the clouds' too, but not so happy about getting that Katie Melua question, my friends won't let me forget about that!
Yeah, it'd be nice to have had a Rough Trade music round, we can dream! Actually, before I dropped all the 80s stuff, I was trying to decide whether or not RT, Postcard, Factory were ever really DIY and if so if they remained DIY and if not when they stopped being DIY, luckily I can probably shelve this now as they're before my period of study! The 'selling out' debate is the bane of my academic life since everyone seems to define it differently, I actually run a little label called Cherryade, and we often get praised for being DIY and not 'selling out', though to be fair we've never had the chance to so it's hardly a moral stance, ah well, maybe another couple of years research will straighten this out!
Best wishes,
Rachael.
Another superbly interesting comment to my blog - thanks Rachael! Good point about DIY music and making a profit, and whether they're mutually exclusive. I'd like to think they're not, but as the expert you might see a pattern emerging in favour of it. You're also right about PhD subjects not having to be universally appealing. I suppose they have a tradition of being almost wilfully niche and recondite, because they're supposed to 'add something new to the field of research' and what have you. I noticed there were a few comments on Twitter about my PhD subject again this time around, though fewer than last time, suggesting the UC audience's shocked furore has died down a bit over the last few months. Or maybe they've got slightly more used to Loughborough appearing on the show after last time, I don't know!
ReplyDeleteAnd can I just conclude by saying WOW, you run your own record label? That's fantastic! I hope you never do sell out - but I hope you have the chance to, so you can make that moral stance! A bit like the legend of Tony Wilson in 24 Hour Party People, where he said he wouldn't sell out because he had nothing to sell out with (whereas I understand what happened in reality was slightly less heroic!).
I wish you luck with your PhD, it sounds fascinating - I myself had to scale mine down a while ago, so that I'm now working roughly on the period of 1882 to 1914, where I originally was working on something like 1830-1945. There's something to be said for scaling down a vast wilderness into a little allotment, where you can know every plant, vegetable, and blade of grass growing on it. (I'm still counting my blades of grass at present, though!)