u/MadamdeSade

I passed my Masters in 2023 and since then I have not prepared my research proposal for my doctoral project. I have an idea, I ruminate on it for a month, I move onto a shiny new thing. I had written a small article for an online journal, it got accepted and I was supposed to submit the corrected version in March and its October now. All my life has been this. Can anyone know how to actually start doing things AND KEEP ON DOING THEM? I feel cursed.

Thank you.

PS- I cannot afford therapy or doctor visits as I am unemployed

I am a student of Literature interested in the philosophy of 'Becoming.' I am reading Becoming Animal by Deleuze and I found that Becoming was also a key concept of Whitehead. I would be very grateful for a brief distinction between thr two and also the distinction between phenomenology and ontology and Becoming falls in which of which? Also did Bergson, Marleau ponty write about it as well? And some recent scholarship on the field. Thank you.

Maybe this is a stupid question to ask and before anyone points it out, I am researching everyday. I wish to apply to a PhD in Literature this year, however, how to narrow down schools to apply to if my interests are as broad as modernism/twentieth century? Almost every school has faculty for this. There isn't a particular scholar whose work I especially love.

I have an issue with pressure and it has severely impacted my life negatively. I read a lot here about time-blindedness but for me, I perceive time like a hawk. If anything I am aware of each and every passing second especially if I have an assignment to submit or a deadline for a project. And then I dont do it. I simply watch the opportunity slip out of my hands. Everytime. I am tired. I have no idea what this is. I simply cannot just start. If anyone has any advice, I would be genuinely grateful. Thank you.

Has anyone chosen a PhD topic on whim? I had made a post earlier about how I am interested in multiple unrelated things in my discipline. I have been hopping and skipping from topic to topic for quite some time now. I was thinking of just selecting a topic at random. Has anyone done this? For people who will ask, why would I even want to do a Phd if i am not extremely passionate about research, I am extremely passionate but just not about one thing.

Is there a literary theory or school of thought that analyses an author as a literary nodal point? As in let's say, an author is a literary critic, a translator, an anthologist, an editor and more. Is there a way that the complete oeuvre of such an author can be studied? Not a part, as in Pound as editor, but all this in tandem. Would be very glad for an academic monograph that deals with something like this. Thank you.

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How do you maintain sustained interest in one particular subject? For me, Interest is not an arbitrary thing that I have for one thing and not the other, I have realized I can develop interest in anything if I read 5 papers on it. The problem with this is I never move deep enough in anything because I get distracted by the new shiny nugget of knowledge that I have found, abandoning the previous pursuit. Inevitably, I never write anything on anything either. I am not yet in a PhD programme and wish to apply this year. I was wondering if there was a way to overcome this or should I not pursue research altogether. Thank you.

PS- And no, this doesn't mean that my interest/passion is not deep enough or I haven't found the thing for me. Trust me, I don't work that way, I have tried.

Hi, I have a question regarding the transition from 19th to 20th century literature. Something I have noticed is that the Victorian period abounded in working class writers. Some of the big names were working class (Hardy, Dickens) and working class poetry boomed. However, almost all the 20th century big names are from the middle class or the upper echelons of society (Eliot, Woolf, Joyce, etc.) I might absolutely be painting broad, generalized strokes and would love to read any academic research that tries to make sense of this question. Thank you.

I 25F, weight 80kgs, have pain in my left knee for some time now. The pain was severe a few days back. Its still there, especially when I bend it or do my daily squats. The doctor did an XRay and found nothing. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hello, I am new to perfumes and have never owned a perfume before, only some fragrance oils. I would love a perfume recommendation that smells like unwashed dirty hair, sweat, tunerose, period blood, sex, spices(optional). Absolutely no vanilla or sweet notes. Thank you all in advance.

How many people do you get sexually attracted to only a daily/weekly basis? I don't care if you act upon it or don't. How many and how long does it take? I am trying to understand something about myself. Thank you. Edit- I also don't mean libido. Not libido. Not preferences. Just sexual attraction.

I (25F) have never really been into fashion or makeup growing up. Neither in school nor in college. No reason that I can think of really. I suppose, I bypassed it altogether. Anyway, recently we had a wedding in the extended family and my mother begged me to "act like a grownup for once." So, I committed to the bit.

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I bought hair and makeup products and practiced hard for about 9 days. On the day, it took me nearly 3 hours to get ready. I did the whole thing from top to bottom. It was like solving a puzzle and brought me great satisfaction when the final piece was solved and the look was finally complete. Then, I went about my day. At about 2am, all of us retired to bed. It took me 17 minutes to get everything off.

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Hence, my question. To people who dress up regularly, what difference do you feel? Or rather why do you do it? I have asked my mother and even she could not give me an answer. Just said, it's something that you just do. I did not feel anything different? Only this, my gait was awkward because of the heavy attire. Apart from that, it was just me, in a very heavy saree.

Hello, I have recently developed an extreme fascination with Book History. I am reading everything i can find on it. I want to write a paper on the book history of a particular text. My question was how do people go about researching this field? I have never done archival research before so I have no clue. Thank you.

What are the most recent advancements in scholarship of the 'Author' and the ideas of 'Authorship'? Also is this field post-structuralism? I have read the seminal essays- Barthes' 'Death of an Author' and Foucault's 'What is an Author?'. I would be very thankful for recommendations of academic monographs or studies on the idea of Authorship itself.

Has anyone had the experience where they are passionate about multiple, varied things and fields? If yes, how do you decide on the one project? My Masters professors have told me to just pick anything I am passionate about but I am passionate about many things, if fact, the more I read, the more fun everything gets. For people who have/had this problem, how did you decide which to zero in on? Thank you.

I am hoping to apply to US universities for a PhD in English Literature this year. I wanted to ask about the qualifying exam. They dont have it in my country. For people who experienced that, how does it go? Do people fail Literature quals? What is the expectation?

Thank you.

This will be a very strange question, admittedly. But I have been writing my first paper to submit to an academic journal. I am working independently so I dont have any professor to ask for help. My question is, when writing literary scholarship, do you ever feel like you are straight up writing whatever? I feel like I am just bullshitting, sorry for the language. How do you make your argument and the content actually academically rigorous? And this is not about the fancy language, but the actual material. Thanks.

Hello, I am looking for critical theory on Failure. Can be from any philosopher or theorist. Would mostly help if it was failure from an existential or ontological perspective. Thank you.

Are there any PhD candidates or graduates here, especially those who have managed to secure positions abroad with scholarship? I am a Humanities student and preparing for my proposal. I would be grateful for any advice on the same. Thank you.