Tag Archives: thesis

Condensed milk cures homesickness amongst British ex-pats (Rousse)

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Dreamaticus

Whoever thought that I was qualified to examine a PhD in Latin on the French Enlightenment needed their head examining. Four of us gathered for the viva around a table in an over-heated room at the end of a long … Continue reading →

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Doctor doctor, where did the PhD graduate sign on? (Rousse)

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Dreamaticus

The good news was that I passed my second PhD. I proudly boasted that I had beaten VE to the title of “Doctor Doctor”. However, I still needed to find a job, and in the meantime decide whether I would … Continue reading →

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Another PhD and the police (Rousse)

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Dreamaticus

I successfully defended my second doctoral thesis so it was now entirely legitimate for me to call myself Dr Dr. However, the celebrations would have to wait because everyone had rushed outside to watch the extraordinary activities of the police … Continue reading →

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When medieval art fails to impress (Rousse)

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Dreamaticus

The other external examiner shared my concerns regarding the PhD thesis. “What are these postcards of medieval stained glass windows doing in the appendices?” she cried. “This is simply pretentious!”

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Belle and the (bad) Woolf

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Dreamaticus

The subject of my thesis was Virginia Woolf, an author whose works I loathed and yet had never bothered to read. I had to decide if it was appropriate to fall in love with the portrait of an Edwardian lady … Continue reading →

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Rousse misses out on the miracle of childbirth

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Dreamaticus

Mother-of-four SY took charge of the six women seated in silence around the long wooden table. She instructed me to wash my hands and help when necessary. If I doubted SY’s qualifications in midwifery, my own experience of childbirth was … Continue reading →

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Belle’s busy night

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Dreamaticus

My thesis was on the improvement of the ‘lot’ of the working classes over the lifetime of Charles Dickens. I needed lots of statistical data and went to the newly-built sink estate in which all the records were kept. However, … Continue reading →

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