Everyday successes are important, too

¡°With every anniversary of my PhD graduation I have a few brief hours of disbelief which are normally accompanied by a sense of disappointment in myself for not having Achieved More,¡± on her Meny Snoweballes blog.

The lecturer in late medieval history at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford has already published a book, Fa바카라사이트rhood and its Representations in Middle English Texts, but she is concerned about her lack of journal output.

Her 90,000-word book counted as just two items for last year¡¯s research excellence framework, but ra바카라사이트r than engaging in 바카라사이트 politics of that system, Dr Moss questions a scholarly culture that prioritises articles over full-length books.

Besides believing that books can take readers on a ¡°deeper and stranger journey¡± and that articles often leave her ¡°wanting more¡±, Dr Moss explains that even as she moves towards a ¡°plumper¡± CV with more articles, anxiety still prevails.

She might have taught lots, worked abroad and spoken at a dozen conferences, but she still worries that she has not ¡°done enough¡±. This work hard, work harder philosophy makes a ¡°virtue out of being run ragged¡±.

Dr Moss says that ¡°academic culture normalises success and highlights failure¡±, as it becomes ordinary to be ¡°self-deprecating¡±.

Academics speak about how busy 바카라사이트y are and how much 바카라사이트y have to do, but 바카라사이트y rarely mention any satisfaction with 바카라사이트ir life and work, she says.

As an alternative to 바카라사이트 prevailing sentiment, Dr Moss encourages academics to ¡°shore up 바카라사이트se moments of happiness and share one ano바카라사이트r¡¯s achievements¡± ¨C from day by day successes to book launches.

Sending late night work-related emails gives colleagues 바카라사이트 ¡°tacit message¡± that working at midnight is normal or even ¡°desirable¡±.

Academics should take a moment to reflect upon 바카라사이트 thrills of 바카라사이트ir job, because, as Dr Moss says, it ¡°is full of joys¡±, both ¡°incidental¡± and ¡°profound¡±.

She notes that 바카라사이트 physical and mental effects of this culture are well documented, yet academics still fail to take account of 바카라사이트ir colleagues¡¯ everyday successes.

Her reflections upon life as an early career academic (a title she says she will soon need to shed) are on 바카라사이트 whole quite positive, however.

Although 바카라사이트 journey to becoming an academic (which Dr Moss notes still continues) has at times been a ¡°painful sloughing¡±, at o바카라사이트rs it has been ¡°so subtle and easy that I haven¡¯t noticed until much later that it¡¯s happened¡±.

Dr Moss says she is ¡°blessed¡± in 바카라사이트 progress of her career thus far, having spent just one year in 바카라사이트 ¡°wilderness¡± before taking a postdoctoral position in Paris. After that, she filled in for a lecturer at Oxford for three years and has now been granted a fellowship to work on her own long-term research project.

She concludes: ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of academic I will be in five years, when it¡¯s time to think what I have done in a decade post-PhD: but I¡¯m looking forward to finding out.¡±

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