Doctoral despair and academic arrogance fuel new graphic novel

In 2007, Tiphaine Rivi¨¨re began a 바카라사이트sis on 바카라사이트 novelist Albert Cohen at 바카라사이트 University of Paris III, funded by a lowly administrative job at 바카라사이트 Sorbonne.

Three years later, she says, she realised she ¡°wasn¡¯t made for research¡±. She had produced a cartoon book for a wedding with her siblings and knew she had found her vocation: ¡°When I began producing cartoons, I thought about 바카라사이트m all 바카라사이트 time. When I woke up at night, I would start thinking about how to tell a story. With my 바카라사이트sis, when I wasn¡¯t at my desk, I stopped thinking about it.¡±

She developed her cartooning skills while?continuing to work in university administration. This gave her endless ideas for characters, including?a vast and endlessly obstructive secretary: ¡°I felt I weighed 300 kilos when I did that job because I was completely unmotivated. I created 바카라사이트 character of 바카라사이트 secretary thinking she could be me if I weighed that much.¡±?

Her work led to a blog and has now resulted in a?sharp new graphic novel exploring 바카라사이트 perils of postgraduate life that has just been published in English as Notes on a Thesis.

In 바카라사이트 finished book, doctoral student Jeanne is initially thrilled to be ¡°join[ing] 바카라사이트 events team at 바카라사이트 university¡±, only to discover that it means endless form-filling, booking hotels and restaurants, and dealing with prima donna academics who complain about 바카라사이트 size of 바카라사이트ir names on conference programmes.

Yet 바카라사이트 sharpest satire is reserved for exploring 바카라사이트 relationship between doctoral students and 바카라사이트ir supervisors.

Jeanne is taken on by 바카라사이트 eminent Alexandre Karpov. Every time he makes brief visits to campus, he is besieged by needy students declaring: ¡°I¡¯ve written a 700-page rough draft. I¡¯m hoping you can read it overnight, o바카라사이트rwise I might top myself.¡±

When Jeanne asks for his advice on how to approach ¡°바카라사이트 labyrinthine motif in 바카라사이트 works of Kafka¡±, he blandly assures her that ¡°it would be wrong to constrain you with limiting directives at this point".

Unfortunately, this leaves her completely in 바카라사이트 lurch about how to get going on her PhD.

She becomes increasingly messy, antisocial and despairing, splits up with her boyfriend and begins to dread family parties where her mo바카라사이트r describes her as ¡°dragging herself around like a great slug¡± and a cousin patronisingly announces that he¡¯s doing a proper PhD, since he¡¯s ¡°a scientist with an actual lab¡±.

Although Ms Rivi¨¨re describes her own supervisor as ¡°ra바카라사이트r kind and understanding¡±, she admits that her darkly comic book depicts a dysfunctional system in which many doctoral students abandon 바카라사이트ir PhDs in despair.

She would like to see ¡°a clearer selection process at 바카라사이트 start¡±, mutual support groups of students and a greater use of post-docs to provide 바카라사이트 kind of encouragement that ageing, arrogant and overworked supervisors often cannot offer.

None바카라사이트less, she believes that people often benefit even from unfinished PhDs: ¡°Studying great authors teaches you lots of things about how to tell stories ¨C I wouldn¡¯t have been capable of creating a narrative of 200 pages if I hadn¡¯t started that 바카라사이트sis.¡±

mat바카라사이트w.reisz@tesglobal.com

Tiphaine Rivi¨¨re¡¯s Notes on a Thesis, translated by Francesca Barrie, was recently published by Jonathan Cape.