i can make a difference!: defense

10 mars 2006

defense

june 13th, 2pm. you're all invited. i'll try to be there, too.

7 commentaires:

At 3/10/2006 4:34 PM, Anonyme a dit:: waou tu as fixé la date avant même que le manuscrit ne soit fini de rédiger ? je suis officiellement jalouse ! Il faudra que mon comité ait fait quelques itérations du document fini et que l'externe approuve avant de pouvoir commencer à penser à suggérer une date... tu gagnes 6 mois de bureaucratie non ? Félicitations pour ton efficacité.
At 3/10/2006 5:47 PM, lucie a dit:: ben... ici on peut fixer la date quand on veut du moment que la "dissertation chair" est d'accord. j'ai seulement besoin de sa signature et de vérifier que tous les autres membres de mon comité sont libres ce jour-là. oui, visiblement j'y gagne côté bureaucratie :) bon courage à toi!!
At 3/11/2006 2:08 AM, Anonyme a dit:: Yes, only after I had left Purdue did I realize the great freedom available to us in the English Department. Our advisors have the full power to decide whether we are ready for defense. And they share much of the power with their mentees in negotiation of the dates. I wish you had chosen June 12, so I can stay there a few more days after the Symposium on Second Language Writing and attend your defense. But I am sure you will pass it without any problem.
At 3/12/2006 7:19 AM, kiara a dit:: The date is written on my wall planner... not that i'll make it to Purdue, but i will think about you all day long ! :)
At 3/12/2006 10:39 AM, lucie a dit:: Xiaoye: oohhh, can't you stay just one extra day?? you can stay at my place! i didn't want to do it on the 12th because tony's on my committee and i think he'll deserve some rest after the symposium... i'd love it if you could come!

kiara: what?? you're not coming?? of all people, i think it'd make it the most fun and exciting day of my life if YOU could come :)
At 3/13/2006 4:09 AM, Anonyme a dit:: Congratulations!
At 3/13/2006 10:27 AM, Scott a dit:: Very cool!

Some bits of advice as the day comes closer (borrowed from John Swales' book):

Work on an opening statement that is less a summary of the dissertation and more a personal odyssey (elements of which the committee will not all be familiar with). This can work wonders by creating the right atmosphere.

If your chair recommends a time limit for an opening presentation, you should make every effort not to exceed it. A "dry run" rehearsal before a few fellow students can be very helpful here.

At least the appearance of a confident attitude on the part of the candidate helps, as does a capacity to laugh. Also useful is a capacity to "question the question," both as a device for garnering a little thinking time and for displaying intellectual independence -- 'do i understand you correctly to be asking ...?' -- does give you time, AND forces them to focus

Candidates ought to be encouraged to concede when concession seems appropriate; this strokes the self-esteem of the committee members and shows the students' capacity to (somewhat) modify his or her views under considerable intellectual pressure. A "defend what I have written to death" attitude will probably generate more required revisions subject to the approval of more committee members than will an open-minded attitude. A little humility goes a long way. and the smart money says they are NOT going to 'flunk' you in any case.

Definitely meet with your chair and clarify expectations about
the defense and the role of the candidate.

Make sure every member gets and identical copy of the thesis. (if someone has different page numberings all references to the text during
the defense become much more complicated than they need to be)

A fellow graduate student should be appointed to take care of phone or video set up if a member can not be physically present. The candidate has enough to worry about.