Working for a Ph.D. is like joining a club. Not like joining the art club or the chess club, but one of those exclusive clubs. One must go through a series of initiation activities and present the club with a gift. This gift must be something they've never seen or heard before and they have to like it.
The first step is setting up a committee. I was advised to chose professors who will help me get where I want to go. Namely a dais at the UofA with a bunch of people wearing academic regalia. While selecting my committee I had the feeling that I’d done this before. Indeed I had! This is like choosing bridesmaids. This becomes more evident when one of them turns on you during your qualifying exam.
At this point, I have 3 more courses to take, comprehensive exams, write a thesis for my minor, an internship, then my research followed by a dissertation. It seems like my classmates know what they are doing, but I don’t. I have some ideas, though.
One possible research question is “Can the writings of Tupac Shakur change perceptions that female, pre-service white teachers have of Mexican American urban culture?” No one expects white middle aged women to do this sort of research......it’s like the Spanish Inquisition. However, I find 2Pac intriguing. While I used to blow him off as a ghetto punk Elvis, I find that he had a lot to say and said it. Could his writings have a beneficial influence on sorority girls who can’t get a sentence across without using the word “like”? Perhaps.
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