Dissertation Schedule

A friend sent me a link today for this blog, suggesting to me that someone wants me to keep it alive. I wrote earlier this evening to another friend that I’m staying on schedule with the dissertation but am behind on everything else. But friend #1 has motivated me to do something which has been on my list for the last week but quickly will drop off it if not done now.

I had a significant step forward last week in my dissertation progress when my committee (three professors) approved my syllabus. I thought I might briefly sketch out what my dissertation process looks like for those interested. I cannot tell you if the process is similar at other schools or not.

Phase 1: Subject approval – way back in October 2008, I had to submit the topic of interest for my dissertation. That consisted of a phrase (The Reign of Jehu: An Historical and Archaeological Analysis) along with a paragraph explaining my intention. I see now that I listed my anticipated graduation as “Dec 2011.” Don’t I wish…

Phase 2: Title approval – this consisted of a formal title (The Aramean Oppression of Israel in the Reign of Jehu), along with a precis (fancy word with an accent that means summary), statement of original contribution, and approval from the librarian (that no one else had written on my subject). This was submitted in Dec 2010.

Phase 3: Final subject approval – if you think I’m getting weary of this, you ‘re right. I haven’t had my hand held this much since high school. And the fact that there are three phases and you have to do them so far in advance almost certainly guarantees that you will have no interest in the subject by the time you actually start working on it. As for the content here, I had to submit a thesis statement, a 10-page survey of recent literature, and a working bibliography. This had to be approved before I could take my comprehensive exams (which I did in April 2011). The time when you ‘re studying for comps is not an ideal time to have to do lots of fresh dissertation research.

Syllabus – this is the next thing on the list and it took me about 18 months because I took 13 off to do something else. This use of the term syllabus is not familiar to me, but it amounts to a mini-dissertation. You have to spell out, chapter by chapter, section by section, what you are going to say about each subject. You are not allowed to write, “I will investigate X.” You must state your conclusions. You must include a near-complete bibliography. In other words, you must do most of your research before you submit your syllabus. That’s fine, you think, because they already approved phase 1, 2, and 3. But in fact, the syllabus is the very first time your dissertation committee sees anything from you. (The previous submissions all go to a different committee.) And they very well may not like what you write. And you could have to start all over. And that means throwing all of your research in the trash can. Great system, eh? My committee was very gracious and though they wanted to change my title (ironically the one part already approved!), they gave me a green light on the rest.

First draft of two chapters – first draft means the absolute best you can do, with no exceptions or excuses for even a stray comma. By submitting the first two chapters, the committee has a chance to give you feedback before you make the same mistakes on all of your chapters (typically, 5-6 total). This is perhaps the one good step in this whole process. This is where I’m at right now, and I feel like I’m doing this for the third time at least. (Initial research for the phase approvals; then research and writing a summary for the syllabus; and now one more time.) Unfortunately my brain is so small and the amount of data so large that it’s almost like starting over each time. I do think that I could write this dissertation with a third of the effort if allowed. Perhaps this is standard, I don’t know. I feel some extra frustration because I’ve written a thesis (as long as this dissertation will be) without all of the repetition. My deadline for this is January 1. I expect to have the first chapter (100 pages) finished in 10 days.

First draft of all chapters – this incorporates all suggested changes for the first two chapters as well as the first submission of the remaining chapters. I have chosen (and been approved) to write chapters #4 and #5 first (both archaeology-related) and then to submit the others with the first draft (biblical texts, extrabiblical texts, intro, and conclusion). My deadline for this is March 15.

Defense – if the committee accepts the first draft, they will schedule an oral defense at which they will ask me questions about the dissertation for two hours. A successful effort here essentially means you will graduate. My hope is to defend in April so my mind can be freed for other matters.

Preliminary final draft – no kidding! This gives the dissertation committee one more opportunity for corrections. The deadline is July 1, by which time I hope to be in California.

Final original – two originals printed on paper that is 20-lb. stock, at least 25 percent cotton, and acid-free. The deadline is August 1.

All of the deadlines noted above are for an “August conferral.” There is no graduation ceremony in August, but you do get the degree and are considered a graduate. If you thought that by submitting the dissertation in March that one would graduate in May, then you completely missed the message of the glorious bureaucracy involved in this process!

I am sad that I won’t be able to graduate in a ceremony. I don’t need it for myself and am quite glad to skip it. But I think it might provide a nice sense of closure for the family. They might better understand that all of these years slaving away in my office was not just Dad pretending to work. But the graduation ceremony won’t be held until the following May (2014) and the kids will be in school and we won’t be driving to Dallas for it. If I had finished my photo project a few months earlier, things could have been different in that regard. I tried, but simply could not make it happen. I have been, and continue to be, most earnest that I defend before we move. If there are any remaining strings at that point, they should be minor.

That’s more than you wanted to know and more than I expected to say. I think that some of my frustration expressed above is real, and I haven’t tried to sugar-coat things. On the other hand, none of that affects me on a daily basis. My daily battle is coping with the enormous amount of data, chasing down obscure sources, and wrestling it all onto the page.

My dissertation committee is composed of three outstanding men. I take a small amount of credit for this since I worked for some years so that these particular men would volunteer to guide me when the dissertation committee was assigned by the doctoral committee.

I mentioned above that I had to choose my topic four years ago. Since that time my interest for this subject has greatly diminished. I have many other great passions. The positive side is that I’m comfortable with my subject and feel that my experience in the field makes it easier to handle than other subjects that I may love more. I expect that I will look back on this and recognize God’s gracious hand in giving me this particular subject and not another one. Until then, I walk in faith and keep my seat in the chair.