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Academia, Exercise, Firbush, Mental Health, Outdoors, Well-Being
A post following my department’s annual PhD student retreat to the Firbush outdoor centre at Loch Tay, and why it is nice for PhD students to be able to have fun every once in a while.
Mental Health: Let’s Listen, Too
24 Friday Nov 2017
Posted in PhD Life
A majority of mental health awareness campaigns are directed towards talking about mental health. While talking is immensely helpful in spreading awareness about mental health and resources available, and it dispels the stigma around mental illness, there is also a sense in which talking alone is quite limited, and I suggest that in addition to talking about mental health we should also be listening.
The ‘Love-Hurt Relationship’ of Academia: Nature’s 2017 Graduate Survey Findings on Mental Health
17 Friday Nov 2017
Posted in Comment
On 26 October, the journal Nature published the results of its 2017 biennial graduate student survey, which found that over a quarter of PhD students report mental health as a significant concern during their PhD. However, as much as these results shed light on the problem of mental health in academia, there is a sense that the survey not only vastly underestimates the prevalence of mental health issues, but it also fails to represent some of the specific concerns and challenges faced in the Humanities.
Love’s Labour: Work-Life Balance in Academia
20 Friday Oct 2017
Posted in PhD Life
There was a recent controversy in response to a survey by Times Higher Education on work-life balance within academia, in which some felt that an academic’s life is their work, while others responded saying that this was a toxic and harmful attitude. This is my reflection on what this question of ‘loving one’s work’ means for work-life balance within academia.
The Stress of Research
06 Friday Oct 2017
Posted in PhD Life
A pastiche of Paul Simon’s ‘The Sound of Silence’, written in collaboration over a Twitter thread with @mcclare95, @JSTOR, @rmathematicus and @w0wkeeton, all reflecting on the trials, tribulations and frustrations of academia and research.
The Ig Nobel Prizes, 2017: Liquid Cats, Indistinguishable Twins and Foetal Musical Stimulation
15 Friday Sep 2017
Posted in Comment
My comments on the 27th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, 2017, which I stayed up to stream live last night. These are a few short notes on the Ig Nobel Prizes, the winners from last night, and my take on why they are an annual highlight of my academic calendar.
Female Doctor? Academia Needs More of Them.
16 Sunday Jul 2017
Posted in PhD Life
The announcement of Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor in BBC’s Doctor Who has taken the internet by storm for being both a revolutionary change and one that rubbed sexist trolls the wrong way. But here is why academia should welcome the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor in Doctor Who.