Speaking at a CCT conference session designed to provide advice on how to turn dissertations into publications Markus Geisler strode to the front of the room brandishing a copy of his dissertation before summarily dumping it into the trash. The first step, he said, is to “throw the dissertation away”. He recommended starting fresh with a few of the most important concepts from the dissertation, but not to be tied to the actual text.

I liked the idea so much that I decided to apply it. I wasn’t deterred by the fact that my dissertation wasn’t yet completed.

And, truth be told, I didn’t really throw anything away. However, in the time honored tradition of adapting things to one’s own purposes, I decided to “metaphorically” throw away what I had already written by pretending that it didn’t exist.

I did this because I had recently found myself lost in the maze of my own writing. I knew, in my head, before I sat down at the keyboard, what I wanted to talk about, but once I opened the document, I was sucked into what was already there. Being tied to what was already written limited my options. I was using the existing text as a reference for where I wanted to go next. I constantly felt the need to connect the next set of ideas with those previously expressed. I realize the importance of transitions and building bridges between related concepts, but without having all the essential ideas in place, I found myself building bridges to nowhere.
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I have been told, on more than one occasion and by multiple persons, that “The best dissertation is a ‘done’ dissertation.” I have discovered that this oft repeated saying actually means different things to different people. I have recently had the opportunity to contemplate a couple of these interpretations and have come to the conclusion that it might make sense after all.

Interpretation #1

This, I suppose is the most literal translation and I first heard it at a time when I didn’t have enough experience to interpret it any other way. I was in the process of narrowing my research topic. It was big and unwieldy and, I suppose, some might have considered it “a bit off the beaten track”. I had big aspirations for my big topic and , when I was hit with the “best done” quote, I was perplexed. I took this to mean that my big aspirations for my big topic were misplaced. After all, couldn’t small aspirations and a small topic accomplish the same thing?

In this interpretation the dissertation is seen as a rite of passage, a ticket to ride, something to be valued for its extrinsic properties. The content mattered only to the point that it contributed to getting the dissertation done.

Interpretation #2

Having just sent the first three chapters (my dissertation proposal) to my committee, I am beginning to appreciate that there is, at least, one other interpretation of the “best done” quote. I was really reluctant to finish those chapters because I knew that, once I did, it would be out of my hands. I understand that this is the point of the whole thing but I can’t help but thinking that there are ideas that I might be able to express more clearly, transitions that might be made smoother, and any number of other delaying tactics I might employ in order to delay “the day of judgment”.
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