Research

As of Monday, I have begun my stint as a research master's student here at the University of Edinburgh. The whole process began with a meeting with my adviser, a fateful meeting during which we essentially planned the ins and outs of my academic year. It was decided that I should take a course on postmodern theology, take a research methods course in the fall and a dissertation proposal course in the spring, write supervised essays on Heidegger and Habermas, and then begin writing my dissertation on the Gadamer-Habermas debate around the beginning of April or so. Along the way, it is hoped that I will spend some time honing my skills in German and will attend the weekly research seminar in Theology and Ethics. All in all, it looks like it will be quite the busy year.

So, one might wonder precisely what a research student does. This is a valid question. I am not sure I have a good answer for it quite yet, but according to my one week of experience, it would seem that a researcher spends a fairly large amount of time in the library and reads a fairly large volume of books and articles. At least, that is how I have spent my time of late. This seems to be the researcher's primary task. Second, of course, one must attend all the seminars and lectures at one's school and meet regularly with one's adviser. This seems important. Then, of course, there is the in-between-time, time which chiefly consists of walking in between libraries. It's a good 15 minute walk (at a brisk pace) between the New College library and the main library at George Square. I timed it. Taken together, these seem to be the chief tasks of a research student.