Personal Experience and Voice Legitimacy in Academic Writing: Challenges and Methodologies

Nadeen Dakkak

Are you writing a thesis on a topic which you have experienced personally? While experience is in itself a form of knowledge that adds legitimacy to one’s voice, the objectivity that is associated with academic writing leads us to question the extent to which this experience could be considered an added value or an obstacle. Does writing on a topic that you have experienced or that touches you personally allow you to accomplish a deeper level of understanding and analysis? Or does it prevent you from acquiring the distance that is needed for developing an objective critical perspective? This workshop aims to bring together researchers from different disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences to reflect on the complexities of researching and writing on topics they are personally involved in, or even on topics which they have not experienced. Participants can share the challenges that face them in their particular disciplines and projects as well as the methods that they have adopted in order to deal with these challenges. The workshop will offer a space for sharing experiences, research anecdotes and useful methodologies. It will also tackle questions related to the challenges of writing about topics from the perspective of an ‘outsider’ and the legitimacy of one’s opinion based on personal experience or lack of it.

Wednesday 15th January 2020, 1-3pm, Room H3.05, Humanities Building

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Reading Documents from the Past: An Introduction to Palaeography

David Nicoll

Ever wished to learn more about palaeography, the study of ancient handwriting? This workshop provides a basic introduction to the subject, using English and French texts from the 16^th and 17^th centuries (although students working on other language texts won’t be excluded!). Approaching ancient documents can be quite daunting, and this workshop is for students who have never studied palaeography but have an interest in doing so, or for those who have some prior knowledge and would like more practice with older documents.

The workshop will cover or provide:

• The basic skills needed to transcribe 16^th and 17^th century sources
• Transcribing authentic documents and letters individually and in a group
• The different writing styles, letter forms, and word abbreviations found
• Completed transcriptions to practice at home

Please bring a laptop to this workshop if you have one.

Wednesday 22nd January 2020, 1-3pm, Room H3.05, Humanities Building

BOOKING NOW OPEN

Applications for new Peer Development Exchange events will open in the Summer Term.