Latest Post

I thought I should write a bit of an update as I haven’t posted anything on my blog in months now – I fell into the position of always having some PhD work that was more pressing, and when I did have free time to write on here (which to be honest, was quite often) I felt I should be doing something more relaxing, like looking at the ducklings and coot chicks in Rowntree Park.

I haven’t got any big news, no major life changes to explain the lack of attention I’ve paid to the blog, and I’m still writing my PhD from the same small bedroom as I was in 2020, and even in 2019 before the pandemic. I should have a new teaching gig coming up this autumn, which should be exciting. Other than that, everything’s much the same.

I’m on the cusp of entering my third year as a PhD student, and I think I’m in a good place in terms of the work. It’s always difficult to tell as every PhD project is so unique; you can’t really judge your progress by comparing yourself to your peers. But, I think I have the more theoretical and methodological part of the project done – although, of course, it will probably be redrafted and revised a hundred times before I submit the final version – and in the coming year I hope to start in earnest on my case study chapters. I did write a draft of a case study chapter last year, one on anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, but as my methodology has changed so much since then I’m going to have to do some heavy rewriting of that chapter. Whereas that version focused only on two conspiracy theory texts, the new version will look at around 6 texts, with much more of a focus on the linguistic features of the texts than before.

I’m going to do my best to keep updating the blog, though I will only do so when I actually have something interesting to write about. In a previous post I said that I’d write a deeper analysis of Adam Curtis’ take on conspiracy theories, and I still intend to do so soonish. I’ve also got another book review coming up, hopefully about a book that is at least tangentially related to the topic of my PhD.

That’s all for now, really. I’m already working on that book review, so it shouldn’t be long before I post that. Until then, bye!

Adam