At the end of last month, I took a break from the dissertation after revising all five chapters. Since returning from that trip, I’ve been getting ready to commence with what should be the final major round of revisions to the dissertation. This has included rereading chapters, outlining my prose, and experimenting with digital tools like Storymaps. Let’s take a look at what I’ve been doing.
Rereading and Outlining
The first thing I did after getting back to work was read through the chapters. As with my last read-through, I took notes on each chapter’s strengths, weaknesses, and overall argument. With these notes as a guide, I started outlining. Over the next few days, I created two new outlines. The first provided a general overview of the entire work. The second fleshed out each chapter in more detail. For every chapter, I emphasized the major points and what changes needed to happen to strengthen each argument. I then shared these outlines with my adviser before meeting to discuss the next round of revisions.
Following the chapters, I did the same treatment for the introduction and conclusion. Since I only wrote these in June, their prose is still pretty loose, so their revisions will focus on cutting out excess text and tightening the overall argument.
Outlining Alternative Configurations
In addition to these two outlines, I also wrote out a third treatment proposing a thematic reconfiguration of the dissertation. One of the biggest issues I’ve observed with the dissertation in its current form is that the narrative gets a bit repetitive, so I decided to see what it would look like if I took my chronological chapters and reconfigured them by theme. Instead of having one chapter focus on one case study, I’d have the case studies spread across all the chapters. One chapter might discuss space, for instance, while another would focus on exhibition content.
Ultimately, my adviser and I agreed that this thematic configuration should be saved for a future book project. After all, my goal right now is to finish my degree, and I can do that more efficiently by working with the chapters in their current form. I’m glad I did it though. Imagining the dissertation as a book with a different configuration makes it easier to return to the former project with a finishing mindset. The dissertation is just a stepping stone to future projects, and anything I publish after it will look different from it.
Additionally, writing a thematic outline has helped me better understand how to fix some of the repetition in the current dissertation by making it easier for me to see the distinctions between the different case studies. In other words, the outline has helped me better see the unique qualities and tensions of each case study, in addition to their similarities.
Playing with Storymaps
In between finishing my outlines and meeting with my adviser, I also started tinkering with Storymaps. I’ve wanted to include a digital component for the dissertation so that I can show the transit routes and destinations of my case studies. Since I was between revisions, I figured now was as good a time as any to play around with some mapping tools.
As much as I enjoyed working with Scalar, I opted for Storymaps this time because of the availability of ArcGIS tools. So far I’ve only been working with the VMFA Artmobile, but if I have time I’ll address the other programs. In the meantime, I’ve started mapping out the VMFA’s annual circuits, creating a different map for each year. Additionally, I’ve created a separate section that maps out specific sites the Artmobile appeared at in relation to the cities it visited. I’ve also created a slideshow of all the works that appeared in the Artmobile’s inaugural exhibition, Little Dutch Masters, since I borrowed a copy and scanned its contents a few years ago.
As with the dissertation, I’m only focusing on the Artmobile’s first 10 years to keep things manageable. Still, I think it’ll be a useful, multimedia supplement to the written text, allowing me to share details and facts more easily than in prose only.
Revision Objectives
Above all, I’ve been clarifying the objectives of this latest, and arguably most important, round of revisions. After all, this is the version that will go out to my committee, or close to it. So as I move forward, I need to know exactly what my objective is for this rewrite.
That objective is to clarify my argument. At this point, I have more than enough research to finish the dissertation. Any additional research will be for the book that develops out of it. What I need to do at this point is make my argument clear and legible. Anything that doesn’t fit that argument, no matter how interesting, will join a footnote or a future project list. If the previous revision was about adding outstanding research, this one is about cutting away any superfluous material. I don’t need to describe all the historical details I’ve learned. I only need to include the ones that support the story I want to tell.
Getting Ready for the End
Over the years, I’ve received a lot of insights about the dissertation process from program alumni. One point in particular, however, has stood out to me. Eventually, you reach a point in your dissertation when you’re ready to be finished. That desire to be finished, in turn, motivates you to do whatever it takes to get there.
I’ve been experiencing this shift over the past few days. While it’s always been in the background as part of the Halleran Fellowship experience, it’s increasingly moved to the foreground. I’m closer to being finished than not. Yes, I still have a lot of work ahead, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I know I can do this. And just as importantly, I am ready to do this. I commence this revision not only to make the dissertation better, but to complete it.
Let’s do this.