I Aedean Doctoral Seminar University of Alcalá, 11 and 12 July 2019

Plenary sessions

The following scholars have agreed to organise two plenary sessions:

• Sara Prieto (Universidad de Alicante) – “Academic Writing: No Pain, No Gain?”

This session intends to share tips and ideas on how to overcome some of the most common fears when dealing with academic writing in English. It will address questions such as overcoming writer’s block, the psychological toll of writing, and the rewriting and reviewing process. This is a hands-on session in which participants are expected to bring their own writing tools.

• Cristina Garrigós (UNED) – “‘Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?’: Doing Research in English Studies»

This session aims at discussing crucial aspects of research in English studies and its methods. Research, whether it is a paper for a conference, a dissertation, or an article to be published in an academic journal, should follow a logical process. We will discuss the importance of logic and structure in the research and how to combine the academic with originality. Students should be aware of the existing literature on the topic of their choice and how to find the best way to approach the research question to provide a contribution that is relevant to the field. It is essential to understand the importance of selecting an appropriate methodology, as well as to plan the structure of the work effectively. Also, an essential factor when conducting the research is to be aware of the audience and the purpose of the work. To that purpose, we will discuss the main academic genres and, finally, the importance of research in English Studies in the context of the Spanish and European academic world.

Paper presentations

There will be three parallel sessions with papers on both Literature and Culture, and Linguistics.

Abstracts

Question and answer session

In addition to the plenary sessions and the paper presentations, the Q&A session will provide some basic information and guidance for all doctoral students with advice on writing and defending a thesis, and some reflections on the experience of doing a PhD.