The old adage, "never say never", is trite, but true. We have no idea what lurks around the next corner of life. Your clever idea about a supposed PhD is a great topic for more group discussion. What about doing a live chat on the subject? Thanks, Katie, you always invent new ways to look at literature. I'm enjoying your Victober videos!
This isn’t phd topic but a project I’ve wanted to do. As I read Victorian literature, there are a lot of direct and indirect references to other pieces of literature. Actually mentioning books, quoting something, characters, etc., and I’ve wanted to create some sort of web diagram of how the books reference each other. This could lead to a re-envisioning of which what novels and characters and authors were most influential within literature at the time. For example, one year I read 8 novels sequentially that all directly referenced Robinson Crusoe.
I would love to read a book on any of these subjects you discussed. They sound fascinating. I know I always used to walk my dogs in the countryside and have long conversations with myself about the books I was reading at that time. I loved picking them to pieces.
Fascinating topic! You could write a non-fiction book about any of those themes, thus combining your passion for research and your writing career. About one of the theme that you proposed, the representation of disability in Victorian literature vs now, I think that one of the reasons could be that if an author in the present day writes a villain or a victim with disability they will receive the wrath of all. Everyone has to tiptoe about so many topics nowadays, and I'm not saying that writing stereotypes is good, just that so many choose to omit them instead of damaging their own career. Just a thought. Thanks for another wonderful video!
My daughter has asked me to thank you for referring to scoliosis when talking about "Olive". As it's a disability she has she is glad to hear you use the correct term rather than "spinal curvature". When she had surgery for her condition is when she first developed her passion for literature so it meant a lot to her. Thanks Katie
All of these are so interesting! I especially like the one about serialization. Honestly, the best part of writing a dissertation is finding quotes for the chapter titles. It's one of the few things I'm enjoying about the process. 😆 The title for my chapter on The Doctor's Wife uses a quote from Sigismund: "What the penny public want."
I also have the sense that there are more disabled characters in Victorian literature than in literature today. I've wondered if that reflects a higher disabled population? But improvements in medicine have lead to many people living with long term illness and disability today, when in the past they would have died, so I don't know if that's correct. I've wondered about differences in the portrayal of disabled men and women in Vic literature. I remember thinking that Trollope perhaps saw physical illness and frailty as more likely to represent a character flaw in men than in women. Louis Scatcherd is the only example I can think of now. The treatment of Josiah Crawley's illness would be so interesting to look at in detail. Great video, thanks. I need to read that book on disability!
It might? I'm not sure. It probably also reflects different disabilities being more prevalent, and a stronger social understanding that anybody could become disabled at anytime (which is still true but I don't think people think about it like that). Differences in medicine, like you say, I think mean people with certain conditions are likely to live longer today, but also there are many people who recover entirely from conditions or injuries today that wouldn't have done so in the Victorian period. Amputations were a lot more common in the Victorian period, for example, for leg or arm injuries that today would never result in amputation. I think about this kind of thing a lot, because I have a long-term knee injury; I do a lot of physio and sometimes rely on painkillers that wouldn't have been available in the Victorian period. I use a walking stick occasionally, but only on a really bad day or if I have to stand for more than half an hour. If I were in the Victorian period, I think my injury would have affected my life very differently. And yes, it would be fascinating to look at gender and disability in Victorian literature , too!
This was so interesting. I'm working on my PhD in education, but think I would have loved to do a PhD in literature in another life. I just finished reading Lois the witch by Elizabeth Gaskell, and I think the Victorian perspective on the Salem witch trials and Puritans might be a really interesting topic to study.
All of these sound fascinating. I studied English literature and history at university then did my honours thesis in history but ended up weaving in Victorian (Australian) literature. It was on a convict narrative published in 1856 so I also looked at other convict narratives, a novel about convicts that was also published in the same year and another novel, published slightly later, that included references to many of the same real life convicts mentioned in the primary narrative I was looking at. I miss those days of having a wonderful excuse to read novels all day!
Interesting video. I was going to do my thesis at University on 'The Use of Fiction as a Historical Source with particular reference to the Preston Cotton Strike of 1853-1854'. I've just signed up to do a History MA with the Open University 32 years after I graduated so I'm going to have to give this some proper thought. I am fascinated by how popular perceptions of history are influenced by fiction more than academic history and so are often incomplete or inaccurate. Not sure where to take that though.
This was lots of fun. My PhD fantasy topic is around religion in the Victorian era, specifically the position of women in a breakaway denomination from the Anglican Church ( which is the origin of the church I currently attend) I think about how to weave Victorian literature into what would likely be more a history project than English literature. Nice to dream but will never happen. 😊
Well, I'm in the midst of writing my PhD dissertation now, since you ask. I'm looking at discourse patterns in American Sign Language conversation (Linguistics PhD). Once I finish, I want to look at portrayals of deaf and hard of hearing characters and how that has changed over time (Secrets of Hartwood Hall is on the list!). It might be a paper, or it might come out on a TH-cam channel if I decide to start one. Your topics all sound really interesting. If you ever do write one, I'd love to read it!
This is really fun video now I'm gonna think about my hypotheical phds too 😆 Also for the serialization topic, you can also look at modern books like web novels and maybe make a comparison 🤔
Yes, that would be interesting! I also think that recent changes in TV consumption (from watching an episode of something a week to Netflix-style streaming where all episodes are released at once) would be very interesting to compare to changes in Victorian reading patterns.
Hypothetical PHDs are such a great idea. I had such an interesting and fun time reading 'Cambrian Pictures' by Ann of Swansea (Kemble). She is so fascinating, in a compare and contrast with Miss Austen (my favourite author), she might been seen as lacking in the quality of the writing but being a Kemble you can really see the influence of stagecraft and there's an interesting focus on a working class perspective (a scary demonic creation to teach a upper class man a lesson, devised by a working class man).
These are very interesting topics! I love the two video-essays you made on disability representation and on LGBTQ themes in Victorian literature and I'd love to see one on mental health in it by you, if you're sometime interested on the topic. One theme I'd like to research is the presentation of Jewish characters in Victorian literature. I've actually started a small list of novels I could read about it but haven't done anything else yet 😂
While planning my college career in the 1970s the first idea came to mind was 'Women in Shakespeare', which now seems far too vague. Well, believe it or not men writing about women sometimes pursue disfavored gender perspectives so it was fortuitous to accept a slight detour toward 'Suicide in Shakespeare'. However, before I could graduate with a degree in English I graduated with a degree in History and finished my Master's degree while at Law School. In short, no topic in English Lit. is available to me now, but that said I think today I might write about 'Territorial Foundations of the Nature of Evil in the Novels of Stephen King.'
I ♥your hypothetical PhDs! I have some of my own, but the English classes I took at college were so dull and serious that it sucked the joy out of reading. So I don't think I'll ever go back. My brother told me that I sounded like a graduate student in the middle of her PhD because of all the research I've been doing for my novel. Ha!
Conveniently, you're already an author, so just write a book about it! Literary criticism was not a huge section of my store, but its fans are legion. I don't know what it's like in the UK, but are there university presses that specialize in lit crit? If you can get some professors to use it in their lit classes as required reading, you're golden. 💚 Lit crit is surprisingly appealing; write some interesting bit about my favorite author's life, and I'm sold!
Yes, I've no idea how easy it is to publish non-fiction literary criticism in the UK, especially on a more specialist topic, without being in academia. It always feels sort of out of reach without being in academia, but I may be wrong.
(Melanie here) A topic of interest to me - Influence of place on Victorian literature (Dickens - city, Bronte - polluted town they lived in, which led to the deaths of many in the family, and the moors). Another topic might be The Influence of authors' class or personal tragedy on Victorian literature.
These are all wonderful ideas and sound so interesting! No need to do a PhD. You could write any of these as a nonfiction book. You surely have the expertise!
Yes, I suppose I imagine them as PhD because I feel like it would be super daunting to attempt the research without guidance or the academic resources of a university.. But maybe one day. We shall see.
Some great ideas! Of course, if you ever find yourself with lots of spare time on your hands (haha), you could always do some more research on those subjects anyway, without it specifically being for a phd. Maybe they could be ideas for non-fiction books to add to your collection of published books, they are obviously subjects that you are passionate about!
These are great topics! I’d especially be interested in reading about Dickens and how he portrayed gender changed. Do you think his changes in later novels reflected the societal changes/views of women in the time period?
I think it's probably a mix of societal changes and Dickens getting older. He was so young when he wrote his early books. I also think his interests changed over time, and inequalities in men and women's position became more of a social criticism interest for him later. There's also been some suggestion from critics that Ellen Ternan had quite a bit impact on his view/writing of women, but I'm not sure whether I definitely agree with that or not. I need to learn more about his life.
Very sensible approach to PhDs, I wish I was doing a hypothetical PhD rather than a real one 😂. I was interested in a creative writing PhD until I realised I was much more interested in editing than writing. I love your fifth idea, that sounds really interesting, but that’s firmly in my book history area so I’m biased.
My own hypothetical PhD topic would look at the representation and presence of climate change and weather in the Victorian Novel, particularly Wuthering Heights and Bleak House, as strong contrast between each other. There is also a really interesting correlation and presence of pathetic fallacy in the weather and atmosphere of Gothic literature that I always thought would be interesting to look at through the lens of eco criticism. We'll see if anything comes of these topics. 😊
All fascinating topics! I am afraid I would be in the same boat as you as a hypothetical PhD in my case would run into thousands upon thousands of words. It would probably treat with Intellectual/Psychological and Physical Disabilities Operating As Pivotal Forces Of Attraction And Repulsion In The Novels Of Charles Dickens.
Looking at Dickens' fear of machines taking over, you could compare the machines that existed back in Victorian era to today's iPhones, computers, television, and the internet. How machines have evolved and if Dickens fears are justified.
Yes, I always find the Victorian concern about technology to be really interesting to compare to concerns today. A lot of Dickens's industrialisation-of-the-soul concerns have a lot of parallels to the way people talk about phones changing people today.
I was surprised about the female characters in Edwin Drood. For instance Helena Landless sister to Neville Landless. Without Helena to guide, Neville would early on have probably been arrested for assault or other charges even. Very early on.
Hi Katie. All of these subjects seem really interesting. Have you considered writin g a book about one of them instead of doing a PhD. I think people would be intrigued to here more about your ideas and realizations. You have obviously thought a lot about them. For someone who loves reading but didn't pass English G C S E ideas like this are always interesting.
Thanks very much! I suppose I think of them as hypothetical PhDs because I think it would be a bit daunting to write a book on it without academic guidance and resources within a university settings, but who knows. Maybe one day.
The old adage, "never say never", is trite, but true. We have no idea what lurks around the next corner of life. Your clever idea about a supposed PhD is a great topic for more group discussion. What about doing a live chat on the subject? Thanks, Katie, you always invent new ways to look at literature. I'm enjoying your Victober videos!
This isn’t phd topic but a project I’ve wanted to do. As I read Victorian literature, there are a lot of direct and indirect references to other pieces of literature. Actually mentioning books, quoting something, characters, etc., and I’ve wanted to create some sort of web diagram of how the books reference each other. This could lead to a re-envisioning of which what novels and characters and authors were most influential within literature at the time. For example, one year I read 8 novels sequentially that all directly referenced Robinson Crusoe.
I would love to read a book on any of these subjects you discussed. They sound fascinating. I know I always used to walk my dogs in the countryside and have long conversations with myself about the books I was reading at that time. I loved picking them to pieces.
Fascinating topic! You could write a non-fiction book about any of those themes, thus combining your passion for research and your writing career. About one of the theme that you proposed, the representation of disability in Victorian literature vs now, I think that one of the reasons could be that if an author in the present day writes a villain or a victim with disability they will receive the wrath of all. Everyone has to tiptoe about so many topics nowadays, and I'm not saying that writing stereotypes is good, just that so many choose to omit them instead of damaging their own career. Just a thought. Thanks for another wonderful video!
My daughter has asked me to thank you for referring to scoliosis when talking about "Olive". As it's a disability she has she is glad to hear you use the correct term rather than "spinal curvature". When she had surgery for her condition is when she first developed her passion for literature so it meant a lot to her. Thanks Katie
Hi, and thank you! Olive is a great book.
All of these are so interesting! I especially like the one about serialization. Honestly, the best part of writing a dissertation is finding quotes for the chapter titles. It's one of the few things I'm enjoying about the process. 😆 The title for my chapter on The Doctor's Wife uses a quote from Sigismund: "What the penny public want."
Excellent quote for a chapter title!
I also have the sense that there are more disabled characters in Victorian literature than in literature today. I've wondered if that reflects a higher disabled population? But improvements in medicine have lead to many people living with long term illness and disability today, when in the past they would have died, so I don't know if that's correct.
I've wondered about differences in the portrayal of disabled men and women in Vic literature. I remember thinking that Trollope perhaps saw physical illness and frailty as more likely to represent a character flaw in men than in women. Louis Scatcherd is the only example I can think of now. The treatment of Josiah Crawley's illness would be so interesting to look at in detail.
Great video, thanks. I need to read that book on disability!
It might? I'm not sure. It probably also reflects different disabilities being more prevalent, and a stronger social understanding that anybody could become disabled at anytime (which is still true but I don't think people think about it like that). Differences in medicine, like you say, I think mean people with certain conditions are likely to live longer today, but also there are many people who recover entirely from conditions or injuries today that wouldn't have done so in the Victorian period. Amputations were a lot more common in the Victorian period, for example, for leg or arm injuries that today would never result in amputation.
I think about this kind of thing a lot, because I have a long-term knee injury; I do a lot of physio and sometimes rely on painkillers that wouldn't have been available in the Victorian period. I use a walking stick occasionally, but only on a really bad day or if I have to stand for more than half an hour. If I were in the Victorian period, I think my injury would have affected my life very differently.
And yes, it would be fascinating to look at gender and disability in Victorian literature , too!
This was so interesting. I'm working on my PhD in education, but think I would have loved to do a PhD in literature in another life. I just finished reading Lois the witch by Elizabeth Gaskell, and I think the Victorian perspective on the Salem witch trials and Puritans might be a really interesting topic to study.
All of these sound fascinating. I studied English literature and history at university then did my honours thesis in history but ended up weaving in Victorian (Australian) literature. It was on a convict narrative published in 1856 so I also looked at other convict narratives, a novel about convicts that was also published in the same year and another novel, published slightly later, that included references to many of the same real life convicts mentioned in the primary narrative I was looking at. I miss those days of having a wonderful excuse to read novels all day!
Interesting video. I was going to do my thesis at University on 'The Use of Fiction as a Historical Source with particular reference to the Preston Cotton Strike of 1853-1854'. I've just signed up to do a History MA with the Open University 32 years after I graduated so I'm going to have to give this some proper thought. I am fascinated by how popular perceptions of history are influenced by fiction more than academic history and so are often incomplete or inaccurate. Not sure where to take that though.
What a great topic! So enjoyed this!!!
This was lots of fun. My PhD fantasy topic is around religion in the Victorian era, specifically the position of women in a breakaway denomination from the Anglican Church ( which is the origin of the church I currently attend) I think about how to weave Victorian literature into what would likely be more a history project than English literature. Nice to dream but will never happen. 😊
That would be fascinating!
Absolutely love, love, love this idea for a video!
Well, I'm in the midst of writing my PhD dissertation now, since you ask. I'm looking at discourse patterns in American Sign Language conversation (Linguistics PhD). Once I finish, I want to look at portrayals of deaf and hard of hearing characters and how that has changed over time (Secrets of Hartwood Hall is on the list!). It might be a paper, or it might come out on a TH-cam channel if I decide to start one. Your topics all sound really interesting. If you ever do write one, I'd love to read it!
That sounds fascinating!
This is really fun video now I'm gonna think about my hypotheical phds too 😆 Also for the serialization topic, you can also look at modern books like web novels and maybe make a comparison 🤔
Yes, that would be interesting! I also think that recent changes in TV consumption (from watching an episode of something a week to Netflix-style streaming where all episodes are released at once) would be very interesting to compare to changes in Victorian reading patterns.
Thank you Katie!
Hypothetical PHDs are such a great idea. I had such an interesting and fun time reading 'Cambrian Pictures' by Ann of Swansea (Kemble). She is so fascinating, in a compare and contrast with Miss Austen (my favourite author), she might been seen as lacking in the quality of the writing but being a Kemble you can really see the influence of stagecraft and there's an interesting focus on a working class perspective (a scary demonic creation to teach a upper class man a lesson, devised by a working class man).
I would love to see a non-fiction book written by YOU on any of these topics! So interesting!
These are very interesting topics! I love the two video-essays you made on disability representation and on LGBTQ themes in Victorian literature and I'd love to see one on mental health in it by you, if you're sometime interested on the topic.
One theme I'd like to research is the presentation of Jewish characters in Victorian literature. I've actually started a small list of novels I could read about it but haven't done anything else yet 😂
Yes, I definitely want to make more of those kind of video essays at some point.
While planning my college career in the 1970s the first idea came to mind was 'Women in Shakespeare', which now seems far too vague. Well, believe it or not men writing about women sometimes pursue disfavored gender perspectives so it was fortuitous to accept a slight detour toward 'Suicide in Shakespeare'. However, before I could graduate with a degree in English I graduated with a degree in History and finished my Master's degree while at Law School. In short, no topic in English Lit. is available to me now, but that said I think today I might write about 'Territorial Foundations of the Nature of Evil in the Novels of Stephen King.'
I ♥your hypothetical PhDs! I have some of my own, but the English classes I took at college were so dull and serious that it sucked the joy out of reading. So I don't think I'll ever go back. My brother told me that I sounded like a graduate student in the middle of her PhD because of all the research I've been doing for my novel. Ha!
Yes, I think historical research for writing definitely fits some of that university research hole for me.
Conveniently, you're already an author, so just write a book about it! Literary criticism was not a huge section of my store, but its fans are legion. I don't know what it's like in the UK, but are there university presses that specialize in lit crit? If you can get some professors to use it in their lit classes as required reading, you're golden. 💚 Lit crit is surprisingly appealing; write some interesting bit about my favorite author's life, and I'm sold!
Yes, I've no idea how easy it is to publish non-fiction literary criticism in the UK, especially on a more specialist topic, without being in academia. It always feels sort of out of reach without being in academia, but I may be wrong.
@@katiejlumsden your own publisher might be the best place to start asking questions. I definitely want to read whatever you write!
(Melanie here) A topic of interest to me - Influence of place on Victorian literature (Dickens - city, Bronte - polluted town they lived in, which led to the deaths of many in the family, and the moors). Another topic might be The Influence of authors' class or personal tragedy on Victorian literature.
These are all wonderful ideas and sound so interesting! No need to do a PhD. You could write any of these as a nonfiction book. You surely have the expertise!
Yes, I suppose I imagine them as PhD because I feel like it would be super daunting to attempt the research without guidance or the academic resources of a university.. But maybe one day. We shall see.
Some great ideas! Of course, if you ever find yourself with lots of spare time on your hands (haha), you could always do some more research on those subjects anyway, without it specifically being for a phd. Maybe they could be ideas for non-fiction books to add to your collection of published books, they are obviously subjects that you are passionate about!
These are great topics! I’d especially be interested in reading about Dickens and how he portrayed gender changed. Do you think his changes in later novels reflected the societal changes/views of women in the time period?
I think it's probably a mix of societal changes and Dickens getting older. He was so young when he wrote his early books. I also think his interests changed over time, and inequalities in men and women's position became more of a social criticism interest for him later. There's also been some suggestion from critics that Ellen Ternan had quite a bit impact on his view/writing of women, but I'm not sure whether I definitely agree with that or not. I need to learn more about his life.
@@katiejlumsden Have you read Michael Slaters biography of Dickens? It’s really good, and one of my favorites.
Very sensible approach to PhDs, I wish I was doing a hypothetical PhD rather than a real one 😂. I was interested in a creative writing PhD until I realised I was much more interested in editing than writing. I love your fifth idea, that sounds really interesting, but that’s firmly in my book history area so I’m biased.
Haha, I feel a hypothetical PhD is the only kind for me XD And how would I even pick one?!
My own hypothetical PhD topic would look at the representation and presence of climate change and weather in the Victorian Novel, particularly Wuthering Heights and Bleak House, as strong contrast between each other. There is also a really interesting correlation and presence of pathetic fallacy in the weather and atmosphere of Gothic literature that I always thought would be interesting to look at through the lens of eco criticism. We'll see if anything comes of these topics. 😊
That would be super interesting!
(Melanie here) I would love to read your dissertation!
All fascinating topics! I am afraid I would be in the same boat as you as a hypothetical PhD in my case would run into thousands upon thousands of words. It would probably treat with Intellectual/Psychological and Physical Disabilities Operating As Pivotal Forces Of Attraction And Repulsion In The Novels Of Charles Dickens.
That would be very interesting!
Looking at Dickens' fear of machines taking over, you could compare the machines that existed back in Victorian era to today's iPhones, computers, television, and the internet. How machines have evolved and if Dickens fears are justified.
Yes, I always find the Victorian concern about technology to be really interesting to compare to concerns today. A lot of Dickens's industrialisation-of-the-soul concerns have a lot of parallels to the way people talk about phones changing people today.
Imagine someone like Dickens traveling to our reality and how he’d react to all these modern technologies.
My imaginary PhD would be on mental illness in contemporary gothic literature or on the psychology of the climate crisis in gothic literature.
That would be fascinating!
I was surprised about the female characters in Edwin Drood. For instance Helena Landless sister to Neville Landless. Without Helena to guide, Neville would early on have probably been arrested for assault or other charges even. Very early on.
Hi Katie. All of these subjects seem really interesting. Have you considered writin g a book about one of them instead of doing a PhD. I think people would be intrigued to here more about your ideas and realizations. You have obviously thought a lot about them. For someone who loves reading but didn't pass English G C S E ideas like this are always interesting.
Thanks very much! I suppose I think of them as hypothetical PhDs because I think it would be a bit daunting to write a book on it without academic guidance and resources within a university settings, but who knows. Maybe one day.