well. had big think over the weekend while we were up the country.

re-read all the subject guides.
thought a lot about how I have no time at all now, how I really should be getting on with some creative writing instead, how I'm not sure I want to commit to two more years here to secure company support.
thought some more about the fact I don't know what the hell else I'd do than my current job, and that I need training to move sideways. read subject guides one more time.

came into work, filled out official request form and sent it off.

now I have to
a) enrol (and check that my planned course of study will work)
b) start talking to people inside my company, like Mike and persons at F2, to see if at the end of this, there might be a strategy role or something like that.

lalalala. I must be mad. off we go.

um, when they say they'll pay, they mean half of the total cost. which, with tax deductibility, brings it down to about 3500 for me.

am now having full-blown crisis about whether I really want to do this, the other things I could/should be doing with my time, recommitting to a job I've been in for five years already, etc.

need to go back and look through the course guide. need to actually talk to Darren at Swinburne about the thesis component, which is really the point for me, I think.

well, that went surprisingly well.

although the company will decline to pay for stuff I've already done (thereby doing me out of about $600 in course fee and book refunds) it will look very kindly on agreeing to pay, on a semester-by-semester basis, for my $10,000 masters' program.

I think I'm in shock. haven't had a pay rise for four years, travel funding has been cut back, etc, etc and I really wasn't expecting them to do much for me.

am going to chew on that overnight and resubmit in the morning for almost guaranteed approval. will be a bit sad to tell M.A. that I won't be studying with him. but there's always the phd later on

have sent polite reminder to holder of the corporate training funds purse-strings, asking just exactly how long he intends to take to decide, and hinting that I am "weighing up my options"

i guess if I was really serious, I could sell my investment flat, stop work for a whole year and just get 96 for everything.

word from helen verren in the hps office:

yes, they are more reluctant to allow conversion from masters to phds these days.
her solution ! is to get a really bloody good mark - like 96-plus - in honours and go straight into the phd.
problem being that if I was part time during honours, that mark might be difficult to get. just a bit.

she was quite sympathetic to questions of balance in work/life/study etc.

also if it takes more than 3.5 years to complete the phd, they get no funds at all. so I guess they get pretty much on your back when you're in there. there is scope for breaks, but they expect you to keep doing some work during that time. employment at around 20% is considered OK.

don't know how all that relates to fact I'll probably be in cultural studies anyway.

it occurs to me that I have often relied on being relatively smart to get me through times when I overcommit myself - but in a PhD program they expect full throttle on top of smart.

helen's #: 8344 0229.

reposted from my other blog:
graduation day: now I know how a bottle of beer on an assembly line feels.
First, you wait in a line for 15 minutes. someone crosses your name off a list, takes $50 from you and hands you a bit of paper, which you must not lose. then you show the bit of paper to someone else, who hands you a gown and silk trencher thing. then you go to another desk where they check your name and give you a bit of paper with a seat number on it. then someone dresses you in your gown like you were a supermodel between catwalks: you don't move and they use lots of pins.
then at the hall, someone rips your bit of paper with the number in half. then someone else checks it and puts you in a seat.
when it's your turn, the person at the end of the row says "Jenny?" (or relevant name) as you walk by to make sure you're the right person.
before you go up on stage, a woman adjusts your gown and propels you gently forward with a hand to the small of the back. up on stage, someone crosses your name off another list, just to be REALLY sure it's you. he hands you to a person whose job it is to ask you if you've had a good morning, remind you to smile and send you off when your name is called.
then you bow to the chancellor, who is an elderly lady in a gilt-edged robe, sitting in a big chair in a way slightly reminiscent of the Pope. she says "congratulations", shakes your hand and hands over yet another bit of paper, sheathed in plastic. you bow to the man who called your name and leave the stage, trying very hard not to fall down the stairs,. in the aisle is a man whose job it is to make sure you don't walk all the way down the aisle and out, and go back to your seat instead.
all that for that one Very Important Bit of Paper, which in my case took six years part-time to earn.
you have the honor of reading the blog of Me, BA (RMIT), 1990 and BLitt (University of Melbourne), 2002.

charmed, I'm sure.

melbourne uni library's direct line to inquire about membership: 8444 5369

hmm. no word from Upstairs on whether they'll help me out with funds. plan b is developing...it might be better for me to be self-employed if I have to go it alone, in terms of free time and flexibility. the option of soldiering on studying with no support from my employer isn't all that attractive, really.

latest brett farmer talk: no, they're not cutting back on masters to phd conversion that he knows of.
yes, michael could supervise me, but probably only as a secondary supervisor. would need a main cultural studies bod to be "in charge"
scholarships are postgraduate admin's area.

nice bloke, really.

thinking I need to split up my topic into one for the masters and one for the doctorate: blogs first (hey, this could be my first eg: a blog as a research tool), then online identity and avatars/ratava?

blogger is not well; not publishing on server:leap.

yep, the library seems to have those books. be cheaper to join up, I think.

rmit note: don't know if I want to do a course that contains subjects like "connecting with the customer"

Ok, the Michael talk; went fairly well, but as usual raised a new lot of questions. it's funny that he said that in research you can't chase every rabbit down every hole, but I seem to have to do that to get this thing up and running.

administrivia first: some change in Federal funding guidelines as of October 2000 may mean - may only - that a faculty might be less willing to let me convert from a masters to a PhD, because it's considered non-completion of the masters! how ludicrous that going to a higher degree is rated as "failure."

anyway, I'll have to go and ask someone at English about that; also someone called Helen in History and philosophy of science (see questions below)

he also suggested I talk to Circit b/c he thinks they take on students; it looks from their site like they have "interns" who are in RMIT's masters program. hmmm..

on the academic side, I showed him my ratava/avatar diagrams and he suggested there were 2 ways of looking at it; that the person has rights over the electronic avatar (and that that is how the law tends to treat it) and the mark poster/ Sherry turkle view, that the avatars are the person. I think.

then he gave me all these books to read (not gave, referred really)
sherry turkle: life on the screen:
N.katherine hughes: how we became posthuman (argument for the body, apparently)
Mark dery: escape velocity
flame wars
pyrotechnic something i can't read on my notes
Mark featherstone: cyberspace, cyberbodies, cyberpunk
mark poster: second media age - particularly on databases

and for research purposes:

steve jones: doing internet research

cresswell: qualititative inquiry and research desing - choosing one of five methods

erk. a lot of reading there for someone who still hasn't finished Digerati after 18 months of it being on my bedside table. or maybe two years?
must look into getting (paid) ex-student membership of the uni library - if it has these books.

next week's project is to sort out those admin questions and to see Darren at Swinburne to see if he's a sensible chap

and tomorrow: I graduate from the B.Litt.

questions for cultural studies: how are they going to treat the new constraints on converting from masters to phds?
can michael A. supervise my honors?

same questions for hps woman.

rest of notes of michael A. chat to come...

Hi Sari,

yes I did, thank you. there was a fair bit of unclaimed work languishing in there from various courses; I must be more interested in the feedback than some, I guess.

and thank you for your encouraging comments. there is in fact a fairly messy partial manuscript from which I ripped (and very much rewrote) the second half of my "autobiogrpahical" piece - the first half came out of stuff done during the class exercises.

I'm not sure yet what I want to do with that material - I very much doubt I'm ready for a proper novel - should really get around to submitting some stories somewhere, as I've done from time to time when I have the energy. By the time I get to that, you might be back at uni - and there's a chance I might be too, so we might catch up.

I graduate from the B.Litt on Saturday and am foolishly looking at further studies options.

I'm thinking of writing a cheeky note to the dean of arts thanking him for letting me in to your subject and pointing out that I got a decent mark, by way of training the uni to be more flexible; I might need more flexibility. I'm going in to see Michael Arnold of HPS/Cultural studies on Friday about possible honours topics, but technically I don't have a major so I need to convince the ptb to let me into the course. the other option is a masters' in communication at Swinburne - it might all depend on what time/money the Age is willing to pony up.

I hope your sabbatical is going productively.

what happened to Hosie, btw? you haven't done something very unfeminist on your leave, have you? or is it just a convenient email name?

cheers,

Jenny


>From: "Sari Smith" <
>To: "J Sinclair" <
>Subject: Re: stuff from last year
>Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 20:47:55 +1000
>
>Dear Jenny,
> Did you get hold of your autobiography work? Just
>checking...
>Sari
>
>

must remember: write note to dean of arts thanking him for letting me into diaries subject; as I wrote to Sari, "by way of training the uni to be more flexible."

am seeing Michael Arnold at 11 am Friday. which means Friday morning I have to come up with more detail on actual TOPIC!

now there's a thought....

Dear Michael,

You're right; it would be more cultural studies. One thing I'd like to be able to do is keep it out of what you might call the upper reaches of cultural theory - some of the ideas I think I'd like to work with are as much from philosophy as what I've come across in cultural studies, for instance.

Am I right in thinking you are officially part of cultural studies too, and therefore able to supervise anything I might do there?

If so, could you tell me what days/times might suit you for a meeting?

I've spoken to various admin people; I've a fairly good chance of being admitted to honours, though it's not guaranteed. The faculty is still deciding if it will have a mid-year intake this year. I'm also waiting on a reply on possible funding support from my employer.

Given that, this would be a good time to get a clearer idea of what I might do as an honours thesis, and whether you think the topic has scope for anything further.

If it suits you, something early next week or on Friday this week might work well.

Regards,

Jenny Sinclair

cultural studies at Melbourne honours page

flat rate 2001: this rate is $2644 for a full-time full year study - this is what I should be on

non flat rate: Band 1 $3521 Arts, Humanities, Social Studies/Behavioural Sciences, Education, Visual/Performing Arts, Nursing, Justice and Legal

michael the hecs guru at melbourne uni admin assures me I'd be assessed under the old rate of hecs - as long as I do no other degree in the meantime - and that graduating or not starting till 2003 would make no difference (3.45, 8/8/2002)

have emailed melbourne uni arts re hecs inquiry; would be a bummer if I had to drop out of the graduation ceremony ....

Brett farmer update:

need to apply and ask for permission, to be granted by him? and the course convenor, anna marie jagose, and the departmentmetnail director.

I don't have the compulsory core subject, cont cult studies, could be an issue.

need to ask faculty admin about hecs status.

says check deadlines asap

must ask melbourne if hecs is calculated on pre or post 96 amounts

pels

3.7 If I take out a PELS loan, am I still able to claim my tuition fees as a tax deduction?
No. If you take out a PELS loan for your tuition fees, you will not be able to claim a tax deduction for those fees as self-education expenses. This is because the Commonwealth has made a payment to the institution in respect of the fees. See Section 5.11 for further information on PELS repayments and tax deductions.



- meaning I should pay upfront

ham 517 is on Monday nights in semester 2. it's double listed in the timetable as HAL 401

ok, last post on this, unless melbourne write back.

plan would be ideally to start p/t at swinburne this year, only miss three classes (it won't kill me and I can get the tapes and work through the hols), then switch to f/t for two subjects first semester next year (semester 2). then I'd do most of my thesis in second semester next year (semester three), then finish with one coursework subject in semester two, 2004 (semester four)

the idea would be that my employer would pay for the course fees. I'll apply for that - and back payment of the relevant fees at Melbourne while I'm at it - on Monday. they don't actually pay until you graduate, so I'd have to commit to two more years there.

this structure would also ideally allow for me to have a baby around mid to late next year. in essence, I'd be fulltime all next year, and I'd have to cut my working days back to maybe three during semester next year only; must add that to the application. it's not a lot of days, really.

there's a question around what happens if I'm on maternity leave when I graduate. I would think they have to pay me the course fees anyway. otherwise it would be some kind of discrimination, surely?


and if that doesn't work out, I'll try for midyear honours entry at Melbourne. then I could have honours out of the way by the middle of next year and either go straight into phd/masters on a scholarship, or take six months off for baby activities. must also add that possibility to my funding application.

if Swinburne will let me into a masters', I don't see why Melbourne wouldn't let me into a stupid old honours year.

must do: find out what day of the week the Swinburne class is so I can minimise missed classes on my trip.

swinburne's online timetables.

killer. dean kiley teaches swinburne electronic writing. trevor barr teaches globalisation. darren tofts does cultural convergence and john schwartz, who i just spent 17 minutes on the phone with, teaches the other subject.

they say they'd have me in the masters', no problem.
the month off in August would be a bit difficult though.

aargh.

it's only 4 coursework subjects, all at night. then six months of thesis. my sneaky thought is that if I worked really hard, I could probably bash it out in a year. or I could stretch it out over 3.

I think I need my employer to a) give me some money and b) give me some time off.

swinburne's main general scholarship page

aha! the melbourne scholarship page does have details. you have to click on a tiny link that says "australian" down the bottom.
sadly, Melbourne gets heaps more scholarships than Swinburne does. which is a consideration, I'm afraid. I wonder if I'm allowed to apply at both during my honours year and go to whoever can pay me?

the international community of science funding database: cos

you need to be a member: I suppose the universities have access.

swinburne's cool grants calendar

can't go see him until I know how I stand with the uni, I think.which means waiting for emmaneul or Brett to get back to me about the rules on getting into hons.
maybe just a swinburne masters would cover it? but that will cost a lot and I will only be able to do it p/t, so it will take forever. more fun to do honors (pay for that) then get a scholarship for a phd, surely?

ok, have now emailed Melbourne Uni and left a phone message with Swinburne.
next: go see Michael Arnold next week?

Dear Mr Farmer,

I'd like to ask about the rules on honours years in cultural studies.

I'm graduating from the B.Litt next week, and looking at the possibility of either a masters' or a phd over the next few years.

However, I don't have a major - I did several cultural studies subjects, but also philosophy, English and History and Philosophy of Science subjects that were relevant to my main topic of interest. My actual marks would qualify me for honours.

Dr Michael Arnold has agreed to see me to discuss my proposed higher degree thesis, but to proceed, I would probably need to do honours, both for the extra research training and the chance to clarify my exact thesis topic.

I know there's a postgrad diploma in cultural studies, but that doesn't offer as much flexibility in subject choices and it's unclear whether it's covered by HECS; I'd much rather enter honours midyear if it can be arranged.

What's the normal procedure under these circumstances? Can you take work experience etc into account, or are there other avenues of appeal for admission to the program? (My area of interest is in identity and cyberspace, and I'm a IT journalist at The Age)?

I did try to call you just now but you weren't in. You can either call me on xxxxx, or email me back at jennysinclair@hotmail.com

regards,

Jenny Sinclair

swinburne doesn't seem to have subject descriptions online for its honors subjects

swinburne's honours year; no idea if I can enter this anyway. seems to be no midyear entry

for cultural studies honors enquiry:

For more information
Brett Farmer
Department of English
Second Floor, John Medley Building
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010
Tel: +61 3 8344 5506/7/8
Web: http://www.english.unimelb.edu.au

things to do tomorrow:
reread the Melbourne honors in cultural studies
make a time to talk to michael arnold.
confirm that I can even get into honors, and what I have to do to get exemption

reread the swinburne masters' program
confirm that I can get into that
get in touch with the co-ordinator re: possible supervisors
email darren t?
note that I need to talk to work about possible funding asap

the postgrad and honors thing at Melbourne are almost identical. think hons would be better. this subject on research would prolly be useful for me

this would be all right! an honors subject on art in new york; a one-month excursion!

a postgrad year that isn't honors might be a good option in Melbourne's cultural studies?

oh. Michael Arnold is actually in cultural studies as well. so that's OK

hi Jenny,

I will be happy to speak with you about your postgrad work. The topic you
have in mind sounds interesting - perhaps more Cultural Studies than HPS -
but its hard to say without going into it further. As for the bureaucratic
side of things - not my strong point. Our post-grad coordinator is Helen
Veran, and our dept. manager Beaty masters also knows her way through the
rules and regs. (see HPS webpage for contact details)

I would speak to Helen and or Beaty, then get back to me if you would like
to talk about the topic a little further.

regards,

Mike

e.kalamistrakis@unimelb.edu.au

Dear Emmanuel,

thanks for your reply. can you tell me what happens when students don't have the full number of subjects for a major? is there no way around that? Because what I'm doing is planning my way towards the masters or PhD, my other option is to go into a masters by coursework elsewhere, where I believe I can get direct entry because of my relevant work experience.

I'm afraid I chose subjects by relevance to my main topic of interest rather than by "area of study" for most of my degree, which means I'm nowhere near a major in any of them.

I'm talking to one potential supervisor for the masters; do all honours degrees have to go through the person named in the handbook for that subject area, or can other academics supervise an honors thesis if they're interested enough?

melbourne's scholarships office boy, they hid that well!

melbourne's mid-year deadline for coursework masters and honors is May 31.
research masters and phds can start anytime. scholarship deadline is October 31

to do tomorrow: check again with Melbourne if the PhD or masters' program will admit me from a B.Litt honours. if necessary get it in writing - they changed requirements to transfer into law on me six years ago.
check if I have a major in anything

melbourne uni's masters and phd program requirements

not that I think hons @ melbourne is necessarily what I want; unless I use it to go straight into a phD

Dear Jenny,

Thanks for your email.

If you have completed the Bachelor of Letters and have a major in the area you are wanting to take honours in (including the required average result), then you can apply for the honours program. The Bachelor of Letters (Honours) program works in much the same way as the the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) course. Therefore, all information regarding entry requirements can be found under the relevant departmental entry in the 2002 Undergraduate Handbook (available on our web site).
If you meet the requirements and would like to begin in semester two this year, you should contact the arts faculty general office again in May and ask for an application form. We do not know whether we will have a mid-year intake into courses this year but we should know by May.

I wish you all the very best.

Regards,

Emmanuel


At 06:35 AM 3/04/02 +0000, you wrote:

Dear Mr Kalamistrakis,

Caroline in the Arts office has referred my query to you, as it's a bit unusual.

I'd like to know whether it's possible to do an honors year on a B.Litt.
I graduate next week, and I'm considering a Masters or PhD. I don't know yet what university I'd do that at, but most seem to require a four-year degree.

my first degree was a BA from RMIT, completed in 1989. my Melbourne Uni student number is 198521973. all but one of my subjects came in above 70, so I expect I'd qualify for honours normally, but apparently it's unusual on a B.Litt.

thanks,

Jenny Sinclair

hmm. have also emailed a fellow blogger who teaches in this area to find out more about what she does/knows.
not that she could help me; she's in the US and I'm here. but when you're dealing with something relatively new, finding the best brains/ideas can mean going out of your home town. and it is a cyberspace topic, after all!

Hi XXXXX (no, I don't know your proper name!)

do you mind if I ask: are you going to BlogCon?

and what exactly are you a professor of/where?

I'm very stupidly considering starting a masters' or PhD in cyberspace identity issues - checking out local universities' programs right now - and I was just curious about where you fit in and what's happening over there in XXXXXX

not for any clear reason, just that I really don't know where all this stuff is up to, higher research-wise, and I'd love to chat to someone about what's considered cutting edge these days.

I'm also, I think, about to book my ticket to Vegas - found a cheap fare!

cheers,

Jenny

letter # 2 to jschwartz@swin.edu.au

John Schwartz

Dear Mr Schwartz,

I'm interested in talking to Swinburne about possibly entering the masters' program, but I'm not sure yet whether I should be looking at the coursework or research degrees.

I have a number of questions around my qualification for entry, topics, timing, the potential for converting to PhDs, and (of course) the possibility of funding.

I've been right through the Web site, and I feel I'm at the stage now where I need to speak to someone on the academic staff.

If it's appropriate, could you let me know when you'd be free to talk on the phone, or I could come in - if you think someone else is better suited to this query, could you refer me to them?

Briefly, I've just finished a B.Litt at Melbourne University with average marks above 70 - I don't know yet whether I can even do honors on a B.Litt (Melbourne is checking), so entry requirements are question number one. I have some relevant work experience (I write for the IT section of The Age) but whether I'd be allowed to go straight into a research degree is another matter.

Secondly, I already have some idea of the area I'd like to focus on (rough outline below) and that it may end up becoming a PhD rather than a masters'. While the coursework subjects look great, I don't know how easy it would be to convert. I also don't know who at Swinburne might be interested in supervising my particular project, so I'm hoping you can give me an idea on that as well.

My main area of interest is the constitution of identity online - how people relate to their online personas, how they can control their identity when it's constituted in electronic databases and networks, and how that identity can change their "real world" views of themselves. There are some side issues in their about the effect of online worlds and the sharing of those by users, such as online environments, multiplayer games etc, that I'd like to look at as well, with some reference to Heidegger's views about "being in the world".

If you need more depth, there's an essay at http://home.vicnet.net.au/~sinclair/cyberessay.htm which I wrote while studying Dr Michael Arnold's Cybersocieties subject at Melbourne that contains some of the points I'd like to explore. I've also become particularly interested in the personal Web pages known as blogs, and how these are used to project identity online.

You can contact me on xxxxxx, or on this email address.

Regards,

Jenny Sinclair

letter #1 to mvarnold@unimelb.edu.au

Dear Michael,

last year I took your Cybersocieties subject, and I'm hoping you could do me the favour of some advice on my further studies plans.

I've just completed the B.Litt, and I'm looking at possibly commencing a master's with a view to converting to a PhD if the subject and funding allow.

I'm waiting to hear whether it's even possible to do honours on a B.Litt, (my marks averaged above 70) and the research office tells me I'd need faculty support to go straight into a masters by research. If I was to do it at Melbourne, I think the research program would be the way to go - I haven't found any coursework that suits the areas I'm interested in.

So my reason for writing to you is to find out if my area would suit you or any of your colleagues - feel free to handball me to them if so - and if it does, to ask if I can call you or make a time to come in and chat about topics, administration issues and the possibility of finding some funding somewhere.

My main area of interest is the constitution of identity online - how people relate to their online personas, how they can control their identity when it's constituted in electronic databases and networks, and how that identity can change their "real world" views of themselves. There are some side issues in their about the effect of online worlds and the sharing of those by users, such as online environments, multiplayer games etc, that I'd like to look at as well, with some reference to Heidegger's views about "being in the world".

If you need more depth, there's an essay at http://home.vicnet.net.au/~sinclair/cyberessay.htm which I wrote for your Cybersocieties subject that contains some of the points I'd like to explore.(My mark for that was 91) I've also become particularly interested in the personal Web pages known as blogs, and how these are used to project identity online - an essay on that from Sari Hosie's Diaries and Autobiography subject is at http://home.vicnet.net.au/~sinclair/blogessay.htm (mark for that subject was 88).

You can contact me by email or on xxxxxxxx

regards,

Jenny Sinclair

john schwartz at swinburne is in charge of the masters' program

Ok, so I need to:
call Swinburne
follow up with Melbourne.
then I need to actually come up with some topics and talk to the relevant academics: Prolly Michael Arnold and Darren Tofts - about whether those would suit a masters/phd and how I get into them
then I guess I start applying for dosh

the thing is, you see, I have no interest really in public policy on media. I'm interested in identity, people and thier online interactions. a lot of the things on offer seem to be media-policy, as opposed to media-theory, heavy.

I guess that's where the bucks are.

aha! melbourne does have a postgraduate scholarship page. pity it's got no detail.

I think this is a Melbourne Uni living costs and travel scholarship

yay! a searchable database of research scholarships

swinburne's institute for social research is the kind of place I'd probably end up working if I did this; I'd want to keep away from the workflow process analysis end of things, though.

melbourne uni's phd/masters' details for History and Philosphy of Science.

their scholarship page is full of course-specific thingies. there must be something better than that, surely?

swinburne's masters/phd requirements - seem to require an honours year?

what Swinburne thinks it's all about:

swinburne's scholarship page: they don't have next years' up yet. the social science partners are Trinity College and some mob in Canada!

questions for swinburne: do I qualify?
what about research degrees?
how hard is it to convert to a phD if I'm in the coursework program?
scholarships?
who teaches the subjects I like?

possible Swinburne course: two optionals:
ham525 key cultural issues

ham 516 electronic writing
a thesis of 20,000 words:
thesis
two compulsory subjects:
cultural convergence
ham 500 global telecommunications

Contact the School of Social and Behavioural Sciences on +61 3 9214 5209
Email: sbsadmin@swin.edu.au
Website: http://www.swin.edu.au/sbs

swinburne has its voice mail on...need to call later

melbourne uni isn't sure whether I can do honors on a b.litt. waiting for reply from emmanuel kalamistrakis.

spoke to caroline in the arts office: 8344 5235, then Ashleigh (female) in the research office.
unlikely I could go straight into a masters by research, unless I can get "faculty behind me" and/or they accept that my journalism is enough research practice. so I"d have to do an honors research year for Melbourne.
right, on to the Swinburne situation.