Summer Writing

For as long as I can remember, I was excited about summer break. Excited to not be in a classroom, excited to be able to get outside, excited that any work that I was doing was not being done with any deadlines in mind. . .and then this summer walks in - happily reminding me that I am, in fact, writing a dissertation proposal.  ​

Although self-imposed, all of my work this summer is being completed with a strict deadline in mind. I have completed the bones for the first three chapters, which is basically broken down like this: 

1. Introduction/Rationale/Purpose of the study
   1. What does the audience need to know before reading this study?
   2. Why is it important to the field of music education?
   3. What is it that you hope to learn from doing this study?
2. Review of relevant literature
   1. The research part - this is where you show readers that you have read a MILLION different books, articles, Diagnostic Statistical Manuals of Mental Disorders. . .etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
   2. This is also where you detail that you have located a gap in the current literature which further validates the reason for your study.
3. Methodology
   1. Now that you know what you are looking for, how are you going to do the thing? 
   2. Will this be a case study? Will it be an autoethnographic work? Will it be something completely different and contrary to a traditional dissertation approach?
   3. How will you make sense of all of the data that you have collected?

This is a lot of work - but it’s important work. It’s good work. And most importantly, it will assist those of us in music education to begin seeing our students beyond the stereotypical gender binary of male or female. Concepts of gender identity will no longer be dismissed as irrelevant to the classroom because, “topics of gender identity play no role in music teaching”. I am so hopeful that I am able to do this subject justice, especially since I am considering all of these things as an “insider” to the gender-expansive community . . .

But for now, I’m going to play on the Wii with Frankie and get back to work tomorrow. 

Miranda (M.R.) Rowland
almost 3rd Year PhD student, music education

Note: The image used for this post is from a working weekend earlier in the semester. Frankie sent me to my office with his pal, Banana. Banana was clearly helping me to be productive.