There is something oddly comforting about finding yourself in a room full of other postgraduate students and realising that the academic world is much larger than your own desk, your own department, and your own very dramatic reading list.
Tag: PhD Experience
The Part of the PhD Journey I Did Not Say Out Loud
I am thankful to be here. I know what this opportunity means. But knowing the weight of the opportunity does not remove the ache of the sacrifice. People often see the achievement, but they do not always see what it costs.
Building Community Through the SGSAH Doctoral Researcher Committee
From Advocacy to Mobilisation to Organising What mechanisms are there for doctoral students to advocate, challenge, collectivise, and take agency both within and beyond the structures of higher education? How might we better take agency, use our advocacy, and form networks of solidarity and support? On 12 May 2026, we gathered at the University of … Continue reading Building Community Through the SGSAH Doctoral Researcher Committee
Beyond the Desk: Why PhD Students Need to Show Up Where the Conversations Are Happening
Doing a PhD is not just about locking yourself away with books, notes, deadlines, and a document that refuses to behave. Some of the real learning happens when you leave the desk, enter the room, listen to other people’s work, and realise that your research is part of a much bigger conversation. This blog is a reminder to show up, sign up, pay attention, and make the most of the spaces that help shape you into the researcher you are becoming.
‘When people think of Scotland, they often think of rain’
Dr Sarah Mackay and Dr Emily Munro, returning guest bloggers, share their forthcoming exhibition at the National Library of Scotland, researching the nation's relationship with wet weather.
Gathering around activism in the archives
Guest bloggers Cicely Farrer and Alison Scott reflect on their event, Creative Citizenship in the Archives, co-organised with the SGSAH KE Hub Citizenship, Culture & Ethics (CCE).
Fiume o morte! Researching and revealing the absurdity of nationalism through film
Guest blogger Ludovic Brunot extends academic research into irredentism in Italy, a 19th-century nationalist movement geared towards 'redeeming' Italian-speaking regions from foreign domination, through his review of the 2025 film, Fiume o morte!
‘a city shaped by maritime lore, migration, and imperial entanglements’: Kialy Tihngang on the Venice Biennale 2026
Guest blogger and 2026 British Council Venice Fellow Kialy Tihngang dives into their research relating to Blackness, queerness, and Britishness in film and moving image.
Beginning a British Council Venice Fellowship
Resident blogger Jelena Sofronijevic shares their research relating Jagoda Buić and Lubaina Himid at the Venice Biennale, as part of their British Council Venice Fellowship in May 2026.
Fauna, Forests, Fabrics: Researching Folk Weaving in Lithuania and Scotland
Guest blogger Cecilia Charlton discusses the value of durational ethnographic practices in heritage textile research.
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