What if completing a PhD meant more than producing a polished thesis? In this guest contribution, Wilson Chak, a doctoral researcher in Systematic Theology at the University of Edinburgh, reflects on academic writing, the pursuit of knowledge and what it might mean to rethink the very idea of completion. A couple of weeks ago, whilst … Continue reading Feeling Like Tearing Your PhD?
Written by: Tamara A. Rice Each time I arrived at the Scottish section of my Interior Design History lecture schedule, the material felt thin. I would arrive at class, take the front of the room, and, through a few slides, introduce my class to key Scottish design eras, from the Renaissance and royal courts to … Continue reading Navigating Year One: Living History and the ‘Black, but not Scottish’ PhD Researcher
There is something special about the beginning of a new academic year. Campuses come alive again, inboxes fill with invitations, induction sessions introduce us to people whose names we will inevitably forget and new PhD researchers arrive carrying a mixture of excitement, ambition and, if we are being truthful, a little uncertainty about what they … Continue reading You Made It. Now What? Finding Your Place When the Excitement of Starting a PhD Settles.
Guest Blog: We’re pleased to welcome Simran Kaur, SGSAH’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Associate Director, to the blog. Simran joined SGSAH in May 2026 and also works within the EDI team at the University of Strathclyde as Senior Race and Equalities Officer. In this guest contribution, she shares some reflections from her first few … Continue reading Joining SGSAH: Reflections on EDI, Access and Belonging
Photo: Kristin Hardwick, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) Say the words "writing retreat" to a PhD researcher and watch their eyes light up around one thing: the word count. A few days away from supervision meetings, teaching admin, and emails arriving in the background. Just you, a laptop, and a target you have been promising yourself … Continue reading What Writing Retreats Actually Teach You
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.
New resident blogger, Olivia Shaw Lovell, introduces her work, and what excites her most about contributing to this SGSAH blog space.
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).
Guest blogger Cecilia Charlton discusses the value of durational ethnographic practices in heritage textile research.
Previewing their SGSAH-supported event in Glasgow in April 2026, guest blogger Sara Guidi considers the environmental meanings of storytelling, through the lenses of gender studies and diasporic narratives.
