Update from the Academic Trenches

For those of you who haven't entirely given up on this blog yet, I'm just taking advanatge of a rare, quiet Saturday morning to post a brief update and - once again, it seems - explain my prolonged absence from the local (Australian) comics community.

Just to recap, since July 2010, I have begun a PhD in Communications at the Centre for the Book, Monash University (Victoria, Australia), where I am writing my thesis, titled 'The Ghost Who Walks: A Cultural History of The Phantom Comic Book in Australia, India and Sweden'. Much has happened since my last post on this subject; I have successfully completed my 'Confirmation of Candidature' hearing earlier this year; I have presented several papers on different aspects of Australian comics culture at Australian and international academic conferences; and I have had a number of my previous conference papers accepted for publication with local and international journals, including Script & Print, the International Journal of Comic Art and the Australasian Journal of Popular Culture (For details, visit my Academia.edu profile page.)

In the midst of all this, I also began work as a sessional tutor, taking first-year students for a module on communications and society at Monash University during this current semester (2011). This has been a real 'baptism of fire' for me, not having ever done this level of teaching before (My previous 'teaching' experience was confined to delivering a Council of Adult Education course - with my wife, on book collecting - many moons ago, plus sporadic 'guest lectures' and workshops on freelance journalism at TAFE colleges and the Emerging Writers Festival). But, judging by the largely positive student feedback forms I've received thus far, I apparently didn't do too badly! But preparing and delivering tutorials, marking essays and exams, and simply processing all the 'on the job' learning that goes with tutoring, has consumed a lot of time and energy this semester. Nonetheless, I'm grateful for the experience, as it can only help me build up my professional development as an 'early career' academic - and make me better prepared for any subsequent sessional tutoring assignments that come my way for the remainder of my PhD studies.

And the pace hasn't slackened, even as the academic semester winds down. I'm navigating the ethics clearance approval process required for me to undertake field research (i.e. interviews, online reader surveys) that I hope to undertake as part of my thesis. I'm currently working on a paper to be presented at the Australian Media Traditions conference being held at Swinburne University of Technology in November 2011. I'm also preparing an entry on Australian comic strips and comic books for the forthcoming academic volume, A Companion to Australian Media (2014).

All of this is just a long-winded way of explaining why I haven't been updating this blog for months at a time, or indeed, participating in local (Australian) comics events throughout much of this year (And I have missed some great events, it seems, judging by all the fliers & posters I've periodically spotted in local comic shops, cafes, etc.). It's also a form of public apology to the various loca comics writers, illustrators and publishers who've contacted me throughout the year, in the hopes that I could publicise their various endeavours - but whom I've ultimately let down in this regard, as I continue to juggle my numerous academic commitments. So, for those of you who made the effort to contact me, and have found your requests going unanswered, I apologise.

Will things change for the better, insofar as this blog is concerned? I wish I could make a rosy prediction, but I know I'm going to be thoroughly preoccupied with studies and related activities for pretty much the rest of the year, and don't know how I can honestly make a commitment to regularly update this blog. As for 2012...well, after all these 'sidebar projects' have been put to bed, I really need to refocus my energies on my PhD thesis, with particular attention on my planned field research activities.

The prognosis for Comics Down Under, then, while not entirely fatal, certainly continues to look a bit bleak. But for those of you who are working on new comics projects, planning comics-related events, or who just want to say "G'day", feel free to post a note on this blog, or send me an email. (I usually try & respond to emails reasonably promptly - but occasionally these best intentions do fall by the wayside as well).

Hopefully, once I secure ethics clearance approval for my fieldwork research, I plan to launch an online reader survey based on my thesis topic, and possibly launch a separate blog dedicated to my ongoing PhD research. If and when that happens, I'll be sure to announce it here.

Thanks, everyone, for your patience (sorely tested as it has been), and for your kind postings on this blog. (Image courtesy of John Clements, NSW)