In previous years at this time on this blog i have reviewed the year month by month. I am not going to do that this year as most of the year has been spent a) doing my dissertation b) unemployed. Thankfully both are now coming to an end but they have dominated the year so instead i will do a shorter series of "review posts" focussing on different aspects of my year.
This first post will review my studies this year which is apt because this year has been all about learning i guess. Last January i submitted my dissertation proposal (luckily spotting at the last moment i had spelt the word "history" wrong on it - kind of embarrassing on a history course) and it was accepted so i could continue to part 2 of the Open University's MA History. Since late April i have been working on my dissertation, up to 15000 words on Stratford-upon-Avon's economy in the early nineteenth century and the effect of transport systems on it especially the horse-drawn tramway.
That is now coming to an end, i have written three chapters which all sell pretty good (the tutor agrees with my self-assessment thankfully!) and are backed up with a lot of research (i've been to the National Archives 4 or 5 times alone). I started the conclusion today and will begin bringing the thesis together later in the month. It needs to be submitted in mid-January 2014. A week-by-week diary of my progress on the course can be seen here.
Once the dissertation is submitted and assuming it passes then that is that for my academic journey for now at least. I would like to do a PhD but not for the foreseeable future unless circumstances change. I also would like to learn Welsh, now the OU do a beginners course...
The Masters was not the only course i have done this year. A couple of months ago i took a teacher training course (PTLLS) and I have discovered the joys of Lynda online IT training and have also joined a MOOC which is ongoing and is very interesting.
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