Category Archives: Writing

Geography blogs – a list, and a discussion of ‘why blog?’

Posted on June 16, 2015 by stuartelden

Sam Kinsley has compiled a list of Geographers that blog, and followed this with a post questioning their focus, an excerpt of which was: It was a surprise to me how quite a few of those blogs, with some honourable … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Jeremy Crampton, Publishing, Writing | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Publishing in Top Academic Journals – Notes From the Masterclass With Claudia Aradau

Posted on June 6, 2015 by stuartelden

Publishing in Top Academic Journals – Notes From the Masterclass With Claudia Aradau. Last week, the journal New Perspectives and the Centre for European Security of the Institute of International Relations had the pleasure to host two exiting events featuring Dr. Claudia Aradau, a Reader … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Writing | 2 Comments

How Do We Write? Two reflections on ‘dysfunctional academic writing’

Posted on May 31, 2015 by stuartelden

How Do We Write? Two very interesting reflections on ‘dysfunctional academic writing’ at In the Middle. A conversation has unfolded on Facebook over the last week on the topic of How We Write. Two of us who were involved in … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 3 Comments

W.G. Sebald’s tips for writing – from his final fiction workshop

Posted on May 14, 2015 by stuartelden

W.G. Sebald’s tips for writing – from his final fiction workshop, but lots here for writers of non-fiction to think about. Here’s the first section: On Approach  Fiction should have a ghostlike presence in it somewhere, something omniscient. It makes … Continue reading →

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Jacques Derrida’s early essay on Shakespeare’s idea of Kingship – ‘Quite unintelligible’

Posted on April 12, 2015 by stuartelden

This page of an assignment by Jacques Derrida on Shakespeare is quite wonderful. He would have been 19-20 years old, while in a khâgne class – post-school, pre-university. While the teacher’s comment that some of this is ‘quite unintelligible’ is very funny; … Continue reading →

Posted in Jacques Derrida, William Shakespeare, Writing | 1 Comment

Making Writing Visible – strategies and poster

Posted on April 9, 2015 by stuartelden

Making Writing Visible – strategies and poster at Jo van Every’s site. Would you put a sign on your door? What feelings does that bring up? Are your gremlins worried about what would happen? What are their concerns? Would it … Continue reading →

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Umberto Eco, How to Write a Thesis – reviewed in Times Higher Education

Posted on March 23, 2015 by stuartelden

As previously mentioned, Umberto Eco’s 1977 book How to Write a Thesis now out in translation from MIT Press – it is reviewed in The Times Higher Education by Robert Eaglestone – thanks to Dean Bond for the link. Here’s the concluding … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Publishing, teaching, Umberto Eco, Universities, Writing | 1 Comment

Seven upgrade strategies for a problematic article or chapter

Posted on March 22, 2015 by stuartelden

Some interesting writing and publishing advice here. Here’s the heavily compressed version: Do one thing well. Flatten the structure. Say it once, say it right. Try paragraph re-planning. Make the motivation clearer. Strengthen the argument tokens. Improve the data and … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Writing | 4 Comments

Umberto Eco – How to Write a Thesis (MIT Press)

Posted on March 7, 2015 by stuartelden

Umberto Eco’s 1977 book How to Write a Thesis now out in translation from MIT Press. By the time Umberto Eco published his best-selling novel The Name of the Rose, he was one of Italy’s most celebrated intellectuals, a distinguished academic and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Publishing, Umberto Eco, Writing | 2 Comments

The Mechanics of Research Production – some interesting writing advice at Daily Nous

Posted on February 28, 2015 by stuartelden

The Mechanics of Research Production – some interesting writing discussion and advice at Daily Nous. This isn’t just relevant to philosophy. There are many little everyday steps leading up to the production of a philosophical manuscript. Charles Rathkopf (CUNY) writes in … Continue reading →

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