#DevilDiss Update 6 April (post-conference push)

As of Saturday when I returned home from PCAACA15 I realized that I had spent nine out of the last twelve days conferencing between that and SCMS15.

In one of the three days I was home last week I met with my dissertation director to discuss my timeline (AKA my last post about misunderstandings). I went in freaking out a little, and as always, came out feeling more centered and more sure about what I was going to do.

So, the timeline has been adjusted a bit:

• By the end of this semester I will get CH 1 and 2 to her, along with a brief methodology "cheat sheet" so she knows how to read these chapters. This means that I will have time to incorporate notes from a committee member before sending to her. It also means that I feel like the pressure is off a bit. While CH 1 is done except for Anglo-Saxon bits, and CH 2 is almost done, this new revised timeline means that when I submit to her both chapters will be done, done, and as good as I can get them without help.
• At some point over the summer I'll get these chapters back with notes.
• Over the summer I will take CH 3 Shakespeare chapter, and CH 5 Milton chapter and revise into chapters from a conference presentation and stand alone article respectively. I'm actually submitting CH 5 for my director's class, so those should be minor.
• I'll also write CH 4 about the devil in pamphlets over the summer.
• One great thing my director said was to think about how these chapters functioned together, and write them with those connections in mind. 
• I'll send her CH 3-5 and my introduction and conclusion to her in August for notes. Hopefully, that means that the whole #DevilDiss will be in a place where I can have notes fall semester and she will feel comfortable communicating my progress to the rest of the committee. With a big asterisk that may not happen. But I also shared that the reason for my timeline had a lot to do with running out of money, so she's aware of that.

This summer I will also research post-doc opportunities to apply for in addition to applying for jobs.
I've also put in to teach summer school because- broke. And said I'll be the library courier for Bread Loaf for the same reason.
My Anglo-Saxon Devil paper I'm writing for Anglo-Saxon Evil seminar has been accepted to the AFS conference in October which hopefully will add visibility, but not require extra work. However, it also means that I won't be applying for the MTSU Milton Conference because they run at the same time.

So in addition to the revised timeline, the table of contents changed some:

“Pondering his voyage”: The Popular and Folkloric Origins of the English Devil from the Anglo-Saxons Up Through Paradise Lost

1. The Devil You Know
1. Introduction
2. Chapter One “”Our Enemy”: The Physical Markers of the Devil”
3. Chapter Two ““Dark Suggestions” and “Dark Designs”: The Personality and Actions of the Devil”
2. Full of the Devil
1. Chapter Three ““Hell is empty”: The Absence of Devil in Shakespeare”
2. Chapter Four “Raise the Devil: The Devil’s Polemic Use in 16th and 17th Century Pamphlets”
3. Chapter Five “Between the devil and the deep blue sea: Milton’s Use of the Folkloric Devil in Paradise Lost”
4. Conclusion

So I'm feeling good about these notes and the new timelines. I think the work will be in a much better place before it goes to my director, and this new set of deadlines still allows for my tight schedule (hopefully). It also means I'm a little less stressed about everything that has to get done in the next four weeks before the end of the semester.

Today's #DevilDiss writing day is focused on turning the Old English presentation into a conference paper so I can send it off to my professor. I also need to revise my Milton conference paper re: director's notes for our meeting tomorrow.

So I better get to it!