Our First Blog Post - Jeanne Duley
Hello and welcome to the new SPS PGR Research Blog! My name is Jeanne, and I will be the blog’s editor. I am a third year PhD in Criminology originally from Paris, France. I am also the Representative for the Criminology PGRs, and have been a PhD Tutor in Sociology at the University since 2022.
The aim of this blog is simple: share your research experiences with your peers, allowing you to connect with one another and feeling a little bit less alone in the PhD process. I asked my fellow SPS Reps to present themselves in a post each and they very kindly agreed so you will hear more from us in the upcoming few weeks. I hope this will allow you to get to know them better and encourage you to reach out.
Allow me to introduce my research to start the process going. For my thesis, I work on the representation of women who commit acts of terrorism in the mediatic discourse. I chose to do a case study on the media representation of Shamima Begum’s story. Shamima was a young British Muslim woman who left London to join the Islamic State in Syria at the age of fifteen. She was found four years later and made stateless by the UK government, who deemed her a threat to the country if she were to return. She filed for appeal on several accounts, but the decision stood. Today, she remains stateless in a refugee camp in Syria
I am currently undertaking a media analysis of articles from The Guardian and The Times about Shamima and her story. I do not aim at discovering whether she is a terrorist. Rather, I am interested in the discourses around her and the potential influence that media might possess.
I chose to focus on Shamima’s story because from a feminist criminologist’s standpoint, I believe that women’s voices should be heard, including the ones of women who offend. I believe women should be able to be considered able to kill as women, not as narratives created by the media, and that their agency should be fully recognized.
If you are just starting your PhD, I want to tell you one thing: do not be afraid to reach out to us Reps. We have been where you are just a little while back. I had never set foot in Glasgow before the start of my PhD two years ago. Moving to a new place and starting a project of this scale simultaneously could be daunting. Try and find your people!
Socialize with your peers even though you do not feel like it. Work is important, but you will not get through this without a few people beside you, especially fellow PGRs who will go through the same steps as you. You might learn a thing or two from them, and who knows, make lifelong friendships in the process.
This blog will cover anything related to the PhD research experience, from access to fieldwork and mental health. If you feel like writing and sharing your experience, please contact me. Your voice matters, and it is time it is heard.
Take care,
Jeanne