Quick bit of news for you: I’m moving to the University of Strathclyde!
I’ve had a wonderful time studying at the University of Glasgow over the last five years. On my first day at the MLitt in Fantasy, we were all asked why we decided to take this course. I said, “Because I don’t want to be Garth Marenghi” – alluding to the comic character’s famous line about having written more books than he’d read.* If I’d simply followed the course, I’d have more than reached that goal. But I found so much more besides.
I’ve always felt that fans of Speculative Fiction naturally develop a complex understanding of story, because the books they read can be very demanding in terms of themes, metaphor, and so forth, as well as pushing our empathetic understanding. And that was very much reflected in the national and international diversity of my classmates: all fans who wanted to find out more about the things they loved. We’d go on to discover great depths within those works and within ourselves, encouraged by teachers who understood the value of what they taught and the need to make the course as open and welcoming as possible.
I’ve met people who are genuinely passionate about Fantastic academia, blending their fandom with great insight into what they read – not just students, but established academics who encourage their students with great kindness and patience. This is one of the many reasons who I’m passionate about breaking down the barriers between academia and fandom. Here the ivory tower is easiest to reach – because we fly there on the wings of eagles and hippogryphs, steamships and spaceships, climbing up hair and rope and ivy. But also because there are so many hands to help us up.
I’m good friends with many of the folks I met through studying Fantasy and Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. Several of us still hang out regularly in person or online, or in reading and support groups, and many I also have ongoing collaborations with. Some of my classmates have gone on to academia, some have moved to the publishing industry, some have gone on to completely different careers – but studying Fantasy was often the beginning of big changes in their lives, and their understanding of themselves. While it hasn’t always been easy for me, particularly with my health issues over the last few years, the difference that studying at Glasgow has made to my life is simply immeasurable.
However, as often happens, my creative project has developed to the point where I need something different to get me through those final laps. Luckily it turns out that what I need is right on my doorstep. The University of Strathclyde‘s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences has a vibrant community of researchers exploring intersectional studies and online fandom, as well as a creative writing department with a practical industry outlook and that welcomes experimental, working class, and non-mainstream works. I’m delighted to say I’ll be working with Drs Rodge Glass (LoveSexTravelMusik, Bring Me The Head of Ryan Giggs, Alasdair Gray: A Secretary’s Biography) and Esperanza Miyake (The Gendered Motorcycle), alongside my current collaborator Dr Darshana Jayemanne at Abertay (Performativity in Art, Literature and Videogames – as well as our current work on Ludographic Metafiction in Final Fantasy VII: Remake).
In practical terms, not much is changing – I’ll still be in Glasgow, I’m still studying for a doctorate in Creative Writing, I’ll still be funded through the Scottish Graduate School for the Arts and Humanities. I’ll still be working on more Fantasy-aligned projects too – not least the Final Fantasy work I’ve been doing recently with Dr Jayemanne. However, I’ll be studying with a group of supervisors whose research interests align much more closely with my project as it stands, and who can help me to get it fit for the finish line.
I’d like to take the opportunity to thank my friends and colleagues at the University of Glasgow for all their support over the last five years (and for many more!), and to those at Glasgow, SGSAH and Strathclyde for all their help with this move.
From the great start that I’ve had, I’m really looking forward to the next stage of my creative and academic journey (about two miles, according to Google Maps).
* Garth Marenghi is the alter-ego of comedian and director Matthew Holness. A parody of 1980s horror writers, Marenghi describes himself as “author, dreamweaver, visionary, plus actor.” Click here for an example of his magnificent oeuvre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXBBGjUjy2c