OK, it's time for today's last segment: 4. Working (on) conditions in academia
This is the hardest part to talk about but it's important. I'll show you why: here is a list of my employments since 2014.
I'm sure you are aware of the German initiative #IchBinHanna and the continuing strikes at UK/US institutions against the exploitative working conditions in academia.
I'm in continuous anxiety about having to give up my job (12 years of study, a wide range of expertise). I'm always one foot out the door while furiously writing more papers, still hoping I get tenure or at least something that allows me to continue doing this.
I'm sad and furious about a system that I hope to change by being kind to people, doing the topics that I consider interesting and relevant rather than focusing on classics that might up my chances of becoming a professor.
I worked as a Data Steward at a library in Kiel for half a year while working another job at a university in Braunschweig until the end of March, so I had to play ping pong between three cities. But I have to grasp at straws to stay in academia. This f*s up my (mental) health.
I still enjoy research and teaching when I get to do it rather than another bout of applications, writing grant proposals etc. This is what I meant to do. Funny that we all get so little time to do it.
3. How to talk about science - science communication #scicomm#WissKomm
I love to talk about my research. Giants were always a good topic at a party for non-science people to talk about bc everyone has something to say about giants.
The key to make peope care about your topics is to find some common ground and go from there. Like "My dad used to read me this story about this giant eating all these children" might be slightly disturbing, but you hace sth to work with at least. :D
2. Natural nerdiness and the research that developed from it, or, Games and the Middle Ages 🧵
Hi, I'm a nerd. As a kid, I loved to read and as soon I got a computer in the glorious year 2000, I was glued to the screen.
My hobbies always revolved around literature and gaming. Fictional worlds are awesome. So one passion became my profession and soon I thought, why not include the other?
I studied German Medieval Literature and Northamerican Literature at the University of Hamburg. I wrote my dissertation about Giants in Medieval German Literature and got #PhDone in 2020.
Giants in Medieval Lit are not just big and powerful, but complex. Sometimes the definition of what a giant can be extends to human heros and vice versa.