You’ve read all of the books. You’ve taken all of the notes. You’ve made connections between heaps of books and articles, and you’ve seen where your research will contribute to your chosen field. The big day arrives, and your advisors let you know: you’ve passed your comps! Only one more task stands between you and being ABD (All But Dissertation). It’s time to ready your dissertation prospectus and prospectus defense. Your dissertation prospectus is not as far removed from comps as you might think. In this piece you’ll find advice on how to use everything you developed preparing for comps (your list, notes, and knowledge) to create your prospectus.
Taking A Break.
You’ve passed comps—congratulations! Take a well-deserved break of a few days or a week. Taking breaks during the Ph.D. process is key to your survival, and, if possible, step away from your research too. A break from being enmeshed in research and data can help your brain relax and refocus on new ideas. Once you’ve had some time away, there are some great questions to ask, both about your comps list and about your exam.
Take a Look at Your List.
In preparing your prospectus, return to your comps list and ask yourself a few questions: What books were most useful? Where did you notice gaps in the literature? What books were the type of history you’d like to write? These are all great questions that make good use of a comps list. While you may have already discussed with your committee members where the lacuna is in the field and different methodologies, looking over your notes and your list might help you better understand the kind of dissertation you’d like to write. Your reading lists laid the groundwork for your dissertation by identifying the core issues, key scholars, and theoretical approaches within your area of expertise. The prospectus then is your proposal for how your specific project will contribute to, and potentially challenge, established scholarship.
When looking at your notes, ask yourself: did any questions from the books you read jump out? This will make it easier to narrow down your research question—the main struggle when writing a prospectus. If there was any pattern to the questions you wrote down when reading, these could be helpful when deciding on the question you’d like your dissertation to focus on.
Additionally, your comps may have included a field on historical methods or theory. Draw on this knowledge to explain how you will interpret your sources. Will you employ a specific theoretical framework, like gender or postcolonial theory? Your prospectus is the time to make that clear. It’s also time to decide if you’ll use specific analytical techniques, like quantitative methods or oral history.
Historiography is important.
Historiography—how historians have written the history of a topic—is a major component of the prospectus. The good news is that you’ve already done part of the work. Your comps lists are raw material for the literature review, or historiography, section of your prospectus. Your prospectus will have an annotated bibliography or use a historiographical essay to tell a story about the scholarship that currently exists on your topic, and where you plan to take it.
Further, a prospectus can be developed directly from your comps list by expanding the historiographical foundation you’ve already established. Organizing the books and articles used on your comps lists into a prospectus historiography can be a great start to getting a draft of the prospectus finished.
Looking at Primary Sources and Archives.
While your comps list focused on secondary literature, your prospectus will need to list the specific primary sources you plan to use to prove your thesis. Your comps knowledge will help you identify the types of sources that are relevant for a given field. Start by looking at the sources used in works that deal with your given topic. Where did authors of those works conduct their research? In whose papers? By returning to your lists and looking at your notes, you can start to make a list of primary sources and archives worth visiting.
Discussing Your Research.
No research happens independently. Talk to your advisor and/or the rest of your committee about your ideas. They can provide key feedback about the comps exam that can guide your next steps. What jumped out at them during your exams? What did you seem to naturally gravitate towards? What were you less comfortable talking about? Getting their perspective can help you realize where your interest in a topic lies.
Talking about your research with other people is always a great way to see it in a new way. Beyond just your committee, seek out others in your department (faculty as well as other graduate students) that you can bounce ideas off—even if they’re not in your field. It’s always helpful to explain your research out loud and to get an outside perspective.
Using your comprehensive exams as a tool for writing your dissertation prospectus can help the process seem less daunting. By using the information gleaned from your comps list and exams, you will be well on your way to crafting a great prospectus and successfully defending!
Clio and the Contemporary 