As promised, some technical advice that you really don't need, but might make you laugh, from Catinca.

Chapter VI: Begin by being honest 

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young student in possession of a thesis topic must be in need of advice. Luckily, there is plenty of it on offer here at CEU. 

As you may remember from my previous instalments, this whole thesis debacle started with a passion. As much as I was in love with my topic, I was very anxious to share that with faculty. This is an academic institution, right? 

Science!

Rigour!

Citations!

Theories! 

How could I walk into my supervisor's office with feelings as a methodology? But, dear reader, that is exactly what I did. I spoke openly with my supervisor, we discussed motivations and plans, and guess what? Not only was it a cathartic experience, it was productive as well. We came up with a plan! And a methodology! But I am getting ahead of myself. 

What I am trying to say is, be honest with your advisors. Tell them your fears, your ideas and do not be afraid to stand your ground. If you are very attached to an idea or concept, find arguments to convince them it is a good idea. Be creative in the ways you could integrate it in the thesis. You don't have to let go of the soul of your project. A supervisor will help make sense of your (sometimes messy) ideas and you will figure out a good outcome together. But talk to them you must, young padawan. 

Chapter VII: Research and (actual) methodology (and some practical advice)

Time to talk about Bucharest again. Do you know what a mahala is? Bucharest used to be made of them. People still use the term today. 

mahala: word of turkish origin meaning simply neighbourhood. Only after the urbanisation following western models started in the 1830's the word acquired a negative connotation of a marginal space. These were spaces 'outside the citadel walls', where minorities and merchants usually dwelled. Most of these unplanned, often poor, organically developed neighbourhoods disappeared, either integrated into the city, or demolished for modernisation. 

Why am I telling you this? Because these are the basic urban cells from which the urban space developed. One can still see their traces today. Small merchant's homes, some only a little more than huts. They are heritage too. They are part of urban history as much as the neoclassical palaces I was crying about in part 1. And the thing is, I only found out about their significance during my research for my Jewish Cultural Heritage module.

Just because something isn't specifically 'thesis research', that doesn't mean it isn't useful thesis research.

Furthermore, thinking about these neglected heritage sites I realised the underlying concept of my thesis. Community involvement blah blah. Heritage reuse blah blah. But what was the underlying connection? And it dawned on me that it was authenticity. My idea of asking people what shape they want adaptive reuse projects to take in their ares was fuelled by the unconscious thought of a 'geist', an intanglible aspect of local heritage that I wanted to see manifested in heritage reuse. And I finally realised this by coming clean to my supervisor about my motivation. I used the word vibe a lot. But it is true that some places have a vibe, a je ne sais quoi that results from their history and heritage. The academic terms for that fall somewhere between intangible heritage and authenticity.

Just because some of your ideas don't sound academic, that doesn't mean that there isn't a useful concept underneath it all.

Chapter VIII: She reads, she writes, she reads more, she re-writes

So from this idea, my supervisor recommended I look into the concept of Historical Urban Landscape. I just checked out 3 books on the topic. Thing is, it may not be suitable. It may be the most useful thing ever. But I will never know unless I study it. So read. Read everything. Read it all. Even when you watch Netflix, keep an eye out for ideas. When you walk around the city. On the metro. All research is good research. And by the end, you will know what is useful for you. (More than that, you will sound hella smart.)

Pro tip: keep a notebook with you at all times and every time you a have thought about your thesis write it down. It might me amazing. You may never remember it again.

And with all this research, your ideas will naturally change. Your biases will be challenged, your assumptions unveiled. But everyone says to narrow down the topic. How does this technique help, you may ask. Well, the answer is counterintuitive, but bear with me. The more you read around the topic, you will find out a lot of things you don't need. Which is exactly the point. The more you know what is irrelevant, or belongs in a different research area, the easier it will be to define your are and hedge ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)effectively. 

That's all the cliche advice I could come up with, based on my meagre personal experience. Hope it helps! 

Cliche Appendix:

1. All bad thesis are bad in the same way, but all good thesis are good in their own unique way. (if Anna Karenina wrote a thesis)

2. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of research, it was the age of procrastination, it was an epoch of learning, it was an epoch of waking up late, it was the season of presentations, it was the season of essays, it was the spring in Vienna, it was the winter in Budapest, we had a BA before us, we had a prospectus before us, we were all getting an MA. (A tale of two years at CHSP)

3. In my younger and more vulnerable years, my supervisor gave me some advice that I've been turning around in my mind ever since: every time you feel like criticising anyone, remember peer reviewing. (The Great Prof. Dr. Gatsby).

4. As students fro CHSP awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, they found themselves transformed in their beds into monstrous bibliographies. (The Metamorphosis)