How M.Phil shaped me ??

How M.Phil shaped me ??

Journey is the most important there is nothing like destination. The same way learning process is more important than learning. When you are passing through such process it is just like tormenting, and restlessness process to find out something. One has to do much brainstorming which creates unrest. Ultimately, when one gets result at the end it is incredible. Rather I would like to say it is the another version of Self. 

Last year, I had question how literature shaped me ? Now I have question How M.Phil shape me as research scholar ? Things are extremely different in year because year before I was the 'student' of M.A (literature) and now I have to treat self little bit different as the student of research programme.

  

"Research is formalized curiosity . It is poking and prying with a purpose."

                                                                                                 - Zora Neale Hurston

Certainly, M.Phil  course provide advanced skills and knowledge about research. First, I believe that research is the critical interpretation of literary text. But research is not just critical interpretation but  it is neutral intellectual exercise based on facts and documentation. It is totally recreation of the literary interpretation of the texts. This exercises needs training of brain and body and this training lead tremendous change.  

Research is always appealing to 'Mankind' without influences of any barriers of time and culture. Most of human beings are much emotional. Research exercise demands the capacity of rational thinking. It is not easy job to do work as researcher and live scholar's life. Scholar has the quest for finding truth in place outside in the literary work. 'No one is able to write in a Vacuum.'

 I just passed through the world of literature with different stages. B.A, M.A and M.Phil. In B.A I was reader, second stage M.A was just like reader as well as critic and, in M.phil I try to be mingled with each skill. It is just like World of Games in which one has to pass one level to enter another. Being student of literature is easy as compare to be the literary scholar or to be the student of  research programme. Research programme cultivate the path for student to be 'Research scholar'.

"Literature is not only reflection but it also shows inner psycho material world of individual. Literature is an eloquent artistic document , infinitely varied, of mankind's journey : the autobiography  of the race's soul."

Literature gives the liberty and aesthetic pleasure while reading stories though it is able to create agony in mind at the same time. Literature taught me to take responsibility rather blaming to others. In M.A I was critic rather than Scholar. After reading  'The Art of Literary Research"  by Richard Altic and Fenstermaker in M.Phil perception is changed. Though Scholar and critic are engaged in common pursuit they have some minor differences.

 Critic deals with the with the literary work itself - with its structure, style, and content of ideas as I did M.A in assignment applying theory in Gujarati text - Draupadi by Kajal Oza Vaidya and try to apply Ecocriticism in That thou Art by Dhruv Bhatt. Whereas Scholars, on the other side are more concerned with the facts attending its genesis and subsequent history. Scholar values historical fact. Research is the reconstruction and interpretation of our literary past has its own dignity. Now, I have to take care of vivid sense of historical values and facts to work on my dissertation.

The study of literature remains at base an intensely private pursuit while as researcher or being the student of research programme there is the invisible responsibility to work together  for the benefit of society not for private aggrandizement. In research programme there is the tainting to be scholar not only researcher because 'research is an occupation, scholarship is the habit of mind and the way of living life.' It is no occupation for the impatient or careless nor is it on for the easily fatigued. Research must be add something to the sum of human wisdom or happiness. "The researcher pays for every exultant discovery with a hundred hours of monotonous , eye- searching labour. Weariness of the flesh and congestion of the brain are inescapable diseases. Collecting all qualities together , imparting coherence and meaning  to the facts collected , must be a creative imagination. Without it the scholar is "lost", as Wordsworth put it, "in a gloom of uninspired research."

Literary Theory is bunches of thoughts which appeals to Humanities. It is a process  of understanding what the nature of literature  is, what function it has, what relation of text is to history.  I learned to apply various theories on literary text dealing with its structure, style and content of ideas, and its theatrical concern with the support of various critic. Thanks to Dr. Dilip Barad sir to give such environment at Department of English. Respected Dilip Barad sir is used to apply critical thinking and theory on events and on literary texts during the daily schedule and in class discussion. That practise encouraged and motivated  me more to look each events critically applying various theories. He taught to read between the line. To apply theory , it is first necessary to find which is absent.  I started to apply theories on any poems, texts, videos in our daily schedule or any text which was in syllabus or out of syllabus. M.A plays very vital role in life to learn applying theory on texts. Text is reconstructed after applying theory.

To be scholar is not easy task and also not everybody's cup of tea. Scholar may not earn more enjoy as compare to other fields. But S/He has shaper satisfaction of having a vocation that enables them to do what they want to do in life. There is nothing more important than the sheer joy of finding out things have previously been unknown and thus of increasing. Scholar must give research which add something into human knowledge that live in the truest democracy of all -'Democracy of intellect.' Scholar has nothing to gain from it escape pleasure.

·         Scholar should be the lover of literature. To be good research scholar, researcher must be ready and curious to get information about related subject wherever s/he is. Where searcher select the data for the research from online sources or printed sources s/he is awaken about the authenticity of the resources. Each records not accepted without testing or examine by researcher. Researcher must be free from emotional attachment to the subject.

·         Authenticity of the resources must be checked. Researcher should know how to handle the crisis between Mind and brain. Ideas and thoughts and any resources must be cited appropriately. How to use data /information is more important because total information is not knowledge. Information which is collected has to be transformed  into knowledge that is most significant work on the side of researcher. Good researchers always share their work and let's other know what they are doing. They are actively able to participated  and keep up self with what other people are doing. Not only in their field but in others as well.  Researchers come to down to share their precious knowledge to laymen through articles, books, popular press. It should be just like 'Public domain'.

      Being the student of research programme, now I understand the responsibility which everybody can't. It gives critical insight what should be though about text and the reason about it. Research is not ultimately judgement about issues but it gives some space to study about specific subject with the support of guide, critical insight and theories. It is difficult to do research on humanities because resources which are used is abstract only.  Sometime, it happens to me that I know very well what exactly I want to write or going to argument but it is impossible to prove with evidences only because it is epistemological experience. It is quiet difficult to go through rigorous time, penetrating resources and sometimes monotonous eye which is not able to find anything which is related to topic. Scholar has to have evidence at the first stage otherwise s/he has to face insomnia during the process. scholars have the responsibility to give valuable research to society.

"Let us not seek the Republican answer to the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."  - John F.Kennedy

Scholar should raise questions. Instead of searching right answers, s/he must raise right questions. Though it is complicated and most difficult task to deal with researcher go through the experience of self agony, annoyed, agitation and mental suffering and sometime mind blocking too. When researcher gets the goal of research at the end everything (restlessness and all) would be transformed  into personal satisfaction.

"I am not telling you it's going to be easy, I am telling you it's going to be worth it."

                                                                                

Works Cited:

Altic, Richard, Fenstermaker. The Art of Literary Research. w.w.Norton and co., n.d.

The Importance of Critical Thinking Skills in Research. 26 July 2015. Enago Academy. 14 April 2017 <https://www.enago.com/academy/importance-critical-thinking-skills-research/>.