Requirements

Here's the requirements I need to fulfill:

I can choose my subjects from the following:

Alte Geschichte und Altertumskunde, Anglistik und Amerikanistik, Deutsche Philologie (Germanistik), Geschichte, Klassische Philologie, Klassische Archäologie, Kunstgeschichte, Musikwissenschaft, Pädagogik, Philosophie, Romanistik, Slawistik, Sportwissenschaft, Sprachwissenschaft, Übersetzen und Dolmetschen und Volkskunde.

The most interesting for me are Anglistik (English Studies), Philosophie (Philosophy) and Volkskunde (Anthropology or Cultural Studies, I suppose).

Now, I need to do a certain number of courses, divided among compulsory and elective courses.
My compulsory stuff will come from English Studies, since that's what my thesis is mainly about (literary studies). Here I need to do 8 hours worth:

Das Pflichtfach (Dissertationsfach) ist jenes Gebiet/Teilgebiet eines Faches, dem das Thema der Dissertation zuzuordnen ist. Aus dem Pflichtfach sind Lehrveranstaltungen für Dissertantinnen/Dissertanten im Ausmaß von mindestens 8 Semesterstunden zu absolvieren, davon:
1) Seminare für Dissertantinnen und Dissertanten (SE) im Ausmaß von 4 Semesterstunden
2) Spezialvorlesungen bzw. methodenkritische oder wissenschaftstheoretische Lehrveranstaltungen zu dem Dissertationsfach (VO) im Ausmaß von 4 Semesterstunden.

Elective courses...I'm not sure yet whether I will use Cultural Studies or Philosophy. Probably the first. Anyway, I need 4 hours here:

Das Wahlfach ist jenes Gebiet/Teilgebiet eines Faches, das unter Beachtung des thematischen Zusammenhanges mit der Dissertation zu wählen ist. Die Lehrveranstaltungen des Wahlfaches sind daher einem mit dem Dissertationsfach nahe verwandten Gebiet/Teilgebiet zu entnehmen.
Aus dem Wahlfach sind Lehrveranstaltungen im Ausmaß von mindestens vier Semesterstunden zu absolvieren:
1) Seminare für Dissertantinnen und Dissertanten (SE) im Ausmaß von 2 Semesterstunden
2) Spezialvorlesungen bzw. methodenkritische, wissenschaftstheoretische oder wissenschaftsphilosophische Lehrveranstaltungen (VO) im Ausmaß von 2 Semesterstunden

All together this is 12 hours, which means only 6 courses, basically. Not too bad!
My goal is to finish getting these during the winter semester.

Now about the thesis itself. I thought there would be some formal requirements concerning length etc, but I can find nothing in the information they have online. I guess it should be more extensive than the diploma thesis (which should be around 80 pages, mine was 110). Then again, if I can say breakthrough stuff on 100 pages flat, I guess noone is going to keep me from claiming my prize. ;)
Fun aside, this is something I need to ask my supervisor.

I already have a couple of hours collected, just need to check whether these are appropriate.

Begin, or What this is about

When I finished university in the autumn of 2008, I somehow wasn't quite satisfied with my level of knowledge, of expertise. I wanted something more, something better. So I signed up to do a PhD last winter.
Since then, I read a little, I thought a little, but not much has come of it so far. I decided I needed more focus, more structure.
This blog is now my little helper in these things.
A place to collect ideas, to order thoughts, to show progress.
Also, admittedly, to put some pressure on myself to make progress.

I'm giving myself roughly two years from now on. One year to lay the theoretical basis, one year to dig through literary texts. So much for my current schedule.

My literary focus is Murray Bail, the Australian author. My idea of structure is how idenity is constructed in general, how national identity is constructed (maybe in an analogous way), how the necessary process of collection and memory works in actuality (museums, literature?), and how all of this happens in the works of my literary focus.

I want to mix psychology, philosophy, cultural studies and literary studies.

I want to stay sane throughout, as well.

I'll collect ideas about what life needs to make PhD work easier, tips and tricks on doing the actual work, progress reports, whatever.

For me this PhD is not only about academic study, but also about creating a life that works, that has structure, that makes it possible to achieve things.