The Dissertation Prospectus as a Speculative Genre

So, I'm currently struggling to write my dissertation prospectus. Since it's been in the forefront of my mind of late, I'm going to write a brief post about it.

First, what is a prospectus generally? Well, according to Google's embedded dictionary, the word prospectus means, "A printed document that advertises or describes a school, commercial enterprise, forthcoming book, etc., in order to attract or inform clients, members, buyers, or investors."

I find this intriguing, particularly in terms of the words marketing and business associations. It makes me ask, is my prospectus an "advertisement" for my scholarship? Is my prospectus selling something? Let's table that for a  bit.

Second, what is an academic or a dissertation prospectus? An academic prospectus usually serves four functions. Here are the four. I've lifted them, word for word, from the graduate student handbook of the English Department at Case Western Reserve University, where I'm working on my Ph.D. in Literature.

• A clear statement of the student's thesis, theoretical approach, and a summary of anticipated evidence.
• A discussion of the likely contribution of the study; what gaps in our knowledge will it fill?
• An outline/summary of the proposed chapters or sections.
• A bibliography.

So, marrying the two definitions together, here's where my definition stands: I need to "sell" my scholarship by clearly and directly stating (1) what I'm going to study, (2) why its relevant, (3) how I'm going to organize my study, and (4) what evidence I'm going to draw from.

That's a large order.

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It's interesting, I think, to think of the dissertation prospectus as a kind of "speculative genre", if you will. What, fundamentally, does the dissertation prospectus do? It's talks about something that doesn't exist just yet.

Let's compare the dissertation prospectus as I've defined it here with a definition of "speculative fiction." For convenience, I'm just drawing from Wikipedia. Here's the Wikipedia definition:

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as related static, motion, and virtual arts.

At first glance it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the dissertation prospectus. To a large extent, it doesn't. But it does share a fundamental characteristic: both genres are discussing something that does not exist yet.

A small point, I know, but comforting. And I don't know why.