Women in Academia

Stacey Sherwood on Academia, Research, and How to Write Sci-fi Novels while Doing a PhD

Irena Lovcevic Season 1 Episode 9

Today it's great to have Stacey Sherwood on the podcast. Stacey has now completed her PhD at the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University. Stacey's PhD thesis is focused on the relationship between language and society. Specifically, she investigated the way people learn and use language to construct identities, stances and personas. By conducting an experimental series of production- and perception-based studies across two languages, Japanese and Australian English, Stacey found evidence to suggest that our beliefs mediate our prior language experience and thus shape the way we position ourselves in our communities. Notably, while doing her PhD, Stacey also made the time to write science fiction novels, and she has recently accepted an offer of representation with the Carolyn Jenks Agency. Listen to this episode to hear more about how writing fiction motivated and energised Stacey during her academic journey, and how you can find time to follow your passions even when undertaking something as time consuming and challenging as a PhD project. 

Time stamps:

[00:43] Stacey's introduction
[01:13] Stacey's journey from being graphic designer to doing the research in linguistics
[04:32] Obstacles that Stacey have faced in her research journey
[08:46] Work/life balance
[10:58] How Stacey wrote the PhD thesis and the sci-fi novel at the same time period
[15:13] On receiving the feedback and constructive criticism from others
[16:05] Stacey's team of test readers as an important part of the writing process
[22:26] Stacey's research on the relationship between language and society
[25:36] Plans for future research
[27:02] Issues that women in Academia are facing today according to Stacey
[28:49] Stacey's advice for everyone thinking about a career in Academia or for those just starting a career in Academia

Links:

Stacey's website: https://www.sesherwood.com/
Stacey's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SESherwoodAuthor/
Stacey's twitter: https://twitter.com/SE_Sherwood

Get in touch:

e-mail: podcast.irenalovcevic@gmail.com
twitter: @IrenaLovcevic
instagram: @irenalovcevic
website: https://munduslibrium.com/