Research writing, loss, and melancholy: Writing a PhD dissertation after a family bereavement
Berthet, Florence
Research writing, loss, and melancholy: Writing a PhD dissertation after a family bereavement - 2025.
94
In this article, the author explores the connections between writing a PhD dissertation with a psychoanalytically oriented clinical approach and the process of grieving within the context of hypermodernity. Drawing on her experience as a doctoral student in educational sciences and training, she examines the role of writing as a means of symbolizing loss and absence. The analysis of a clinical research interview highlights the melancholic dimension of writing when it becomes a space for preserving the lost object. The author draws on her subjective experience to subsequently formulate broader hypotheses about how hypermodern demands for visibility and transparency might lead to disengagement from writing, which is viewed as a symbolic system that enables the processing of loss. Thus, in the context of hypermodernity, a PhD dissertation could become a new totem.
Research writing, loss, and melancholy: Writing a PhD dissertation after a family bereavement - 2025.
94
In this article, the author explores the connections between writing a PhD dissertation with a psychoanalytically oriented clinical approach and the process of grieving within the context of hypermodernity. Drawing on her experience as a doctoral student in educational sciences and training, she examines the role of writing as a means of symbolizing loss and absence. The analysis of a clinical research interview highlights the melancholic dimension of writing when it becomes a space for preserving the lost object. The author draws on her subjective experience to subsequently formulate broader hypotheses about how hypermodern demands for visibility and transparency might lead to disengagement from writing, which is viewed as a symbolic system that enables the processing of loss. Thus, in the context of hypermodernity, a PhD dissertation could become a new totem.
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