Looking back with PhD Candidate Carl-Jan Dihlmann

LolMyThesis. If I had to summarize my PhD in one sentence: People feel more at ease in peripheral areas due to beautiful landscapes and quiet neighborhoods. People in rural areas close to agglomeration areas, on the other hand, are more likely to profit from infrastuctural amenities of a nearby city. Wait! Actually, it’s more complicated than that …

It’s all about that space. The relationality of space is definitely the most important concept. I’m still trying to figure out how to include the spatial figures…

Looking back, I would do more REALISTIC (!!!!) planning of tasks that can actually be accomplished. This is very important. See the next point.

A day in the life. Get up early, work hard until evening, sleep, repeat. At least that’s the plan for every new day, after failing to do so the previous day.

It’s all about the spatial arrangement. I like the quiet atmosphere of libraries. A table, my laptop, empirical data, good reading material, and, most importantly, a focused environment. That’s all I need.

When you know, you know. Everyone said that it was going to be hard. Surprisingly, it really is hard!

Back to the future. I would recommend that new researchers enjoy the unique possibilities of conducting fully funded fieldwork. It’s great.

Author Bio: Carl-Jan Dihlmann is a human geographer researching urban-rural relations and more-than-human geographies in Germany and Canada. He is a research assistant at the Geography Department of the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and is pursuing his doctorate in the project A01 “Geographic Imaginations II: Ontological (In)Securities in Rural Areas” of the CRC 1265.