I posted my DPhil application today by special delivery, so barring any gross incompetence by the Royal Mail (always a possibility) it should arrive at Oxford before 1pm tomorrow. I felt a bit guilty telling Ali and Sam about it today at our coordinators’ meeting, because it will mean that I might not be around from October to help run Manchester FoE, and Ali is already stepping down after three years so if I do go to Oxford it will leave Sam trying to find two new coordinators for next year. I know I’ll miss the group if I leave, although there is an Oxford FoE which I can join (they’re not quite as active as Manchester, but that can always be fixed! :)).
My dissertation is also coming along slowly, although I have found my copy of Ancient Warfare: A Very Short Introduction which, whilst perhaps not being considered sufficiently academic to warrant citation in itself (though I suspect I can lower this barrier somewhat given the topic of my dissertation), nevertheless contains a useful ‘further reading’ section which will be helpful in building up my bibliography. I’m going in tomorrow to spend most of the day in the library getting quotes and references, as it’s wonderfully quiet now that all the undergraduates have gone…