In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:
I'm an incoming PhD student with a couple of questions about publishing in grad school. Throughout my MA, I have been working on a clearly historical topic 'X' in Early Modern philosophy (one that is fairly interesting but also quite specific). However, this topic is also relevant for contemporary discussions in the form of a slightly modified topic 'Xi'. In my graduate studies, I want to focus strictly on the latter topic and leave the former behind. The thing is, I have already put a lot of work into researching 'X' and potentially would like to publish an article on it. So, my questions are: (1) Is it wise to put more time and effort into polishing up the draft about 'X' and preparing it for publication, or should I rather leave this topic behind and start working exclusively on 'Xi'? (2) Would hiring committees be suspicious about a diverse publication section in my CV and even hold it against me? I am aware that for many, HoP is a subfield with a very high entry barrier, and my attempts to make a contribution may seem naive/unserious.
I would recommend trying to publish the paper on X while also transitioning to Xi. Changing one's focus in a PhD program is common, and I don't think anyone will hold it against you. If anything, I think having more diverse interests is likely to help you on the market, at least for some jobs. Finally, I think one is simply likely to do one's best work if one works on what one is most interested in.
But these are just my thoughts. What are yours?
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