Today’s meeting with my supervisor was very useful – the flaws in my draft second chapter were discussed, and a route forward proposed. As soon as possible, I am to submit a revised chapter two introduction, as well as draft versions for the opening sections of chapters three and four. These are to lay out the central purpose of each chapter, the three or four main arguments that will be made, and the structure that will be used:
- Chapter two, main argument: the linear model of scientific investigation is wrong, in the context of environmental politics generally and Stockholm and Kyoto specifically
- Chapter three: scientific and political consensus are not independent, the first does not chronologically precede the second
- Chapter four: technical remedies to environmental problems are not value neutral (be sure to focus on remedies and scientific rationality, not economic rationality ie. Coase)
Once that is done, I am to revise chapter two into a more logical form, then write the draft of chapter three that was originally due tomorrow. The objective of all this is to have the structure of all three chapters finalized by the end of the month, as well as their introductions and conclusions. Then, when Dr. Hurrell leaves for Brazil and I go to Dorset, it will be a matter of tidying things up, adding some footnotes, and generally polishing the finished work prior to submission.
Of course, that leaves me with eighteen days to write two more chapters, as well as discuss and edit them. Amazing how the period in which the bulk of the work on a project actually seems to get done always lumps up at the end. Hopefully, all the background reading I have been doing since last year will percolate into my analysis.