ABSTRACT
To engage with a research project in any discipline in a university is to work in relation to an institutionalised space. Master’s or PhD dissertations by graduate students or scholarly publications by academics in the discipline of English Literature or Comparative Literature, despite differences in expectations, have the following institutional considerations in common: first, they are produced in the context of the practices of that discipline; and second, they address an area of knowledge that is pertinent to that discipline. Researchers usually, and necessarily, focus their investigations fairly narrowly in undertaking such research – on specific texts and contexts, particular issues and themes. The research focus is usually delimited in advance by a process of identifying a title, preparing a proposal and chapter plan, getting acquainted with extant research in the area, identifying a suitable methodology. These take up a great deal of time and energy, and consequently the institutional aspects of doing research are usually engaged only tacitly in that process, as operational but not necessarily requiring considered thought or conscious effort. However, researchers are inevitably aware that doing research involves institutional considerations, even if those are not explicitly addressed. The latter extend across various levels, with regard to the programmes and facilities of the specific department/faculty/ university in question; the broad academic set up at national and international levels; the particular practices and expectations that delineate disciplines of knowledge (Literature, History, Geography and so on) at various levels (within universities, in publishing, media, policy-making and resourcing bodies, etc.); and, at the broadest level, the conventions of academic discourse in texts and discursive forums.
