Arts and Humanities have remained a popular option for students starting university this year, but what is it really like to not only study in the area but work in it as well? We spoke to Trinity’s Mark Pigott Lecturer of US History, Dr Daniel Geary about working in the field, studying the field, coming to Ireland from his native USA and what it is like to move to Dublin.
How long have you been lecturing at Trinity? And what were you doing before then?
I’ve been here six years now. I did all my degrees in the US. I got my PhD at the University of California, Berkeley and then I taught in the UK at the University of Nottingham for three years before coming here.
What would be an average term’s day or week’s activity for you?
Well, it’s always mixed. There’s teaching and preparation for teaching and grading of student work, meeting with students individually, supervision of dissertations. With the graduate students, I meet with them, supervise their research. Then there’s the administrative side of things; each person has some of that to do within the college. The final element would be department meetings and then my own research. That involves keeping up with your own research which is harder during term time, then there’s traveling for conferences, talks, organising talks. It’s really varied and that’s something I love about the job – it’s always different.
Is there something about working in academia that you wish you had known before going in?
I wish I had known how hard it is to get a job. It wasn’t my original plan to teach overseas, but it has worked out for me. It’s very challenging to get a job in academia. There just aren’t as many academic jobs as there used to be. Sometimes people come out of a PhD with no job or they wind up with a series of temporary jobs. I knew a little of how bad it was, but I didn’t know just how difficult it would be and also that it was going to get worse, not better. It’s very very competitive.
What would be your favourite and least favourite parts of your job?
My favourite part would be teaching, interacting with students. The job often involves doing a lot of work on your own, so it’s good to have that interaction. And Trinity is a great teaching environment for that. I don’t think there is a “least favourite” part of the job for me. Maybe administrative work, but it’s a small part of the job and there are just some bureaucratic aspects that just have to be done and for an office job, it’s a relatively low amount.
Technically speaking, you’re an historian, but does much of your time actually go on historical research?
During the summer, the month at Christmas and at exam time as well – before the grading – I can get a lot done. I do get some time during term to read and keep up, but it’s hard to work on a longer project like a book. It’s easier to do something like that day after day as the train of thought is not then interrupted. But there are certainly other [research-based] things you can do during term.
You’re not originally from Dublin, so did you find it a tough city to crack when you arrived?
Well, people like Americans so much here, Irish people are so friendly and Dublin is a really easy city to get to know as it’s so compact. I have found that, even though Irish people have a deserved reputation for being very friendly, they do take a little longer to make friends. In the US, it’s more common to meet someone and invite them over to your house for dinner early, but I don’t think that happens here so much. Here, everyone knows each other, they live to their family and the friends they grew up with. Whereas in the States, people move away from home for college and jobs much more and so those networks aren’t established as much.
Is there any one thing you would advise people to do in Dublin when they first arrive?
Walk around the city! It’s a pretty easy city to get to know, but you have to get to know it by walking around it and seeing it. It’s hard to find places in Dublin if you don’t know the city, people don’t use street names and the city is also changing so fast. Quite often people will give directions based on pubs. If you actually just walk around the city, you can get to know it that way. If you get lost though and you just stand there, looking at a map, generally someone will come over and help you out.
For people starting the humanities, is there anything they should be doing in particular or anything that they should bear in mind?
The experience improves generally, as you go through. The first years are usually broad and provide a foundation. In the later years. at Trinity, anyway, the classes get smaller and the discussion gets better. It’s important to work hard for the first two years because as it gets more intense in the later years, you’ll be in for a shock if you haven’t been paying attention until then.
