Thanks to the St John’s Opportunity Fund, Wang Xiaoge was able to present a paper at the Narratives of Moral Injury in European and International Contexts conference in April 2024.
My name is Wang Xiaoge and I am a 1st year PhD student in the Department of English Studies and proud member of St John’s College. I work on British post-War fiction, negative affects and 20th-century British intellectual history.
My doctoral project focuses on the interaction between the intellectual and negative affects of anxiety and shame in contemporary British fiction in the long Thatcherite era. Shame is an important symptom of moral injury. Discussing moral injury issues with scholars of the same interests and devotion gave me a lot of inspiration for my thesis and my life.
For international students, one of the most common difficulties of living in a new country is the struggle with the language barrier
Presenting research to a group of experts can be quite challenging. The case of doing it in a foreign language to native speakers will be daunting. Although I took my BA in English Education and MA in Anglo-American Literature, this is the first year I lived and studied in an English-speaking country.
For international students, one of the most common difficulties of living in a new country is the struggle with the language barrier. When I was listening to the reports on moral injury from speakers in other disciplines, I did not always understand them.
This pressure peaked just before my turn. I noticed that I was shaking. I was worried about what I would do if I could not understand the questions in the Q&A session. What if I knew what the question was about and the answer to it but could not express myself clearly? I had many worries. But, luckily, none of this happened!
I received very good feedback on my presentation. As a result of many rehearsals, I delivered my speech smoothly and the audience was amused by the jokes I had prepared. Academic papers are normally quite formal and therefore distracting, so I wrote a verbal one and made beautiful slides based on my paper. The audience listened attentively and the Q&A part was very lively. Many people raised their hands and asked me questions. Miraculously, I understood each and every one of them, and was able to give an answer. At the end of the Q&A part, I received a very loud applause. I was deeply moved by their warm and friendly reception.
The cycle of writing and submitting a paper is tediously long, and researchers are unlikely to know what responses their readers may have. Presenting my new research at this conference gave me much immediate feedback and happiness. I am and will be continuously encouraged and inspired by this opportunity. Once again, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the St John’s Opportunity Fund. Because of it, many beautiful things happened to us.
Images courtesy of Wang Xiaoge
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