This unconventional guide aims to provide doctoral students with the necessary knowledge—often scattered and informal—to navigate the academic world. The Making of a Thesis is a collective and practical handbook, written by early-career researchers for early-career researchers, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the doctoral process. It covers a wide range of topics: from practical aspects such as funding and time management, to questions arising from fieldwork and inquiry, and the challenges of disseminating one’s research, including teaching and alternative forms of writing.
The book stands out both for its unique methodology—a collective writing process led by a team of around fifty authors and contributors—and for the diversity of its formats, which include personal testimonies, roundtable discussions, practical sheets, annotated bibliographies, and comics. It offers both an immersion into the concrete and personal experiences of doctoral work and a collective reflection on the production of knowledge in the humanities and social sciences in France.
Published by Karthala, The Making of a Thesis brings together 21 authors and more than 30 contributors across 14 chapters. Each chapter includes a summary sheet drawn from the Fabrique des chercheur·ses training program, testimonies, an annotated bibliography, and illustrated pages by artist Morgan Shellen. This is an indispensable book for master’s students considering a PhD, early-stage doctoral candidates, and faculty members alike.
The Making of a Thesis is available from Karthala and as an e-book on the CAIRN platform.
