{"id":61747,"date":"2022-02-21T11:06:31","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T16:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=61747"},"modified":"2022-02-21T11:06:31","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T16:06:31","slug":"concluding-well-part-2-on-back-rows-and-beautiful-houses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/concluding-well-part-2-on-back-rows-and-beautiful-houses\/","title":{"rendered":"Concluding well \u2013 part 2. on back rows and beautiful houses"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nImagine yourself in a theatre. You choose to sit in the back row. You are the author of the play to be performed, and you have crept into the stalls after the lights go down. It is opening night and your words are about to be heard by a real audience. The stakes are high. Critical reviews can make or break a play. No-one can see you or recognise you now as everyone\u2019s eyes are on the stage. You are close to the exit and can creep quietly away before the lights go up.<\/p>\n

This is not you. The theatre is not your thesis. The last act of the play is not your conclusion. Your words do not speak for themselves, nor are they spoken through the mouths of other actors.<\/p>\n

The thesis is not a back row. It is your beautiful house.<\/p>\n

Oh yes. I haven\u2019t just been watching the Winter Olympics, I\u2019ve also watched Spike Lee\u2019s performance film of David Byrne\u2019s\u00a0American Utopia<\/em>. For the second time. And I think it\u2019s got some helpful insights about conclusions. And oh yes, it\u2019s another metaphor based post. If these are not your cup of tea I\u2019ve written other posts on conclusions you might prefer (here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0here<\/a>). But as I was saying,\u00a0American Utopia<\/em>\u00a0has some useful insights for concluding well\u2026.<\/p>\n

Even the trailer for the film is helpful for putting yourself in the right conclusion-writing head space \u2013 it starts off \u201cEveryone\u2019s coming to my house.\u201d Right away, following the metaphor, you know that your conclusion is you and your work. Work which is beautiful. which your audience is coming to see and to read and to hear about.<\/p>\n

When you come to the conclusion you might well ask yourself, as Bryne does, \u201cHow do I work this?\u201d. Byrne and his former outfit Talking Heads\u2019 have some advice. Their answer is not to focus on \u201cHow did I get here?\u201d but rather, \u201cWhat is this beautiful house?\u201d and \u201cWhere does this highway go?\u201d
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