Personal Statement

'This is the personal statement I wrote when entering into the DIT MA in Journalism program.' 

I have spent the last ten years of my life writing in one capacity or another. My facility for language, or interest in its use and manipulation began though nightly readings of various ‘Darren Shan’ novels, leading me to believe that a life spent writing would be an admirable, even necessary one. My father’s endless pursuit for the world’s most eclectic book collection gave me no choice but to pick up dog eared editions of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and Patrick McCabe’s The Butcher Boy, as well as lengthy conversations and discussions (which would inevitably lead to argument) over whose caption of the American spirit was more accurate, Steinbeck or Hemmingway’s. It was hard not to develop a love for writing in this environment.  Noting at the time I was more interested in joining the fantasy world of Vampires and Werewolves than understanding the ‘American Spirit’; thankfully such aspirations have since subsided.

As a final year student of a joint major in History and English at University College Dublin I believe that in retrospect my degree has helped me further my understanding of not only the literary world but also given me context and structure to such an understanding. It feels as though it had been the natural progression from my earlier interests in historical politics and writing. Modules such as ‘Orwell’s 20th Century’ allowed me enter the mind of a writer I have come to respect and admire, moulding both my ethical and moral interpretation of what it means to express myself and my awareness of the world through writing. Other modules in the History section of my degree such as ‘International History’, ‘Islam and Christianity’ or ‘Land Religion Identity’ gave me a keen interest in world/domestic politics  and perpetuated my constant belief that the investigation into the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of history and the manner in which one receives it, is of critical importance.

My English modules dealt with a broad spectrum of genres and forms of thought, ranging from the motley crew of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in ‘Chaucer in Context’ to the violent truths of Hunter Thompson’s ‘Gonzo Journalism’ in ‘Contemporary American Literature’. Modules such as ‘Reading Joyce’ gave me grounding for studies into Post-Colonial, Queer and Racial schools of critical thought which I had acquired during the module, ‘Critical Theory’. The broad basis of differing areas of criticism really allowed me engage with some of Joyce’s more labyrinthine texts such as, Ulysses and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, allowing me to use the works of Michelle Foucault and Edward Said to investigate that which would not have been apparent to me on first reading of any of the texts.

I had only late in my academic life realised that journalism would be something that would both offer me new challenges and a new skill set, as well as believing it to embody my accumulated interests in writing and research.  I had heard about the Masters in Journalism offered by DIT through numerous meetings with my careers advisor who had on the basis of my expressed interests suggested Journalism to be a relevant area of study, and following my research I chose DIT on the back of its record for practical application. I was enthused by the modules offered in ‘Investigative Journalism’ as well as ‘Broadcast Journalism’ both of which conjured up a perception I hold of my future-self that, with the aid of this MA, would certainly be a feasible career path to embark on.