Feda, PhD Research in Fine Art Practice, Politicised Aesthetics, Critical Pedagogy, Subjectivity, Sue Wilks

Responses to Academic [Book Proposal] Appeal
		I was delighted and surprised to receive a response within the first week of having posting the books out. It came from Professor Cary Cooper's Secretary at the Manchester School of Management who was asking me to give Professor Cooper a call. However this also presented a problem as recorded in my diary at the time... 'I'm shitting myself... I've just got an e-mail from Prof. Cooper's Secretary telling me to call him... my voice!! [it's that of a child]. Why couldn't he e-mail me? I'll have to go for a cuppa and a think. I know I should've planned for this but I haven't'. 22.01.2002 (Taken from audio diary) 'I got over it and phoned but Professor Cooper was out. Anyway he kept calling me back until he was able to get hold of me. When he did he was so approachable and helpful, giving me critical feedback on my book. He explained how business schools were really busy running one year courses and that it would be difficult to fit my presentation into such short courses. He kindly passed me the contact details of an academic who he thought may be interested in participating with my research project. I then made another book to send to this person.
'Hi Sue Thanks for sending Cary the booklet. Please give him a call on ....'

I received my second response about two weeks later on February 4th 2002. An e-mail arrived from (the artist and educator) Susan Hiller's studio assistant, thanking me for the proposal and explaining why Susan would be unable to participate in the project.

'Dear Ms. Wilks
I am Susan Hiller's studio assistant, writing to you in her absence. Susan is on
research leave in Germany and will not be back for several months. Thank you for
sending her the really attractive and interesting proposal which she will not be
able to help with due to her absence'


	Months passed by and I received no further responses from the academics that I had approached. I got on with my work and then towards the end of August 2000 (after having given up hope) I received an unexpected e-mail...


		I was absolutely amazed to receive this email in late August. I was so excited to think that the book/proposal could resurface after such a long time and felt certain that this delayed response must hold great meaning and potential for my work. I had been really sure that if people hadn't responded by the end of the first month of posting, that would be the end of the matter. And so I had been concentrating upon presenting my work in an experimental context locally (at the university in which I study) and also in political environments as a part of a specific activist movement. I do not think it is appropriate for me to reveal the identity of the academic who sent me this wonderful response because unfortunately the person became ill and was absent from work shortly afterwards which prevented them from being able to participate in my research.
'Dear Sue I've just come across your wonderful little book/art object about your research again. I'm sorry I did not reply originally but it got lost in the maelstrom of paperwork in my office. But if its not too late I'd be happy to take part in your research. If it is then good luck anyway!'


	Afterword In the end I had made thirty eight books. Thirty two of these were sent out to educational institutions, two were submitted as material for my Ph. D. course archive, two were kindly accepted by Terry Dennett for the Jo Spence Memorial Archive and I kept two samples for myself. However, following a presentation of my work one of the books I had kept went missing. I most probably lost it or left it behind at the presentation venue although I prefer to hope that someone nicked it because they liked it. Although this particular proposal may seem to have been a failure in that I was unsuccessful in securing an invitation to present my work at the institutions that I approached through my book project, I since went on to present my work in a range of differing institutional environments both nationally and internationally. I also have to ask myself about why so few people responded at all and despite my acknowledgement (in hindsight) that there would be lots of things that I would alter and amend if I were to repeat the project I think that the final email that I received is telling in this respect. The author of this email mentions how the book 'got lost in the maelstrom of paperwork' and all academics in Britain are likely to be familiar with this comment. There is a culture of audit that dominates all aspects of the educational process and I was aware that time in relation to economic outcomes would present my greatest barrier to success.