when important people don't like your research...

that's what I found out today. The one person in the department who gets to decide over continuing the PhD or not actually disagrees with my research. She thinks it is not academic enough... but then again this is based on a presentation I gave as an interview for that teaching position for next year. It is so frustrating, all the internal politics in this university. I am sure it wouldn't be any different at a different university or even in another department, but I am really starting to get sick and tired of it. Sometimes I think I should just quit because it really isn't worth it to put up a fight about this. I told Brian today that I sometimes feel that people with my research interest are not really made to feel welcome in the department, I mean they pride themsevles in being a centre for Economic Research, but they should really say that they are a centre for Economic Research but only if it incorporates social identity theory... oh gosh I am being really cynical, but I just can't help it. It makes me feel even more worried about going to this conference in June... now that I have everything booked and Jolanda even agreed to give me a bit more money so I actually will get all the expenses paid for that trip. Oh well... hopefully Brian was right and everything will sort itself out once I actually get going on this research properly...