Skip to main content

Researching the Unresearchable: Law


“What do you even research in law?”

This is the question I’ve been regularly getting ever since I moved here. I wasn’t aware that the law is seen as such an “unresearchable” area. Probably my bad. Being surrounded by lawyers in the UK, I thought what we were doing made sense, and honestly, I never really questioned it. But in Singapore, being surrounded by engineers and other sciencey types, my poor little subject has been subjected to so many questions, and as a lawyer, frankly, I’m not doing a great job defending it.

Usually, when people find out that I do law, or maritime law, they act surprised. They ask why. I thought it was common knowledge that Singapore is one of the best in shipping, but clearly not. I’ve met some Singaporeans who didn’t even know that their country excels in shipping. Then, when they hear what exactly I do for my PhD research, they act impressed. “Autonomous ships” and “cyber risk” are two fancy phrases that sound “unknown” enough to make people feel intrigued for about three seconds. But then, some of them actually work in cyber security. So, do we work on the same thing then? God, no.

Another challenge is explaining what exactly I do with my research topic. You know how they say, “If you can explain your job to your grandma, then you’ve succeeded”? That’s how I feel with the engineers I interact with here. Then comes the million-dollar question: What do you even research in law?

What they really mean is basically, “Aren’t laws just rules? Is there even room for research?” At first, I was just surprised by that question. Then it got to a point where I started to feel offended. I tell them that we use books, regulations, case law, and articles for our research. Then they ask, “So what’s the difference between that and a review article?” It’s different in that you make your own commentary, argument and criticism. Then someone asks, “But how do you test that?” Apparently, to them, anyone can just say anything. But in law, you’re also bound by existing legal frameworks—you can’t just talk nonsense. Still, it’s getting harder and harder to justify something I’ve been doing practically my whole life.

I’m aware that all these questions mostly come from ignorance. When an engineer starts talking about their research, to my ears, it mostly sounds like “la la la la,” because honestly, I give very little shit about it. But I never had such a problem in the UK before. I mean, if the law is questioned for being “unworthy” of research, I think most social sciences should face the same thing. But then again, some of them have experiments and surveys and stuff. That leaves the law a bit of a lone wolf, I guess.

You know what they say—I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed. Lol.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

YLSY Sürecim

Üniversite üçüncü sınıf. Aziz hoca bir dersimizde “Türkiye'de akademisyen olabilmenin yolları”nı anlatıyor. O zaman bunun için 3 yol var: ÖYP, cari alımlar ve MEB bursu. O gün MEB bursunu duyunca çok heyecanlandığımı hatırlıyorum. Anneme anlatıyorum hemen, 6 sene çok fazla diyor; babam, Türkiye'de bir iş sahibi olmamı söylüyor. Benim için hiç kolay bir ikna süreci olmuyor. Kendimi ifade etme çabalarım hala gözümün önünden gitmiyor.  Bir sene sonra ÖYP kaldırılıyor. Yıkılıyorum. Sonra mezun oluyorum. Sonra 2016 yılında ilk kez YLSY tercih kılavuzu yayınlanıyor. İçinde özel hukuk yok. Benim hukuku sevme nedenim olan özel hukuk yok. Başvurmuyorum. Ama gerçekten çok üzülüyorum. Aradan birkaç ay geçiyor. Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi'ne yüksek lisansa kabul ediliyorum. Ve YLSY'yi tamamen unutuyorum. Çok güzel bir yüksek lisans dönemi... Hocalarımı çok seviyorum. Okulumu çok seviyorum. Beni gerçekten tatmin ediyor. Sonra staj başlatıyorum. Yüksek lisans ve stajı aynı...
14 comments
Read more

I TOLD MY STORY!

If you ask me what’s the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life, I’d say, “Which one? I’ve done so many cool things!” But if you said, “Come on, be serious now,” I’d tell you: the day I told my story. That was the day I felt the bravest, coolest, and most inspired. It all started when one of my close friends invited me to the  TOUCH Network storytelling event. I was like, “Cool, let’s go.” I didn’t have any expectations, good or bad, except that I knew we’d see some farm animals since the event was taking place on a farm. So we went. It was a storytelling event, as advertised, but not just random storytelling. Four people talked about struggles they had overcome in life, how they did it, and what we could take from it. It was basically like TED Talks, but with fewer spotlights and more human touch. If you know me, you know I’m all about human connection, deep conversations, and touchy subjects. So I was so happy when I realized what was going on. I had the most beautiful tw...
3 comments
Read more

End of an Era

This is a long-awaited post about my departure from the UK. I’ve finally settled back in my hometown (for now), and a week has already passed. So, here we go. I said goodbye to a country where I spent six years—give or take. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. Though I always knew I’d say goodbye someday, I never truly believed that day would come. It felt like ages away. I was a completely different person back then. I came to this country in tears, and I'm leaving in tears. The first time, I cried because I was heading into the unknown. Now, everything is familiar, known, and feels like home. But the tears on my cheeks fall for a different reason. I never thought I’d leave behind so many loving hearts in just six years. I came to this city knowing no one. And now, I’ve spent my final days saying goodbye, meeting people, and even struggling to   find enough time for everyone. Goodbyes are hard. Goodbyes are always hard. I don’t even know exactly what—or wh...
Post a Comment
Read more