ABD and Moving Forward

 I have the distinct honor to proudly say that I am officially ABD (which is an acronym bandied about in academia that means "All But Dissertation"). Being ABD means that I've completed my coursework and my exams. All that remains is the dissertation. Here's a brief overview of what my life will look like in the coming weeks/months/years:

• The Proposal - By completing a long and arduous path to successfully completing my qualifying exams, I am plunged back into a decently-long period of time - working on the proposal for my dissertation. This involves a few things: meeting with my dissertation director, deciding my dissertation committee, and sketching out (in extreme detail) what I plan to write about for my dissertation. The hope is that this takes somewhere from 3-6 months. Most of my colleagues in the program have averaged about 7 months from start to finish. When the proposal gets the green light from my dissertation director, then I'll go before the Advanced Programs Committee to orally defend my proposal. Again, I only have two attempts to pass the proposal, but I won't go to defend the proposal until it seems quite likely that I'll pass. The main reason to defend the proposal orally before the committee is to receive helpful feedback as I head into the actual writing of the dissertation. 
• Writing the Dissertation - Once I've successfully defended my proposal (meaning that my dissertation project is both achievable [it can be done] and constitutes an original contribution to knowledge), I'll begin the process of writing the mountains work itself. This will consist of writing a chapter and then meeting with my director for revisions. These drafts will probably see anywhere between 3-7 versions before becoming finalized as a chapter. More than likely, my dissertation will have 4 chapters (most seem to hit that number). 
• The Defense - Like the proposal, after the dissertation itself has been completed with all necessary revisions, I'll publicly defend the project in conversation with my director and my reading committee. After a successful defense, I will officially be Doctor Zac Poppen.

So, what's the timeline for all of this? Anywhere from about 15 months to 24 months. There are some factors that will impact this: the amount of teaching (which I hope to do) while writing, other work that might become necessary to make ends meet, life events, etc. The goal is to get the dissertation finished as soon as possible so I can move on to the next phase of life. That said, I'm looking forward to starting the proposal soon (I gave myself a month off between exams and officially starting work on the proposal). The broad topic I'm interested in working with concerns the book of Joshua, colonialism, and how the text of Joshua has been used by powerful groups to justify violence (e.g., Manifest Destiny).
You've just read my life plan for the next ~2 years. It's going to be quite the ride.