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The PhD Revolution: World-Entangled and Hopeful Futures

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The PhD at the End of the World

Part of the book series: Debating Higher Education: Philosophical Perspectives ((DHEP,volume 4))

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Abstract

This chapter provides an alternative conceptualization, and narrative, of the current state and aim of researcher education and the PhD. In a time where much scholarship highlights concerns about cohesion, relevance, and quality of the PhD, I aim to foreground an alternative PhD-narrative found in emerging research strands. I show that in the PhD, today, (1) we are witnessing new forms of doctoral student and supervisor agency within institutional contexts, (2) new sightings of how much social support beyond the institutional context influences on research momentum and creativity, and (3) new scope and magnitude of the importance and influence of research on biocultural and biopolitical negotiations. In contrast to the commonly held idea that the PhD foundation is eroding, I argue that we are witnessing a powerful PhD-revolution from within researcher environments, spreading like a pulse through social and professional domains, and reaching crescendo in societal and cultural contexts. Such institutional hope is crucial if the PhD should itself be filled with hope and find the courage to engage with climate issues and other global challenges. To be able to lift the researcher horizon towards global challenges requires courage and creativity within its institutional rooting and curricular nerve systems.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Even though the literature I draw from is international, when I use the term “Graduate School” I have in mind the EU-based system, which relates to the Bologna process. Graduate Schools, and the notion of the PhD, in Europe, the United States, Australia, and other parts of the world differ in scope, focus, and goal (Andres et al. 2015), and my default understanding relates, due to my own national and institutional contexts, to the European model.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Søren S. E. Bengtsen

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  1. Søren S. E. Bengtsen
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Correspondence to Søren S. E. Bengtsen .

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  1. School of Graduate Research, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Robyn Barnacle

  2. School of Graduate Research, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Denise Cuthbert

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Bengtsen, S.S.E. (2021). The PhD Revolution: World-Entangled and Hopeful Futures. In: Barnacle, R., Cuthbert, D. (eds) The PhD at the End of the World. Debating Higher Education: Philosophical Perspectives, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62219-0_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62219-0_13

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