[-empyre-] FW: Research in Practice, week three, January 21-28

[Phi Shu]

> El 22/01/13 19:18, Miguel Santos escribió:****
>
> awarding a PhD is to recognize that someone can conduct independent
> research in a rigorous manner rather than being an awarded for services to
> the art world  Consequently, I support the need for a written thesis
> (between 40.000 and 60.000 words) critically reflecting and contextualizing
> the PhD project (not only the artistic but also the research practice).
>
>
Personally, I don't think it's that simple, yes a PhD shows that someone is
capable of conducting independent "research", but the nature of that
research (and particularly in the case of those disciplines that involve
artefact production) should generally determine the manner in which
the candidate is examined. I would view 40-60,000 words as excessive in the
context of a practice based portfolio, a collection of short commentaries
would suffice, but if someone really wants to write that much, in addition
to their practical work, that's up to them I guess. Also, as is sometimes
the case, commentaries are fabricated retrospectively, which doesn't
matter, as long as they are written convincingly, it's a matter
of proving you can play the game.


> Further, the written requirement (which as a few people in the discussion
> have already mentioned can be extremely valuable in the understanding of
> ones practice)
>
>
what if the candidate already understands and sees the writing as nothing
more than a hoop jumping exercise to get the piece of paper? The final
requirements that need to be fulfilled to actually pass, and get
the accreditation, will be much the same for everyone, but the same can't
be said of the PhD process itself. Perhaps there are practitioners who use
the PhD to get an academic accreditation for doing stuff they might have
done anyway, in which case the PhD is valuable in terms of providing them
with a block of time to focus exclusively on production, and on improving
technical aspects of their practice. But this doesn't mean to say that the
PhD process will be easy for them, or that they won't be faced
with challenges that lead them to think differently about their work.

> can also, make an exciting long-term contribution to the process of
> artists reclaiming their role in the production and dissemination of
> discourses regarding the artistic practice, which (many times) can only be
> suggested from an insider’s perspective.
>
>
I guess that depends on whether or not the individual feels compelled to
communicate their aims in writing.
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