The So-Called Creative PhD
This paper constitutes a short reflection on architectural research and knowledge production in the tertiary education sector, with particular reference to the establishment of a ‘creative’ PhD degree in South Africa. It arises from the growing interest in and pressure for the establishment of a pr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Jap Sam Books
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Cubic Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://cubicjournal.org/index.php/cubic/article/view/80 |
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| author | Iain Low |
| author_facet | Iain Low |
| author_sort | Iain Low |
| collection | DOAJ |
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This paper constitutes a short reflection on architectural research and knowledge production in the tertiary education sector, with particular reference to the establishment of a ‘creative’ PhD degree in South Africa. It arises from the growing interest in and pressure for the establishment of a practice-led (architecture) PhD. This interest has emerged predominantly from within performance-based disciplines whose application takes the form of practice-based and professionally produced work. In reflecting on the nature of PhDs and on various ‘alternative’ approaches, I conclude that the conventional PhD implicitly infers creativity and is entirely capable of sponsoring any performance-based PhD enquiry – particularly within practice-based disciplines in which theory and method have been critically identified to support appropriate investigations. Concern is therefore raised regarding the emerging predominance of an author’s self-evaluation of their own ‘creative’ production at the level of a PhD enquiry. On the one hand, knowledge remains largely embedded within the performance/production, and on the other hand, the subjectivity intrinsic to autoethnographic studies is noted for its privileging of the self over the other, and its method often follows what may be termed a self-fulfilling prophesy.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c80c3ecc8a7d407197e427c5bdb4152b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2589-7101 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Jap Sam Books |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cubic Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-c80c3ecc8a7d407197e427c5bdb4152b2025-08-20T01:52:23ZengJap Sam BooksCubic Journal2589-71012024-12-017710.31182/cubic.2024.7.75The So-Called Creative PhDIain Low0University of Cape Town This paper constitutes a short reflection on architectural research and knowledge production in the tertiary education sector, with particular reference to the establishment of a ‘creative’ PhD degree in South Africa. It arises from the growing interest in and pressure for the establishment of a practice-led (architecture) PhD. This interest has emerged predominantly from within performance-based disciplines whose application takes the form of practice-based and professionally produced work. In reflecting on the nature of PhDs and on various ‘alternative’ approaches, I conclude that the conventional PhD implicitly infers creativity and is entirely capable of sponsoring any performance-based PhD enquiry – particularly within practice-based disciplines in which theory and method have been critically identified to support appropriate investigations. Concern is therefore raised regarding the emerging predominance of an author’s self-evaluation of their own ‘creative’ production at the level of a PhD enquiry. On the one hand, knowledge remains largely embedded within the performance/production, and on the other hand, the subjectivity intrinsic to autoethnographic studies is noted for its privileging of the self over the other, and its method often follows what may be termed a self-fulfilling prophesy. https://cubicjournal.org/index.php/cubic/article/view/80architecturecritical thinkingknowledge productionphd vs other doctoratesouth africa |
| spellingShingle | Iain Low The So-Called Creative PhD Cubic Journal architecture critical thinking knowledge production phd vs other doctorate south africa |
| title | The So-Called Creative PhD |
| title_full | The So-Called Creative PhD |
| title_fullStr | The So-Called Creative PhD |
| title_full_unstemmed | The So-Called Creative PhD |
| title_short | The So-Called Creative PhD |
| title_sort | so called creative phd |
| topic | architecture critical thinking knowledge production phd vs other doctorate south africa |
| url | https://cubicjournal.org/index.php/cubic/article/view/80 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT iainlow thesocalledcreativephd AT iainlow socalledcreativephd |