[iDC] from Lynette Hunter

[Lynette Hunter]

I've never participated in a list before although I've spent a chunk of 
my life writing about language, aesthetic, ethics and computers...
This thread on Praxis PhDs was sent to me by a friend who knows I'm 
interested in the issue. I came to UCDavis just over three years ago to 
start a PhD in Practice as Research in the department of Theatre and 
Dance. We now run a three-strand PhD in Performance Studies: one 
history/theory/criticism, one practice as research, and 
one 'professional'. What follows is really only a 'for information' email:
The practice as research PhD has core coursework with the more 
traditional PhD, but also coursework from our MFA. The Qualifying Exam 
has one out of three components as practice, and one out of the three 
should explore the critical/historical/theoretical background to an area 
of practice. The Dissertation is a combination of practice, intense 
journal commentary on process, documentation, and a written piece (length 
negotiable, usually between 25000-40000 words) of critical reflection and 
analysis (which can be social, ethical, ethnographic, rhetorical, media-
based, aesthetic, etc).
Our MFA is for mid-career professionals, and after one or two experiences 
with very young artists on the PhD practice as research, who did not have 
a body of their own work to research from/away from, and quickly realised 
that they wanted to be out there making and not reflecting, we now focus 
on taking mid-career professionals into the PhD in practice as research 
as well. 
Why do they do it? 
It's sometimes to do with wanting to take stock before moving on. It's 
often to do with wanting to branch out into other media. For  the 
students we have, it's usually to do with wanting an intellectual 
community to develop practices and ideas within. and yes, it's sometimes 
to do with wanting a pension and moving into what is perceived to be a 
more stable career. (no one seems to have mentioned the Yale phenomenon 
of DFA, which is entirely practice-based, and doesn't prepare people for 
university work at all).
I've personally written quite a bit now on how I see it as a missing 
piece in the academic framework where aesthetics is usually about 
reception and rarely about making. I have found the contributions to the 
thread incredibly helpful in extending the vocabulary and introducing new 
ideas, so thanks very much.

The 'professional' PhD is for people usually in their 50s-70s who want to 
take the opportunity to reflect on their work, and document the creative 
insights and contributions to knowledge that it has made.

thanks for the interaction
Lynette Hunter

Dr Lynette Hunter, Professor of the History of Rhetoric and Performance
Director: UC Multicampus Research Group in International
          Performance and Culture
Chair: Designated Emphasis in Studies in Performance and Practice
Graduate Faculty Adviser
University of California Davis
Department of Theatre and Dance
Room 228 Wright Building
Davis, CA 95616
Tel: 530 752 5658
Fax: 530 752 8818