Sociology of Knowledge
Few PhD candidates outside of the United States (and yet who wants to work in North America or parts of Asia) will fail to realise the structures of power in the academy. How does one situate one's work within the wider disciplinary sphere? Is one an 'area specialist' or 'international relations theorist' or a 'political scientist'? Situating oneself in a discipline is essential (or becoming essential) especially in this current age of 'professionalisation'.
Depending on one's disciplinary affiliation, one has to master (or at least be cognisant) of the body of knowledge in that field, being in touch with the journals there.
The fear, perhaps often overstated by me, is that the lack of structure and short graduate training (or the lack thereof in relations to the US graduate schools) will disadvantage my job prospects. In a sense, the fears and considerations are real. They should also remind us that knowledge itself is not neutral but is shaped by the social and political contexts in which that intellectual inquiry is undertaken. (This is not to say that there is no objectivity to which we aspire to or that it doesn't even exist but that we need to be careful of the bias inherent in our intellectual pursuits).
With increasingly specialisation in the academy, universities in Singapore, US and possibly Canada are demanding that the applicants for lectureship (or be considered for a tenure-track job) be coversant with methodology, techniques and other theoretical frameworks associated to the discipline. Inter-disciplinary inquiry is not always appreciated at least at the junior level.
On the other hand, as a Christian, how does one affirm that the pursuit of truth should trump the other consideration, especially monetary and professional (in terms of career prospects) ones? Is this once again, another instance where we are reminded to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things [food, drink, clothes.. our material needs] will be givn to us as well and that we are not to 'worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself...' (Matthew 6: 25- 34)
Pastorally (and practically), we should not be paralysed by such fears but instead be concerned first about where our intellectual journey leads us. Only then can we be a good scholar and be faithful to the calling for which He has called us.
Depending on one's disciplinary affiliation, one has to master (or at least be cognisant) of the body of knowledge in that field, being in touch with the journals there.
The fear, perhaps often overstated by me, is that the lack of structure and short graduate training (or the lack thereof in relations to the US graduate schools) will disadvantage my job prospects. In a sense, the fears and considerations are real. They should also remind us that knowledge itself is not neutral but is shaped by the social and political contexts in which that intellectual inquiry is undertaken. (This is not to say that there is no objectivity to which we aspire to or that it doesn't even exist but that we need to be careful of the bias inherent in our intellectual pursuits).
With increasingly specialisation in the academy, universities in Singapore, US and possibly Canada are demanding that the applicants for lectureship (or be considered for a tenure-track job) be coversant with methodology, techniques and other theoretical frameworks associated to the discipline. Inter-disciplinary inquiry is not always appreciated at least at the junior level.
On the other hand, as a Christian, how does one affirm that the pursuit of truth should trump the other consideration, especially monetary and professional (in terms of career prospects) ones? Is this once again, another instance where we are reminded to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things [food, drink, clothes.. our material needs] will be givn to us as well and that we are not to 'worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself...' (Matthew 6: 25- 34)
Pastorally (and practically), we should not be paralysed by such fears but instead be concerned first about where our intellectual journey leads us. Only then can we be a good scholar and be faithful to the calling for which He has called us.
posted by Pongism at 12:45 pm
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