Steve,
Far from PhD's in Santa Fe being a self aggrandizing lot, I have had a terrible time finding ones who will stand up and take pride in what they have done. It's like we were mafia lawyers, or something. And I agree with whoever point out to the list that "english" is a language, not a field of specialization. We're talking "literature" here. Nick From: friam-boun...@redfish.com [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com] On Behalf Of Steve Smith Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2010 9:28 AM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group Subject: Re: [FRIAM] The Best 10 Fictional Works Nick - Why would I want a PhD to lead a discussion on Literature? Because, even though I was a participant in the Berkeley dustup of the sixties, I still think that expertise has its place in the world. I wasn't actually criticizing your desire for a PhD in English to lead the seminar, but rather defending the requirement as being possibly also a *constraint* you felt in trying to develop an externally credible program. I don't disagree that someone deeply educated and then probably spending many years practicing in a field may give them unique skills, knowledge and insight that are invaluable in leading a study in the topic. On the other hand, many of us have experienced something completely different. We have seen that what should have been deep training may have been more like indoctrination and/or hazing... that some of those who acquire such training are not demonstrating their dedication and application to specific topic, but rather testing their endurance and perhaps that of daddy's checkbook. And what should have been years of practice and extended research/study became years of self-serving pontification. Not required of someone holding a PhD (and I know the flux of PhDs here is high) but an all too common result. I would claim that a PhD in *anything* is neither necessary nor sufficient to practice or teach in that field. *That Said*, I'm not trying to say that a PhD rules it out either, except in some cases. <self-aggrandizing personal anecdote> I do not know that much about English as an Academic Profession. My wife has an English degree and taught for a few years before giving up on the idea of anyone ever learning anything they needed to know in an institution. She is much more radical than I will ever be. So she's no help in your case. She has a special trident she uses to eviscerate PhDs in English. I took all the English/Literature/Writing courses required/desired of/by me in College from a single professor. I had a crush on her... but she was also *very good*. I also learned fencing from her. I think I was the only one in the program not learning fencing to enhance their credibility in the SCA. She was in her 60's. It was a romantic crush, but not the usual hormonal driven one and certainly not actionable. I'm probably the only one in this crowd likely to be wearing a saber scar (had I tried anything cute) from my University days. I'm sure there are plenty of former fencers here, just not ones tempted to make moves on a feisty little woman half my size and three times my age while she holds a length of sharpened steel. She had a PhD (English, not swordplay). I was already a prolific reader, but she lead me to love to write. She lead me to discover a much broader class of writing than I ever would have found on my own. She caused me to move from taking a full load (16hrs) of science, math, engineering to an overfull load (21hrs) of science, math, engineering *and* language, philosophy, anthropology, etc. for the entire 5 years I was in college. At $600/semester I wanted to get my money's worth! The result wasn't a PhD, but it was about 200 hours of coursework across the campus and most of the schools and a dozen independent study classes with the best teachers I could find and a lot of extra reading in any of the courses I found engaging. Had I not found myself with 2 young children (how did that happen?) and surprise expenses (emergency caesarean) that my income as a young entreprenuer couldn't cover I might well have continued on to/through a PhD program. But only if I found the right advisor... and the right topic. Instead I accepted two BS Degrees (Math/Physics) and a high tech job in a small town in the mountains of NM where I could make enough money to pay off the bills I woke up one day with. It was fabulous and I can credit most of it to a 5' tall silver haired woman whose mind and wit were even sharper than the point of her foil or the edge of her saber. She honed all of her weapons continuously, but kept the safety's on when working with the young and innocent. I'm still in love with her. She would be in her 90's. She is probably still somewhere chasing young men off the fencing mat. </self-aggrandizing personal anecdote> Maybe she is available to lead such a seminar... though I recommend taking breaks from the dry talk about writing by old white men for some physical activity with limber steel. Seriously, I hope you do find the right person to lead such a group, PhD or not. I don't currently allow myself the time to engage in such activities (so why do I waste so much time writing and writing and writing?) but I do approve mightily of the format for those with the time and inclination. Sally forth! - Steve
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