For various reasons, I have been reading a lot of William James lately. Most recently, I came across his essay, “The Ph.D. octopus” (to be found anthologized in Robert Richardson’s The Heart of William James). The essay is useful not just in itself but as a reminder that contemporary debates often have powerful historical resonances.
To begin with, it serves to remind the reader that there really were–and are–other ways of doing university than the formerly German system now adopted in large parts of the Western world and beyond. The whole apparatus of research paper and monograph, seminar, and Ph.D. which currently rules the roost is but one way of proceeding. Its current pre-eminence seems assured. But commentators are starting to think seriously about ways in which it might become possible to rework what the research university is and how it functions. Whether any university leaders will have the nerve (and the resource) to be able to institutionalize these thoughts is a moot point.
To read the full, original article click on this link: William James and Rethinking the Global Research University - WorldWise - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Author: Nigel Thrift
