Compétences publiques : repenser le doctorat en humanités. Public Skills: Rethinking the Humanities PhD

Transcription

1 Compétences publiques : repenser le doctorat en humanités Public Skills: Rethinking the Humanities PhD PA U L YA C H N I N I N S T I T U T P O U R L A V I E P U B L I Q U E D E S A RT S E T D E S I D É E S U N I V E R S I T É M C G I L L

2 challenges facing the PhD in the Humanities one way universities have responded to the challenge by developing professional skills-training programs why it is important to redefine skills public skills and dispositional mobility Future Humanities project idea about how we might change the culture of the university

3 The academic job market as many as 50% of those who enter humanities PhD programs do not complete of those who do receive the degree, only about 20%- 30% secure positions in colleges and universities there is a systemic impossibility of achieving anything close to reasonable rates of permanent academic employment for humanities PhDs

4 50% des étudiants qui commencent un doctorat ne terminent pas le programme parmi ceux qui obtiennent le doctorat, seulement 20-30% d entre eux réussissent obtenir un poste dans un collège ou une université les données indiquent que nous sommes en présence d une impossibilité quasiment systématique d atteindre des taux raisonnables d emplois académiques permanents pour les doctorants en sciences humaines

5 Don t cut programs change them the dire record of PhD placement is largely of the university s own making, so it is mostly within the power of faculty, students, and university leaders to redress it the solution is not to cut programs but rather to bring into the light the strong background assumption that the only future for a new PhD is a career as a university professor we can change our angle of view on the question of the overproduction of humanities PhDs by beginning to recognize that PhDs are able to follow a multiplicity of career paths rather than only one

6 le problème est largement dû aux universités, il est donc principalement du pouvoir des facultés, des étudiants, et des leaders universitaires de le résoudre une réduction du nombre de doctorants ou de programmes offerts n est aucunement recommandée nous souhaitons encourager une réforme de ces programmes et de la formation post-secondaire afin que celle-ci puisse conduire à une multiplicité de carrières au lieu d une seule

7 From Centre for Skills and PSE brochure Advanced skills defined as those skills acquired beyond secondary school and gained through educational achievement, training, and experience are increasingly important to innovation, productivity, economic growth, and competitiveness. As Canada competes globally and Canadian firms face off against the global best in international and domestic markets, they will become even more crucial. They are also vital to the well-being of individual Canadians who need satisfying work and good jobs and careers in order to enjoy a high standard of living. Together, they build the capacity of our people to contribute to Canada economically, socially, and culturally.

8 We can recapture the public character of humanities education and scholarship Isocrates says that, as the gymnastic-master teaches first the various thrusts and parries, the teacher of philosophy makes his pupils learn first all the styles of prose composition. He then makes them combine the things which they have learnt. The subjects for such exercises must be properly chosen they must be practical and must deal with wide interests. Practice on these lines will prepare a man, as far as his nature allows, for speaking and acting in a public capacity. Kant defined scholarship as essentially public rather than private: The scholar is capable of making public use of his own reason... before the entire public of the reading world.

9 Beyond Skills: An Integrative Approach to Doctoral Student Preparation for Diverse Careers Susan D. Porter and Jennifer M. Phelps, University of British Columbia

10 Susan D. Porter and Jennifer M. Phelps Beyond Skills: An Integrative Approach to Doctoral Student Preparation for Diverse Careers The [skills] programs have been appreciated by students, and have likely helped in graduates transition to the workforce. We argue, however, that their effectiveness for graduates ultimate work performance is unproven, and that purely skills-focussed training, tacked on as an adjunct to students primary development as scholars oriented to academe, is insufficient. Further, the trend towards framing the purpose of doctoral education as being primarily about developing useful skills, runs the risk of constraining our views towards the multi-dimensionality of learning that is possible and desirable at the doctoral level.

11 dis po si tion ˌdispəˈziSH(ə)n/ noun 1. a person's inherent qualities of mind and character. "a good-natured man of a placid disposition 2. the way in which something is placed or arranged, especially in relation to other things. "the plan need not be accurate so long as it shows the disposition of the rooms

12 Future Humanities: Transforming Graduate Studies for the Future of Canada 30+ Canadian universities have committed to a national conversation about the future of graduate education in the humanities McGill s Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas will host a national conference, May 21 and 22, 2015 The universities will be joined by representatives of a the Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences, SSHRC, FQRSC, MITACS, CAGS, etc. as well as by representatives from print and electronic media

13 Future Humanities Conference, May to develop new, innovative humanities graduate programs; to change the culture of the academy by making it more outward-looking and socially proactive; to transform the public profile of humanities MAs and PhDs by publicizing and developing their capacity for leadership in fields inside and outside the university

14 Renewing the Academic Community A long-term project dedicated to bringing back a significant number of PhDs in non-academic careers into a newly constituted, larger, and more public academic community

15 model dispositional mobility provide networking and even employment opportunities for new graduates advise universities that are developing new graduate programs workshop with faculty members contribute to the reorientation of the university toward more active engagement with the world