This book is intended as a comprehensive introduction to the subject. Part 1 includes definitive essays by specialists and observers of the PhD, including the first list of PhD programs around the world. Part 2 presents extracts from PhD dissertations in Japan, South Africa, Australia, and elsewhere.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Acknowledgments
A Glossary of Terms
Part One: Theories and Histories
1: James Elkins, “Six Cultures of the PhD Around the World”
2: James Elkins, “List of PhD Programs Around the World”
3: Judith Mottram, “Researching the PhD in Art and Design:
What Is It, And Why Do a PhD in Art and Design?”
4: Charles Harrison, “When Management Speaks…”
5: Victor Burgin, “Thoughts on ‘Research’ Degrees in Visual Arts Departments”
6: Timothy Emlyn Jones, “The PhD in Studio Art Revisited”
7: George Smith, “The Artist-Philosopher and the New Philosophy”
8: Iain Biggs, “Singing Across Thresholds”
9: Timothy Emlyn Jones, “The Studio Art Doctorate in America”
10: Mick Wilson, “Four Theses Attempting to Revise the Terms of a Debate”
11: Henk Slager, “Experimental Aesthetics”
12: Hilde Van Gelder and Jan Baetens, “The Future of the Doctorate in the Arts”
13: James Elkins, “Fourteen Reasons to Mistrust the PhD”
14: Judith Mottram, “Notes in Response to the Fourteen Reasons”
15: James Elkins, “Positive Ideas for PhD Programs”
16: Jonathan Dronsfield, “Writing as Practice:
Notes on Materiality of Theory for Practice-Based PhDs
17: Mick Wilson, “Between Apparatus and Ethos:
On Building a Research Pedagogy in the Arts
Part Two: Examples
18: Fritha Langerman (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
19: Ruth Waller (School of Art, Australian National University, Canberra; MA)
20: Kyoko Nakamura (Tokyo Geidai)
21: Yuki Matsueda (Tokyo Geidai)
22: María Mencía (Chelsea College of Art and Design /
University of the Arts, London)
23: Uriel Orlow (University of the Arts, London)
24: Phoebe von Held (University College London / Slade School of Art)
25: Marcela Quiroga Garza (Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Mexico)
26: Qi Zhen (Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing)
The book was first published in a smaller edition, with fewer chapters; it does not say “Second Edition” on the cover. If you buy used copies, for example through Amazon, be careful not to get the first edition.
Printed Project, shown at the right, was one of the first publications on this subject.
Jim, I am working through your book Artists with PhDs. I have and MFA and came to Texas Tech and did one semester of the Visual Arts PhD program. However, it is an academic degree, they will allow you to take one studio class per semester but studio credits do not count toward the degree. Further, I took three academic classes that one semester and it left little time for studio work.
I am considering applying to a genuine Studio Art PhD program overseas. After I finished my MFA, I did several rounds of applications including to adjunct jobs and residencies without success. My work needed and still needs to mature. Will a Studio PhD improve my chances of getting good opportunities? I felt after my MFA that the music stopped and I didn’t have a chair to sit down in. It was disappointing. Some say it takes 3-5 years after an MFA for some people’s work to mature.
I also read Why Art Cannot Be Taught and enjoyed it very much. I was going to Minnesota State University Mankato when you came up and did some crits and a lecture. That was great.
Hi, sorry for the long delay! I don’t usually monitor this site. It sounds like you could use a place to settle into some longer-term work; for that, many of the European and Australian programsd could be good. There is no correlation I’ve seen between the PhD and job opportunities. What happens is that your vita grows while you’re in the programs, so you’re a stronger candidate when you’re finished (usually more shows, etc.). Hope this helps. Let me know if I can give more advice on programs. Best, Jim