Sioux McKenna unmasks the PhD mystique

On Wednesday, 15 March, Rhodes University will host the Inaugural Lecture titled Unmasking the Doctorate of Professor Sioux McKenna, coordinator: PhD in Higher Education Studies (CHERTL) and Director of Centre for Postgraduate Studies. The lecture will be hosted at the Eden Grove Blue Lecture Theatre at 6.30pm.

In a statement outlining the lecture, McKenna said, “The number of doctorates per million of the population is used as an indicator of economic development. The National Development Plan targets having more than 100 doctorates per million by 2030.

“For the doctorate to ful- fil its function in knowledge creation for both public and private good, we also need to turn a critical lens on the curriculum and pedagogy of the PhD and be prepared to unmask much of its mystique.

“This inaugural lecture tackles the assumptions underpinning these metrics and argues that if academics are not vigilant, the doctorate will become a training ground for the marketplace in ways that are unlikely to take environmental sustainability and human flourishing much into account.”

McKenna has previously worked at Rhodes University for seven years, but moved to Grahamstown last year. After doing a BA and Higher Diplo- ma in Education in the 1980s, she left to teach.

Seven years ago she was appointed co-ordinator of a PhD programme in Higher Education Studies at Rhodes University.

“In the seven years since then I have enjoyed the enormous privilege of working with phenomenal scholars in our programme, across the institution, nationally and internationally. We have collectively graduated 22 PhDs, we have built a strong community and we have contributed to higher education research, policy and practice in too many ways to mention.

“CHERTL provides a critical and collegial space in which to grow,” McKenna said.