The Malaise of Academic Scholarship

Why It Starts with the Doctoral Dissertation as a Baptism of Fire

“When you are in a hole, stop digging.” The wisdom of Will Rogers, American humorist, seems to be forgotten with respect to scholarly research in the arts, social sciences, business, and education. Why do doctoral candidates and professors produce scholarship that minimally advances knowledge and has no impact on producing educated and productive citizens? Rarely seen outside a closed club of scholars and journals, scholarly research serves only to demonstrate mastery of an art form that is not relevant in the mainstream of higher education. This book proposes reforms starting with the doctoral dissertation. The issue is that the dissertation’s over emphasis on obscure research undermines the subsequent scholarship expected of professors in our colleges and universities. This book discusses reforms in doctoral programs to improve the value of and process to complete a doctoral dissertation.