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DharmaPhD Meta

H.W. Fowler on the Independent PhD

Greetings, Friendlies! Okay, the title is an exaggeration. But this quote landed with a THA-WUMP in my lap t’other day: Any one who wishes to become a good writer should endeavour, before [they allow themselves] to be tempted by the more showy qualities, to be direct, simple, brief, vigorous, and lucid. ~H.W. Fowler My writing […]

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Discourse

Learning in Public

Greetings, Friendlies! I’d like to offer a framework for what it is I think I’m doing, and for what that might mean for you as a reader, how you might engage should you be interested in such engagement. The Classical PhD holds one advantage over the Independent PhD: inherent in the structure one is in […]

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Discourse Meta

The Why, What, and How of the Independent PhD: Part 1.1, Why? Independent vs Institutional PhDs

In Part 1 we talked about motivation for starting an Independent PhD. But why an Independent PhD rather than a classic, Institutional PhD? I describe my Independent PhD as “Four-ish years of study, practice, and discourse that culminates in a book no-one will read.” But the beauty of an Independent PhD is that it doesn’t have to be four […]

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DharmaPhD Discourse Meta

The Why, What, and How of the Independent PhD: Part 1, Why?

Greetings, Friendlies! The writing challenge continues; taking a quick zoom out and spending a few sessions writing about the Independent PhD as the container for this Dharma PhD gig. I don’t know if y’all are interested in this material; maybe anything that is not a sutta spreadsheet is anathema? Let me know if that’s the […]

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DharmaPhD Discourse

The Independent PhD, and Why You Should Start One

I am writing this post in July, 2020, amidst a confusion of half-arsed quarantining efforts in the US. The edifice of US formal education is showing its cracks. For many, self-directed education is not only a viable option, it is the best possible option. Particularly for adult learners, and particularly for those adult learners for […]