SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK
Publishing, seminars, workshops and other activities during the PhD
work:
Introduction and Basis for discussion
Challenger 1: Christer Norström
Champion 1: Pamela Price
Challenger 2: Tashfeen Ahmad
Champion 2: Bo Lindblad
Champion 3: Gunnel Cederlöf
Group discussions
Conclusions
Summary by Staffan Lindberg
PhD candidate Christer Norström from
the Dept of Social Anthropology, Stockholm
University introduced the second session of SASNET’s symposium. A
basis for discussion had been prepared in beforehand by him and PhD candidate
Eva-Maria Hardtmann from the same department.
Basis for discussion: Themes for discussion:
Activities, platform, homepage and balance in our Ph.D.-lives
‡ What
kind of activities do we value? What does ‘outreach’ mean
to different disciplines?
‡ What
kind of platform do we want? In which way could SASNET contribute in
offering a platform for interaction? First, in the sense of interdisciplinary
interaction (seminars, published volumes etc.), but also as a forum
for PhD students to find their ways into relevant networks and groups
of their interests (regionally and theoretically). This could be discussed
regarding interaction in the Nordic countries as well as in South Asia
and in-between.
‡ What
do we want from SASNET web pages? The questions about relevant activities
and networks are closely connected to the form of the SASNET web pages.
What do we expect from the Internet Gateway?
‡ How
to get a balance in our PhD lives? What amount of time and energy should
be invested in, on one side the actual writing of the theses (on a straight
way to an exam) and on the other, in the activities connected to ”outreach”
(writing articles, taking part in seminars and conferences etc). The
act of balance may look different in different disciplines. What is
a comfortable balance according to the senior researchers and according
to the Ph.D.-students?
Challenger 1: Christer Norström
Christer dealt with the issue of the positioning of doctoral students
in their respective departments, each one of them having its own hidden
agenda with informal demands on curricular work that the PhD student is
supposed to take part in besides the formal and well regulated PhD work.
– A PhD student is positioned in a transitional and liminal phase
of life. We are true ”marginal beings”.
He discussed the problems that this so-called hidden agenda creates:
– We do not know which expectations we are supposed to live up to.
Expectations to take part in informal activities
He mentioned some activities that PhD students are expected to take part
in. They include teaching; administrative work; listening to guest lectures;
helping new students; visiting conferences; being part of the university’s
”third task” – that is advertising activities to the outside
World; and being part of collective action, like running different associations.
Christer Norström finished by asking what the rationality behind
the departments’ expectations is. Which are the short-term as well
as the long-term goals? The important thing for the PhD student must be
to find a reasonable balance between the formal and the informal curriculum
at his/her department.
Champion 1: Pamela Price
Professor Pamela Price, Dept
of History, University of Oslo, carried on the discussion regarding
formal versus informal activities for the PhD students. Regarding seminars
and workshops she said that informal gatherings are much to prefer to
formal presentations filled with performance anxiety. At the University
of Oslo the South Asia researchers meet once a month in an informal way,
to talk and discuss but also have a drink together. An idea to mix socialising
and intellectual involvement, commonly known from e g California.
This is also a good way of transgressing the disciplinary boundaries,
because the fractionization of university disciplines is a big hurdle
when you do research on South Asia.
Nofsa-Net turned into a Nordic network
Pamela Price leads Nofsa-Net, Norwegian Forum
for South Asia, a network created in 1996. Its main function has been
to provide a mailing-list to connect Norwegian scholars and students in
South Asian studies. It has served an important role in bringing together
many researchers who otherwise might not have known about each other.
Pamela now announced that the Nofsa-Net board recently decided to merge
with SASNET, and change the name of the network into Nordic Forum for
South Asia, inviting researchers in all the Nordic countries to join.
(A list passed the hall and most of the participants at the SASNET symposium
immediately chose to join Nofsa-Net).
Pamela differed in her position on the term liminality used by Christer
Norström to describe the unclear, transitional phase of life the
PhD students live through.
Marginality and freedom
– They have a common life style, which includes that they are relatively
poor, full of solidarity, emotional and open to ideologies. That is fantastic,
you should take that positivley. A combination of marginality and freedom!
Pamela Price claimed that the freedom of research is rooted in the academic
traditions of Scandinavia:
– The postmodern movement has not set root in Scandinavia. That gives
a special freedom. There exists a Nordic style of South Asian studies,
which is part of a European tradition. And I hope Nofs-Net contributes
to keep this alive.
Pamela ended her speech wondering about why South Asian studies is dominated
by women researchers – noticed since a long time back, according
to her.
– Is it because there is an emotional element connected to the subject?
Challenger 2: Tashfeen Ahmad
PhD candidate Tashfeen Ahmad, connected to the Dept of Surgical
Sciences, Section of Orthopaedics; and Dept. of Public Health Sciences,
Division of International Health (IHCAR), at Karolinska Medical College,
Stockholm, through a Sandwich programme. After completing his research
at Karolinska he will return to the Aga Khan University at Karachi, Pakistan,
to which he is also connected.
Tashfeen presented a list of activities that a PhD student should engage
himself/herself with. These include writing articles on their research,
and publish them in media. The target group should be widely set, the
ambition should be to reach out to other researchers as well as industry,
in Sweden as well as in South Asia.
Staffan Lindberg commented on this by mentioning the Swedish language
magazine Sydasien, which is open for qualified material from PhD students.
Professor Bo Lindblad also made a comment, on the fact that the
priority on publishing may differ between the disciplines. In medical
sciences it is extremely important. The theses normally consist of a set
of articles, screened by peers before publication.
Seminars/workshops
Tashfeen Ahmad then talked about other forms of presentation, on the
urgency which should be put on the PhD students’ participation in
conferences to present his/her research, on teaching graduate or junior
postgraduate students, and giving talks to PhD students in specialized
fields.
He dealt with the need for the PhD student to find a platform for himself/herself,
on the relationship between Sweden and South Asia, and on the issue of
co-operation versus exploitation. It is also good to create networks of
your special field of interest, and try to find a liaison between industry
and university.
– In South Asia there is no relation between industry and research.
How should we relate to an industry, which does not see the use of intellectual
input?
PhD candidate Ashok Nath objected to this statement, telling about
the outstanding example of the Indian IT sector, where such connections
are quite common. He argued that this phenomenon ought to be extended
also to other fields.
Need to find a balance
Tashfeen Ahmad went on, and gave some suggestions on how to facilitate
the possibilities for PhD students to reach out. SASNET could e g initiate
mailing lists for special fields of interest, and also improve its information
on the Internet gateway about Islam. He argued for a need for the student
to find a proper balance between the demands of science, thesis writing,
and outreach. Finally Tashfeen informed about the network for foreign
PhD students which exists at Karolinska, Karolinska International Forum. It is an orientation seminar in science, work
and life at KI for foreign researchers and research students, and it has
played a very positive role at the university.
Champion 2: Bo Lindblad
Professor Bo Lindblad, Dept. of Public Health Sciences, Division
of International Health (IHCAR), at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm,
is a member of the SASNET board and a keen supporter of SASNET’s
networking activities. He referred to several points that Tashfeen Ahmad
had highlighted, suggested practical solutions to some of the problems
which now exist, and gave advises on activities that the PhD students
and SASNET should make a priority.
Double registration
Bo Lindblad strongly advocates a model of double registration, a possibility
for PhD students to register and get their degrees both from a Swedish
university and their home university in e g Pakistan. This system has
been tried earlier but is no longer permitted.
– SASNET should ask The
Swedish National Agency for Higher Education (Högskoleverket)
to accept this.
He also asked SASNET to take use of the competence available in the network
and act as an intermediary in relation to newspapers etc. Bo Lindblad
enthusiastically told about a course he once participated in, on how to
interact with media. The things he learnt from this course have been of
great use for him over the years.
Reach out to the Swedish industry
Furthermore he asked SASNET to be more active in its efforts to reach
out. It should be more known than it is now at the local Sida offices,
and among Swedish industries working in South Asia. He asked whether there
exists a database on such industries.
(Such a list exists for India, but not for the other South Asian countries.
See the list)
Bo Lindblad finally suggested that SASNET should make sections at the
different Swedish universities, which could arrange meetings and seminars
on different South Asia related subjects, like
the root node in Lund sometimes does.
Champion 3: Gunnel Cederlöf
PhD Gunnel Cederlöf from the Dept of History and Dept
of Cultural Anthropology, Uppsala University, made a conclusion of
the previous speeches, and an introduction to the group discussions which
were to follow.
She focused on the concept of balance between visions and practice, and
the limitations that exist against finding this equilibrium.
– How do we create a balance that makes the PhD existence joyful?
Three phases to pass through
Gunnel Cederlöf described the different phases a PhD candidate passes
through.
– First comes the socialization and assimilation phase, when he or
she adapts to the hidden agenda at the department – or becomes an
outsider. In the second phase the candidate enters deeply into his or
her field of research, searching for colleagues to find the necessary
expertise. Then comes the third and final phase which is producing the
text. This is a lonely process.
She talked about how the time pressure has increased since 1997 because
of changed rules for funding. Less time is available for attending courses.
– Besides our lives are not 100 per cent academic. It is not possible
to separate it from our private lives. The family life, feelings of loneliness,
squeeze of money, etc, are important things we seldom talk about except
during coffee breaks!
Different traditions on publishing
Gunnel finally commented on how traditions vary between various faculties,
e g regarding the question of publishing. Whereas in some cases orthodox
principles decide that students should not publish their material before
the thesis is completed, and even are forbidden to teach, in other faculties
such as medicine it is a must to do a lot of publishing all the time,
and getting your material screened.
Group discussions:
The issues of publishing, seminars, workshops and other activities during
the PhD work were discussed in four groups, three with PhD candidates
and post-docs, and one with senior researchers. The discussions lasted
for 45 minutes, after which summaries were given in a plenary session
followed by a general discussion.
Group 1 (represented by Eva-Maria Hardtmann) pointed
out that different problems appear at different departments. Still some
concrete remarks and suggestions should be made upon the issues at discussion,
some of which refer to SASNET’s role.
The group asked for a critical debate on the relationship that SASNET
should have with industry. Similarly the relationship between SASNET and
Sida/SAREC (the main funding agency behind SASNET) should also be discussed.
SASNET should create a PhD students Ombudsman
The group then reiterated the demand from the previous session that an
Ombudsman for PhD candidates should be created. They suggested that such
a position should be established – either in the form that SASNET
sets money apart to employ a suitable person, or that Lars Eklund,
SASNET’s present webmaster/programme secretary, sets apart a specific
part of his working hours for the purpose.
Regarding the issue of publishing the group suggested that SASNET should
be instrumental in helping PhD students to overcome the obstacles in how
to deal with publishers. One way could be to invite knowledgeable people
to share their experiences at a workshop next year. At such a workshop
senior researchers could offer their assistance to PhD students.
Group 2 (represented by Tashfeen Ahmad)
focussed on the issue of finding a balance between formal dissertation
work and the so-called hidden agenda at the department. This hidden agenda
is not possible to take away, but it should be written down on paper,
in order that the PhD student really knows what is expected of him/her,
and he or she can plan the work better.
Regarding publishing the group declared that it is very important to reach
out as much as possible, and publish articles in scientific magazines
as well as in newspapers and ordinary magazines, in South Asia and in
Sweden.
The Senior’s group (represented by PhD Sidsel
Hansson) emphasised that the main point should be to stress the
importance of giving positive criticism to PhD students. The departments
should encourage such a culture.
Besides this they underlined the utter importance for PhD students to
participate as much as possible in workshops and seminars. Professor Rao
Vemuri, Dept of Computer Science,
University of California, Davis, described how seminars are arranged at
Berkeley University. The students
learn to defend their writings already at an early stage of their dissertation
work.
Professors Staffan Lindberg and Bo Lindblad also stressed
the importance of working in interdisciplinary groups.
Concluding discussion:
Several participants commented on the issues that had been brought up
during the previous discussion. Pamela Price reflected on the non-constructive
negative criticism that PhD students tend to get at presentations:
– It is not only a question of supervisors, but we often have a group
of male aggressive co-students who are doing the worst criticizing.
Pamela also commented on the issue of publishing:
– Too much publishing makes bad result. It should be a matter of
quality and not quantity, in order to keep the ideals alive.
Bo Lindblad emphasized the importance of SASNET and its work:
– The positions that Staffan Lindberg and Lars Eklund hold must not
be threatened by any economic consideratiions.
Abdul Quddus from the University of Bergen wished for SASNET’s
help to find resource persons not only in Sweden (which is rather well
cared for through the SASNET Internet Gateway) but also in the rest of
Europe.
Wiveca Stegeborn talked about the problem of publishing material on sensitive
issues, and asked for a discussion on how to treat this problem in the
South Asian countries. Ashok Nath had also touched upon the same
issue previously when he stated that there exist a number of insoluble
conflicts in South Asia, e g regarding Kashmir, which renders research
difficult.
Summary by Staffan Lindberg
Staffan Lindberg summed up the proposals that had been made during
the session regarding:
• Making Research theme presentations on the web site
• Creating a PhD Ombudsman
• Providing students with secondary supervisors who are experts
in their field of research
• Establishing a graduate school for South Asian studies
Staffan explained that the SASNET budget is very limited, since Sida
and Lund University have decided to give SASNET smaller grants for the
coming years than were initially anticipated. In order to realize some
of the proposals extra funds therefore must be applied for. However SASNET
will do as much as it can to assist PhD students and post-docs, e g by
helping them to find secondary supervisors, and to procure travelling
grants etc. Staffan also recommended the participants to take part in
the Swedish conference on Development
studies research at Lund University in January 2003. That gives an
ideal opportunity to present their research work.
Bright future for today’s PhD students
Finally Staffan pointed out that the future is bright for today’s
PhD students, as there will be a tremendous need for teachers once the
present large batch of old professors retire in 5–10 years from now.
He also promised that SASNET will pick up all good suggestions that have
been raised and improve its information on the web site accordingly. Still
the differences between the many research fields make it necessary for
each individual PhD student/post-doc to find his/her own way on how to
deal with the problems regarding publishing, seminars, workshops and other
activities during the PhD work.
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