The quest for the PhD: a better metaphor for doctoral education

What is it about?

Drawing on The Lord of the Rings and an essay by W. H Auden, the paper explores the metaphor of the 'quest' as an alternative metaphor to that of the “journey”as a characterisation of the student's experience of doctoral education. It argues that the six elements of the Quest identified by W.H. Auden resonate with the contemporary doctoral experience and emphasise the uncertainty involved in research rather than the linearity implied by the journey metaphor.

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Why is it important?

The paper offers a critique of the 'journey' metaphor and, in proposing the metaphor of the Quest, offers a cultural and literary form found in most societies across the world. It thus offers a cross‐cultural basis for both staff and student development activities through which sense can be made of the research experience, student concerns can be surfaced, and potentially difficult issues raised for discussion in an non-threatening way.