The 'scenius' of open doctoral knowledge

Back in 2011, I defended by doctoral thesis. My intention had been to livestream it, which the external examiner was up for, but which my institution, Durham University, wasn't. They did, however, allow me to donate my thesis to the public domain, using a CC Zero license, which you can see at the official repository.

I just wrote my thesis how I live my life: in the open. I wrote it in the first person, gave a personal backstory, and credited all those people who had helped me along the way. I'm not the only person who has thought to do this, which is why it's nice there's a new article out by Drs Helen DeWaard, Verena Roberts, Leo Havemann, and Gabi Witthaus entitled Disputatio in the Digital Agora: Opening the Doctorate Through Dialogue:

In this collaborative autoethnographic study, we examine the tensions between open doctoral experiences and traditional doctoral research processes. We describe the open research process through individual reflections and shared conversations. This research illuminates digital spaces, or agoras, where doctoral knowledge is shared and debated. The authors share personal stories, writings, and lived experiences, building on the work of others who have agitated and ruptured knowledge building by shifting dissertations into the open.

Through our stories about discourse and dialogues in open and digital spaces, we share our perceptions as practitioners and advocates for opening the dissertation. The shared debate revealed inherent ethical values, risks, and challenges to researching openly. Nuanced questions and decisions are woven into all levels of opening a dissertation process and product. We explore where, when and with whom doctoral candidates can openly share, build connections and networks, join professional partnerships, use media production tools to enhance communication, and draw on the feedback and support of others. These open practices can support innovation and collaboration and help to advance doctoral knowledge for global knowledge communities.

There's so many people I recognise in that paper – not just the authors of the paper, but people who are heavily cited including Drs Bon Stewart, Catherine Cronin, Maha Bali, and Robert Farrow.

The number one objection to working openly in academia seems to be "what if someone else steals my ideas and publishes before me?" My answer to this is, and always will be: are you doing this solely for your own benefit, and why aren't you sharing as you go along? It's not dissimilar to our collective, growing realisation that 'genius' artists, scientists, and inventors live with in a scenius which provides the fertile soil for their achievements.

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Image: Modulo 37 by Affonso Eduardo Reidy, 1964