Method emerging: a statement of poetics for a project-based PhD

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to give an account of the methods used for the author's project-based doctoral thesis, Hatred and History. The methodology is offered not as an exemplar, but rather as a case study of an integrated approach where exegesis and creative work are conceived as intertwining explorations of the same research materials. Design/methodology/approach – Hatred and History creatively explores the idea that science and intuition frame our experience of the world in distinct ways, and is expressed across an audio production and a written exegesis. The dyad of scientific and intuitive knowledge is embedded deeply within the production, from the initial choice of subject through the structuring and writing of the script to the techniques employed to write the music. This paper traces the transformation of the dyad from academic construct to creative construct, and should therefore be considered a statement of poetics. Findings – The creative exploration of science and intuition encouraged me to consider the “double articulation” of theory and practice, where poetics ceases to be merely a theory of rhetorical design and is assimilated into a theory of self-knowledge. Originality/value – This paper is offered in the hope that it will be of value to commencing PhD candidates in the creative arts who must navigate the waters between exegesis and creative output for themselves.