Ask Doctoral Advising

 Let me state that this is not meant to be political. Having said that, everything that we do as individuals is political. While the dust has not yet fully settled with the election of our new president, there is an undeniable sense that something in the society has shifted. 

What does it have to do with being a Capella learner? Everything. Any kind of change, personal or societal, may serve as catalyst for subtle and dramatic ways in which we are made more acutely aware of the world we live in and our place in it. It is not unusual that times like these bring about a critical reevaluation of purpose, time of getting in touch with why we are doing what we are doing.

Capella educational model fosters an almost archetypal union of  the Scholar with the Practitioner. Stated differently, this model engages learners in the higher purpose of creating new knowledge through research,  while compels them to apply their knowledge and expertise through service in a broad sense. What I have just stated is nothing else than the seminal question of the doctoral comprehensive exams based on application of theory and research to problem solving.

I would argue, that anyone who is in school at this time of his/her life is there for a reason. I will go as far as to state that “there are no accidents”. Historically we live in exciting times, even though the excitement is mostly obscured and wrought with anxiety about the convulsions of the current economic and social landscape. I don’t have to be any more graphic to describe the collective and individual pain. Mythology frequently offers images to offer the larger perspective.

Phoenix rising from the ashes, the collapse of the old as the new is being birthed – you get the picture.

Theoretically and philosophically,  we are meant to live ontologically,  since ontology is the science of being, the way of being in the world. What it means for us is the simple awareness that what we do as scholars and practitioners makes a world of difference.