my dissertation cover

In 2003 I completed my dissertation (Philosophy of Education), in Curriculum & Instruction, at The University of British Columbia, with this arts-based work. I titled it: "Fearless Leadership In and Out of the 'Fear' Matrix." It actually is all available free as a pdf download online.

I was into my first playing with powerpoint technology and manipulating images (although, the color version is much nicer)--but, I like the wild and dirty flavor of this aesthetic and how it is reflective, in a conscious way, with the 'Fear' Matrix and our being able to move in and out of it (IT)... whatever it (IT) really is (?)

This dissertation came from years and years of thinking critically about the nature and role of fear (and 'fear') and the future... and, asks us to consider what "Fearless Leadership" is required to engage and negotiate and battle within this context ('Fear' Matrix dynamic and ecology).... also, called a "culture of fear" and now, perhaps an "ecology of fear" (i.e., 'fear')...

Recently a professor sent me a copy of a student's paper in grad school. The student was writing about my dissertation from an article I wrote on it in the book The Authentic Dissertation: Alternative Ways of Knowing, Research, and Representation (by Four Arrows et al. 2008, New York: Routledge). The student reflected in a paper:

"I was also drawn to [R.] Michael Fisher's story, since it was performative, but also about an emancipatory curriculum as opposed to simply telling the story, as the fictional narrative approaches do. He [Fisher wrote], "It is all theory--it is all practice--all play/performance: fact/fiction" (p. 144). It [Fisher's dissertation] also included an art installation and video performance ritual. He even said that the dissertation defense was also part of the performance. He was trying to attack the fear that accompanies research itself within the academy, so his research committee was part of the play. I recognized the approach that many performance artists take of tricking the audience into becoming the art. In this approach [by Fisher] especially, I see the value, the appeal, the adventure, and also my own fear. There are two sides to this fear: 1) that a radical arts-based approach would defeat my own original purpose in pursuing a doctorate in the first place--which was to be taken seriously; and, 2) that my own participation in acting, writing, and storytelling in my earlier days is infected with perfectionism--I don't want to create a bad play, even if it makes for a good dissertation." -Anon.

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R.Michael Fisher October 10, 2017 at 7:30pm

Recently a professor sent me a copy of a student's paper in grad school. The student was writing about my dissertation from an article I wrote on it in the book The Authentic Dissertation: Alternative Ways of Knowing, Research, and Representation (by Four Arrows et al. 2008, New York: Routledge). The student reflected in a paper:

"I was also drawn to [R.] Michael Fisher's story, since it was performative, but also about an emancipatory curriculum as opposed to simply telling the story, as the fictional narrative approaches do. He [Fisher wrote], "It is all theory--it is all practice--all play/performance: fact/fiction" (p. 144). It [Fisher's dissertation] also included an art installation and video performance ritual. He even said that the dissertation defense was also part of the performance. He was trying to attack the fear that accompanies research itself within the academy, so his research committee was part of the play. I recognized the approach that many performance artists take of tricking the audience into becoming the art. In this approach [by Fisher] especially, I see the value, the appeal, the adventure, and also my own fear. There are two sides to this fear: 1) that a radical arts-based approach would defeat my own original purpose in pursuing a doctorate in the first place--which was to be taken seriously; and, 2) that my own participation in acting, writing, and storytelling in my earlier days is infected with perfectionism--I don't want to create a bad play, even if it makes for a good dissertation." -Anon.

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