St Andrews LSP Hub Distinguished Lecture 2026 Lecture by Emeritus Professor Sue Starfield - Free
St Andrews' LSP Hub of the Centre for International, Language and Teacher Education Research (CILTER) is hosting its first Distinguished Lecture by Emeritus Professor Sue Starfield on “Change and stability in thesis and dissertation writing”.
Abstract:
In my talk, I examine recent changes in the once relatively stable genre of the doctoral thesis and explore the extent to which these changes impact on the nature of the doctoral thesis/dissertation in the social sciences and humanities. I draw on concepts of genre evolution, innovation and emergence in the discussion of the production and reception of doctoral theses and dissertations across four Anglosphere contexts.
I report on a textographic study which examined variants of the doctoral thesis genre including the ‘new humanities' doctorate, professional doctorate, practice-based doctorate in the visual and performing arts and music, as well as the doctorate by publication. I consider forces which are shaping changes in this high-stakes genre as well as those which act as constraints. I conclude with a snapshot of what the doctorate of the future might look like and consider implications of the study for teachers of doctoral writing.
Bio:
Sue Starfield is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Education at the University of New South Wales. With Brian Paltridge, she has co-authored Change and Stability in Thesis and Dissertation Writing (Bloomsbury, 2024), Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language: A Handbook for Students and their Supervisors (Routledge, 2020) and Ethnographic Perspectives on Academic Writing (OUP, 2016). She is an editor emeritus of English for Specific Purposes and co-editor of the 2nd edition of the Handbook of English for Specific Purposes (Wiley, 2025).
[Registration will close at 12 noon (UK time) on Friday 5 June. The link to join the event will be emailed to everyone who registers for the event.]