Dissertation Defense
Saturday was a historic day at the University of Kinshasa. We had the first dissertation defense in the 15-year history of the UniKin English department. There have been dissertations at Lubumbashi, one of the country’s other universities, but this was our first. Then-Mr. (now-Dr.) Ngwaba defended Perceptions of Poetic Discourse, a 400-page study of the attitudes of English students in Kinshasa toward poetry. He interviewed students at the two teachers’ colleges in the city to document their preference for fiction. Then he proceeded to offer many constructive suggestions for demystifying the study of poetry, including things which I will be using in a graduate seminar I just started teaching. I read the complete dissertation last month, and wrote a commentary that was presented at the pre-defense.
The public defense on Saturday was amazing. It was held in the “Salle de Promotion,” a large auditorium that has seen better days. Most of the seats have been removed and rental plastic chairs were hired for the occasion. The scene included a couple dozen soldiers (they follow the Rector everywhere) along with, by the end, 200 spectators--family, colleagues, students, and others. Still-Mr. Ngwaba sat at a table on the stage. To his right is the Executive Committee of the University (Rector, Academic Secretary, Treasurer, etc.)--the equivalent of the President and all of the Vice Presidents and the Dean of the Faculty. They were wearing their academic regalia. The examining committee of five professors, also wearing their regalia, was seated at a table on the floor in front of the audience.
Due to a pretty ferocious thunderstorm, it began a few hours late (though I can’t imagine under what circumstances it would have begun on time). It opened with Mr. Ngwaba presenting a summary of his research. Then each member of the committee asked their questions, which were mostly short speeches. Some of the points were extremely. One or two people actually brought up typographical errors. There were a couple more substantive threads that came up. First, several members of the committee were disappointed that there were no Africans among the three poets he used in the study (W. B. Yeats, Dylan Thomas, and Langston Hughes). Second, there were questions about the way his study balances New Critical (or formalist) and contextual (or sociological) modes of analysis. Following the committee’s questions, there was one additional question, actually a comment, from the audience. All of this took place in English. Then the committee left the room to deliberate. The Executive Committee left as well, followed by the military installation.
After about 20 minutes, they returned and announced the decision (in French) of “grand distinction.” At that point the audience went wild. Everyone was already standing (because they had already returned the rented chairs) and now there was singing and whistling and dancing. Members of his family were there in matching outfits. It was electric. Next, the Rector read a statement and hooded him with a royal blue gown with yellow stripes and a picture of a leopard on the back. Then he placed a large UniKin talisman around his neck. His wife, who brought a bouquet of flowers, joined him on stage. Then there were speeches. First, now-Dr. Ngwaba read his thank-yous, which, considering he has been working on the dissertation for 20 years, was no short list. The Dean and the Rector made their comments, and both kindly acknowledged my presence as something which, along with the dissertation, marked the rise of the Faculty of Letters at UniKin. Then we sang the national anthem--actually everyone else in the room sang the national anthem and I lip-synched since I have not yet learned all of the words. Next, we convened to a rooftop reception with beer, soda, Muscador, bologna sandwiches, cake, and peanuts.
I brought students there which made the experience even more rewarding for me. There were about five undergraduate and five graduate students. My dissertation student, who actually taught Dr. Ngwaba in the 1970s, should be the next to defend a dissertation. The length of time it took him to write a dissertation is not uncommon here, where things like electricity can be scarce. Dr. Ngwaba is a teacher with a full time position and a family. And the financial gains for him, at this point, will be relatively minimal if any (and certainly not commensurate with the expense). Yet he has continued to work on a dissertation about poetry during twenty years of war and serious political, social, and economic instability. I am pretty much speechless.
The real party will be at his house on Saturday. I will be there.
The public defense on Saturday was amazing. It was held in the “Salle de Promotion,” a large auditorium that has seen better days. Most of the seats have been removed and rental plastic chairs were hired for the occasion. The scene included a couple dozen soldiers (they follow the Rector everywhere) along with, by the end, 200 spectators--family, colleagues, students, and others. Still-Mr. Ngwaba sat at a table on the stage. To his right is the Executive Committee of the University (Rector, Academic Secretary, Treasurer, etc.)--the equivalent of the President and all of the Vice Presidents and the Dean of the Faculty. They were wearing their academic regalia. The examining committee of five professors, also wearing their regalia, was seated at a table on the floor in front of the audience.
Due to a pretty ferocious thunderstorm, it began a few hours late (though I can’t imagine under what circumstances it would have begun on time). It opened with Mr. Ngwaba presenting a summary of his research. Then each member of the committee asked their questions, which were mostly short speeches. Some of the points were extremely. One or two people actually brought up typographical errors. There were a couple more substantive threads that came up. First, several members of the committee were disappointed that there were no Africans among the three poets he used in the study (W. B. Yeats, Dylan Thomas, and Langston Hughes). Second, there were questions about the way his study balances New Critical (or formalist) and contextual (or sociological) modes of analysis. Following the committee’s questions, there was one additional question, actually a comment, from the audience. All of this took place in English. Then the committee left the room to deliberate. The Executive Committee left as well, followed by the military installation.
After about 20 minutes, they returned and announced the decision (in French) of “grand distinction.” At that point the audience went wild. Everyone was already standing (because they had already returned the rented chairs) and now there was singing and whistling and dancing. Members of his family were there in matching outfits. It was electric. Next, the Rector read a statement and hooded him with a royal blue gown with yellow stripes and a picture of a leopard on the back. Then he placed a large UniKin talisman around his neck. His wife, who brought a bouquet of flowers, joined him on stage. Then there were speeches. First, now-Dr. Ngwaba read his thank-yous, which, considering he has been working on the dissertation for 20 years, was no short list. The Dean and the Rector made their comments, and both kindly acknowledged my presence as something which, along with the dissertation, marked the rise of the Faculty of Letters at UniKin. Then we sang the national anthem--actually everyone else in the room sang the national anthem and I lip-synched since I have not yet learned all of the words. Next, we convened to a rooftop reception with beer, soda, Muscador, bologna sandwiches, cake, and peanuts.
I brought students there which made the experience even more rewarding for me. There were about five undergraduate and five graduate students. My dissertation student, who actually taught Dr. Ngwaba in the 1970s, should be the next to defend a dissertation. The length of time it took him to write a dissertation is not uncommon here, where things like electricity can be scarce. Dr. Ngwaba is a teacher with a full time position and a family. And the financial gains for him, at this point, will be relatively minimal if any (and certainly not commensurate with the expense). Yet he has continued to work on a dissertation about poetry during twenty years of war and serious political, social, and economic instability. I am pretty much speechless.
The real party will be at his house on Saturday. I will be there.
posted by irad at 1:42 PM
2 Comments:
Hello, There, Dr. Dowrkin. You are very familiar with the american system, now you have experienced the Congolese one. I am very impressed with your analysis. To me, it sounds like education is much more valued there, but not for the finacial rewards it may bring. I can't wait to hear about the graduation party on Saturday.
Thanks,
An eager reader of your blog.
Thanks for your comment--and thanks to everyone for their comments. I need to start replying to comments though I am a bit of a novice blogger. (I need to learn how to display the comments, for example.) My email connection has improved since I first arrrived here which makes dialogue easier. (Computers will be a topic for a future installment.)
For now, I am very sad to report that the graduation party will not be held this week due to the death of Dr. Ngwaba's sister-in-law, whose funeral will be that day. The graduation party is tentatively scheduled for next week--28 Jan.
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