The potential of the exegesis and the challenge of symbiosis

Abstract

The three contributors to this article believe that a symbiotic relationship between creative and critical aspects of a project function most effectively. Research for the exegesiswhether conventional or experimental -can enhance the creative work's possibilities, raising more pertinent research questions or refining those already identified. In addition, the thesis as a coherent entity has the potential of making an original contribution to knowledge through the connection of the exegesis and creative work. The case study dissertations demonstrate this point of view, occupying two positions on Krauth's 'radical trajectory continuum' (2011). The first graduate, a filmmaker and academic, chose a conventional exegesis-novel split, as the subject itself, reverse adaptation of a film script to literary young adult novel, is an emerging research discipline. The second candidate chose a braided essay format (Krauth's 'plaited' structure) that reflects the research she undertook into theory of the Uncanny and the consequent destabilisation and fragmentation it encourages. The supervisor as fellow traveller of these doctoral journeys drew on her experience in order to help them to select the most effective thesis structure and to realise the potential of symbiosis. They discovered that in each case the resultant symbiosis did not silence their individual voices but enhanced their individuality.