Emerging Perspectives 
ep.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca 

 

Introduction  
Doctoral Seminar 2017: An International Journey 

 
Janet Groen, Professor and Associate Dean - Graduate Programs 

Sylvie Roy, Professor and Associate Dean - Research 
 

Werklund School of Education 
University of Calgary 

  
It is our pleasure to introduce this SPECIAL issue called Doctoral Seminar 2017: An 

International Journey for the Emerging Perspectives: Interdisciplinary Graduate Research in 
Education and Psychology. The International Doctoral Seminar (IDS) emerged out of a formal 
partnership between the Faculties/Schools of Education at Beijing Normal University (BNU), 
China, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia and the Werklund School of 
Education, here at the University of Calgary.  Within the International Doctoral Research Seminar, 
we promote research collaborations and cultivate cross cultural competencies among doctoral 
students and faculty members at our three universities.  A central component of this partnership 
involves a joint annual International Doctoral Research Seminar, where four to five doctoral 
students from each university (12-15 students in total) come together to spend a week at the hosting 
university to consider doctoral research across cultures, through the chosen theme of the 
seminar.  

The International Doctoral Seminar (IDS) held in Brisbane in 2017, focusing on Research 
in Education: Transcultural Perspectives, was the last iteration of the first three-year cycle and 
the articles found in this Special issue are a sample of what our doctoral students achieved and 
learned during their time in this program. As you will see, the articles are written from two or more 
team members across the universities making this Special Issue exceptional in demonstrating the 
impact of this program; specifically, the emergence of doctoral student collaborative research 
across the three universities. The first article offers reflective space that focuses on decolonizing 
dissertations. Specifically, Czuy and Hogarth discuss how Indigenous ways could allow a blurring 
of the boundaries typically associated with the standard dissertation. The authors of the next two 
articles explore how the transcultural journey they undertook expanded their perspective as 
emerging scholars.  First, Becker and Yin consider how the opportunity to engage in collaborative 
writing, beyond the actual seminar event itself, was pivotal in developing their transcultural 
development. Second, Ko, Jiao, and Corser reflect on how the intertwining of both the formal 
events, such as lectures and presentations, as well as informal opportunities, like the visit to the 
koala sanctuary, offered a rich context for their shifting understanding of themselves as 
researchers. Finally, Downes and Kim, who both take up Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as 
their analytical framework in their respective dissertation work, consider how their transcultural 
experiences have benefitted their understanding of CDA and its application to their research. 
         Congratulations to all the authors and the editorial team of this Special Issue of 
EPIGREP.  This is an exciting and inspirational achievement that we hope will be the beginning 



Groen & Roy/ Emerging Perspectives (2019) iii-iv  iv 

iv 
 

of Special Issues focused on collaborative writing that emerges from doctoral students located in 
universities around the world. 
 

Articles 
 
Circling the Square: Indigenizing the Dissertation  

by Kori Czuy and Melitta Hogarth 
A Tale of Two Scholars: Developing Transculturally Through Dialogue and Writing  

by Sandra Becker and Melody Yue Yin 
A Transcultural Journey: An Ensemble of Canadian, Chinese, and Australian Doctoral Students’ 
Experiences  

by Gina Ko, Nan Jiao, and Kristy Corser 
Critical Discourse Analysis in Transcultural Spaces  

by Lynn Downes and Marcia Kim