Upcoming seminar: Doctoral Education and Academia Research in the Global Context: Social Class, Power, and Conflict
Date: Feb. 23, 2026
Time: 8:00 to 9:15 PM (Hong Kong) and 12:00 to 1:15 (UK)
Mode: Online by Zoom
Speaker: Ms. Fatima Alhaj Hasan, Warwick University; Dr. Ross Chi Wui Ng, The University of Hong Kong
Chair: Prof. Jisun Jung, The University of Hong Kong
Registration link: https://lnkd.in/gZnaHgdz
Abstract:
Why do Humanities and Social Sciences Students in Hong Kong Pursue a PhD: A Social Class Analysis
This presentation examines how social class – conceptualized from a Bourdieusian perspective – moulds the reasons why students in the humanities and social sciences in Hong Kong pursue doctoral degrees. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty PhD students in these disciplines at publicly funded universities in Hong Kong. Findings reveal that doctoral students from different social classes shared similar educational aims: pursuing doctoral education for personal career development and engagement in research. Irrespective of social class, doctoral students’ educational aims were inclined towards the category of “excellences”, which are inextricable from academic careers and research.
Framing conflict in higher education: power, discourse, and agency
Conflict in HE is commonly framed as disruptive and unprofessional, and as a problem to be solved or eliminated. Drawing on Foucauldian power/knowledge, this presentation examines how such framings of conflict are produced and sustained through institutional discourse, shaping how academics understand conflict and are expected to deal with it. Using qualitative data from interviews and diaries collected from academics in Syrian HEIs, the study explores how responses to conflict are regulated through norms of professionalism, silence, and individual responsibility. The study likewise reveals moments when academics depart from dominant framings, revealing conflict as a site of agency, ethical positioning, and alternative ways of navigating institutional constraints.
About the speakers:
Fatima Alhaj Hasan — PhD Candidate, Warwick University;
Ross, Chi Wui Ng — PhD, The University of Hong Kong.