Unconventional / Unconventionality

How do you categorize that which defies categorization?

For the purposes of this website, we use “unconventional” as an imperfect umbrella term meant to signal any dissertation that departs from convention(s) in a way deemed to be effective or successful by the intended audience (Tardy, 2016).

This approach foregrounds the social dimensions of unconventionality, which differs from common understandings of unconventionality, creativity, or innovativeness as qualities that are inherent to a text. This view suggests that unconventionality is mediated by numerous factors that include the audience’s or community’s reception of a text (Tardy, 2016).

Note: To be deemed “successful” or “effective,” and included in this repository, the dissertation must have passed an examination.