YSS-33806 Interdisciplinary Themes in Food and Sustainability

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

Bachelor Social Sciences

Contents:

This course is part of the Master MSc program Management, Economics and Consumer Studies and aims to provide opportunities to students to acquire and practice interdisciplinary skills. A cross-cutting theme in the area of food and sustainability will be the anchor point for this course.
In initial joint track of the course, students will be introduced to social science and natural science perspectives on this theme, and to the opportunities and challenges of addressing it in an interdisciplinary way. Knowledge on these topics is tested through an intermediary written exam. In the specialization-specific track students are split up according to their specialization (consumer studies, business studies, or economics and governance). Lectures and tutorials support the work in small groups on a research portfolio, centered around an interdisciplinary research proposal and a poster, and will be assessed from a social science and natural science viewpoint. The final joint track brings the whole group back together and starts with a poster session where all groups present their results. Based on a feedback task at the poster session, students synthesize what they have learned on interdisciplinary research through an individual paper.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- understand the challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary research;
- analyse contemporary food and sustainability issues from an interdisciplinary perspective;
- construct an interdisciplinary research proposal from an economic, business or consumer studies perspective that uses the natural science state of the art knowledge on the topic;
- compose summaries of academic literature on the research topic for both natural and social science experts;
- critically assess how their own social science perspective (business studies, consumer studies or economics and governance) contributes to understanding the topic.

Activities:

Lectures, tutorials, group work, individual paper.

Examination:

- written exam (25%);
- group research portfolio (50%);
- individual paper (25%).

Literature:

Reader.