YSS-34803 Seminar Social Sciences

Course

Credits 3.00

Language of instruction:

English.

Continuation courses:

The Seminar Course supports students of the social sciences master programmes MCS, MID and MME in the initial (proposal writing) and final (report writing) phases of

Contents:

The Seminar Course supports students of the social sciences master programmes MCS, MID and MME in the initial (proposal writing) and final (report writing) phases of their Master Thesis process. It focuses on acquiring and improving students' skills in reviewing and discussing academic research. Students learn to be a critic of the writing of others and thereby also of their own writing. In doing so the course trains students to develop a kind of writing and thinking that will enable them to become a reflective and critical thinker able to engage in scholarly debates in the social sciences. The course starts each period of the year. Students need to register for the period when they plan to attend the Introduction Lecture. There are 10 Seminar Introduction lectures scheduled each academic year. Students can only join a Seminar Group (Tutorial) after they have attended the Introduction Lecture.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- identify, analyse and evaluate the structure of Master Thesis research proposals and reports;
- identify, analyse and evaluate arguments in Master Thesis research proposals and reports;
- apply guidelines for giving and receiving constructive feedback (written and oral);
- analyse and reflect on academic presentations and discussions (colloquia).

Activities:

Students attend an Introduction Lecture and participate in one of the Seminar Groups. The Seminar Groups meet every three weeks to discuss each other's work and are supervised by a moderator. Students need to attend a total of 6 Seminar Group meetings in which they present their own work-in-progress once, and review the work of others twice. Furthermore, students will attend and review three research colloquia. Together, these assignments form part of a portfolio that will be assessed.

Examination:

Students will be assessed on the quality of their written feedback in the Seminar Groups, and on the quality of their reflection report on the colloquia. The course work consists of two main tasks with several sub tasks or assignments:
Task 1 'Seminar Group' consists of:
- active participation in six Seminar Group sessions (prerequisite for passing task 1);
- a presentation of Thesis proposal or Thesis chapter(s) (prerequisite for passing task 1);
- writing and presenting two reviews of the work of peers in the Seminar Groups (mark).
Task 2 'Research Colloquia' consists of:
- review report on three research colloquia (mark).
Students need to pass both tasks (5,5 or higher) in order to receive a final assessment by the Course Coordinator. The final assessment is a weighed total of the submarks of task 1 (75%) and task 2 (25%).

Literature:

Will be announced via blackboard.