Prospectus

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New developments in knowledge production

Course
2016-2017

Additional Information

Admission requirements

A propedeutic exam of any Bachelor’s program.
Elective students: please contact the study advisor of your Bachelor’s program for information on enrollment.
Course 1, Science as culture (6420SCI13).

Description

Big Data is the new buzzword. But what goes on behind the scenes of the creation of new data centres? To what extent are new developments in science driven by data floods? Can amateurs and citizens really participate in creative research with the help of the availability of new data sources in instruments and on the web? What are the prospects of citizen science?
This fifth module will look at the future of knowledge creation across all fields by analyzing current developments that may change the practice of research and scholarship in fundamental ways. The student will be confronted with different aspects of the process of informatization of what we will call “knowledge practices”. It builds on the previous modules by looking at the role of data and databases as well as new forms of web based communication. We will not only study academic science but also forms of knowledge creation outside of the traditional university settings.

Topics that will be discussed in the course:

  • The role of the web and internet in science and scholarship (beyond their role in scientific communication)

  • International large-scale collaboration

  • The role of databases as knowledge infrastructural elements

  • Cyborgs and robots in science and scholarship

  • The emergence of digital humanities and digital methods in the social sciences
    h3. Course objectives

  • The student can mention an example of e-science in respectively the sciences, social sciences, technical science and humanities, and discuss to what extent they represent innovations in the way knowledge is created.

  • The student can classify at least 3 different forms of scientific collaboration and can summarize how they can be recognized empirically, including the data sources needed to study scientific collaboration.

  • The student can explain why the concept of “infrastructure” is necessary to explain the development of scientific knowledge.

  • The student can formulate a short research proposal (4000 words) for a citizen science project.

Timetable

Tutorial group meetings:

Mondays

  • November 7th from 15.00 hours until 18.00 1A15

  • November 14th from 15.00 until 18.00 hours 5A41

  • November 21th- November 28th from 15.00 until 18.00 hours 1A15

  • December 5th from 13.00 until 16.00 hours 1A15

  • December 12th from 15.00 until 18.00 hours 5A29

  • December 19th from 15.00 until 18.00 hours 1A15

Note: On Monday December 5th there will be no meeting

Individual assignment (24 hours per week)
The tutorial group meetings will each week discuss in-depth selected readings (posted on Blackboard), which all students must have read in advance. The lecturer will give a short introduction to the main topics of the readings of that week and give contextual information. Each paper or chapter is discussed by one student who gives his/her impressions and points out what according to him/her are the main arguments. The ensuing discussion is mainly aimed at deepening the student’s understanding of the underlying theoretical concepts and their relevance.

The tutorial group meetings are meant to help the students to translate the theoretical knowledge acquired in the classes to their own empirical research. Each week a particular assignment is given to support the learning curve in empirical research. In addition, we discuss the progress in all student projects when needed.

Assessment method

  • Weekly assignments based on preparatory reading material

  • A research proposal for a citizen science project of 4000 words.

  • A final presentation with slides (Powerpoint, Prezi) about the proposal for a citizen science project.

Blackboard

Next to Blackboard, the website Research Dreams will be used as a writing and publishing tool (www.researchdreams.nl)

Reading list

Paul Wouters et al., Virtual Knowledge. Experimenting in the humanities and social sciences. (2013) MIT Press 250 pp.
Additional compulsory readings will be made available via blackboard or through the Leiden University Library. Supplementary reading will be encouraged throughout the course.

Registration

Registration is open from May 1st until August 15 2016. The course catalogue code is 6000MSCTSN, activity number 1524.
Please note that we can accommodate a maximum of 40 students. Admission is based on the students’ qualifications + a first come, first served basis.
Students from other universities will need permission to register.
Please send an e-mail to Inge van der Weijden at i.c.m.van.der.weijden@cwts.leidenuniv.nl.
This also holds for Exchange and Study Abroad students. For more information please see the “Prospective students website”: http://www.prospectivestudents.leiden.edu/programmes/study-abroad/

Contact information

Dr. Inge van der Weijden, coordinator minor StiS, i.c.m.van.der.weijden@cwts.leidenuniv.nl, 071-5276073