Research Workshop: Lives of the Deviant

Admission requirements

This course is part of the (Res)MA History Programme. It is not accessible for BA students.

Description

Scholars such as Foucault have underscored how the state gradually imposed a stronger control in the 19th century on the people considered ‘deviant’, be it because of their behaviour, physical and mental states, or economic situation. It has been argued that people who did not conform to the norms were gradually stowed away in prisons, asylums and other institutional facilities. In this workshop, we will use archival sources to study how control and representation of deviancy at different levels impacted the daily life of these people.

Course objectives

General learning objectives

The student has acquired:

1. The ability to independently identify and select sources, using traditional and modern techniques;
2. The ability to analyse and evaluate a corpus of sources with a view to addressing a particular historical problem;
3. The ability to independently formulate a clear and well-argued research question, taking into account the theory and method of the field and to reduce this question to accessible and manageable sub-questions;
4. The ability to independently set up and carry out an original research project that can make a contribution to existing scholarly debates;
5. The ability to give a clear and well-founded oral and written report on research results in correct English, when required, or Dutch, meeting the criteria of the discipline;
6. The ability to participate in current debates in the specialisation;
7. The ability to provide constructive feedback to and formulate criticism of the work of others and the ability to evaluate the value of such criticism and feedback on one’s own work and incorporate it;
8. (ResMA only:) The ability to participate in a discussion of the theoretical foundations of the discipline.

Learning objectives, pertaining to the specialisation

The student has acquired:

9. Thorough knowledge and comprehension of one of the specialisations or subtracks as well as of the historiography of the specialisation, focusing particularly on the following;
   -in the specialisation Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence: the manner in which migrations (of people, goods and ideas) between and within states have led to shifts (in cohesion, ethnic composition, policies, imaging, culture, and power relations) in the period 1600-2000, with a focus on (urban) networks (within and across borders);
10. Thorough knowledge and comprehension of the theoretical, conceptual and methodological aspects of the specialisation or subspecialisation in question, with a particular focus on the following;
    -in the specialisation Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence: the interdisciplinary approach (application of theories and methods from social sciences), the comparative perspective (diachronic and synchronic) and working with a large variety of primary sources;

Learning objectives, pertaining to this Research Workshop

The student:

11. Is acquainted with the historiographical trends in social history of control and poverty.
12. Is able to identify and analyse various types of archives (official, ego-documents, advertisements, publications) relevant to the subject.
13. Is able to identify local, national and transnational links in the archives.

Timetable

The timetables are available through MyTimetable.

Mode of instruction

• Seminar (compulsory attendance)

This means that students must attend every session of the course. Students who are unable to attend must notify the lecturer beforehand. The teacher will determine if and how the missed session can be compensated by an additional assignment. If specific restrictions apply to a particular course, the lecturer will notify the students at the beginning of the semester. If a student does not comply with the aforementioned requirements, the student will be excluded from the seminar.

Assessment method

Assessment

• Written paper (ca. 2.500-3000 words, based on research in primary sources)
  Measured learning objectives: 1-7, 9-13

• Oral presentation
  Measured learning objectives: 4-6, 11-13

• Assignment 1 (Historiographical essay)
  Measured learning objectives: 11

• Assignment 2 (Archive plan)
  Measured learning objectives: 12-13

• Assignment 3 (Peer review)
  Measured learning objectives: 7

Weighing

• Written paper: 60%

• Oral presentation: 10%

• Assignment 1: 10%

• Assignment 2: 10%

• Assignment 3: 10%

The final grade for the course is established by determining the weighted average with the additional requirement that the written paper must always be sufficient.

Deadlines

Assignments and written papers should be handed in within the deadline as provided in the relevant course outline on Brightspace.

Resit

Should the overall mark be unsatisfactory, the paper is to be revised after consultation with the instructor.

Inspection and feedback

How and when a review of the written paper will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the results, a review of the written paper will have to be organised. 

Reading list

Literature will be made available online before the start of the semester.

Registration

Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.

Contact

• For course related questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.

• For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Huizinga.

Remarks

Not applicable.