Admission requirements
This course is available for students of the Honours College Humanities Lab.
Students in the first year of their bachelor’s programme who achieve good academic results and are very motivated, may apply for a place in Humanities Lab.
Description
Discussions about what it means to be an ethical researcher have been taking place across disciplines in recent years. For the most part, the humanities has followed the lead of the social or medical sciences in these discussions, and the few sets of published guidelines that are available are often inspired by these fields. However, humanities scholars often face additional ethical challenges, for instance, having to do with the political and social consequences of their work, that create additional researcher responsibilities. Moreover, not only participant but also researcher well-being is now considered an ethical matter worthy of attention. After a brief history of the field, I provide an overview of the scope of ethics in the humanities approaching the topic from three angles -- the people we do research about (our participants); the people we do research with (our colleagues and students); and the people we do research for (our sponsors, society at large). By highlighting what is special about ethics in the humanities that makes it more than a matter of following guidelines, the aim is to raise awareness of the ethical dimension in all aspects of our work and of ethics as a continuous process that plays an important role in fostering public trust in scientific research.
Course objectives
By the end of this course students will:
be informed about current ethical requirements applying to Humanities research at institutional, national, and international level
be informed about the processes available to handle ethical concerns within the university and within the scientific community
have developed an awareness of their rights and obligations as researchers
be able to identify an ethical concern in their research and workplace
be able to formulate a solution to an ethical concern
be able to evaluate a range of alternative solutions to an ethical concern
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Humanities Lab courses are usually scheduled on Friday afternoon from 13.30 to 17h.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
Homework: 20%
Class / groupwork participation: 40%
Final paper: 40%
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Attendance
Attendance is compulsory for all meetings (lectures, seminars, excursions, etc.). If you are unable to attend, notify the lecturer (listed in the information bar on the right) in advance. Being absent may result in lower grades or exclusion from the course.
Resit
Students can improve their final grade by re-submitting the final paper within 10 working days after the grades have been announced. The grade for homework and class participation cannot be re-taken.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
The booktitles and/or syllabi to be used in the course, where it can be purchased and how this literature should be studied beforehand.
Relevant articles will be made available in advance. The students will also download and use the following app: https://www.eur.nl/en/about-eur/policy-and-regulations/integrity/research-integrity/dilemma-game
Registration
Students participating in this module will be enrolled in MyStudymap by the Education Administration Office of Humanities Lab. Students can register for the Humanities Lab modules about two to three weeks before the start of the module through an online form. On this form students indicate the modules in order of their preference. The coordinators assign students to a module based on their preference and bachelor’s programme, in order to create a diverse group of students and equal amount of students per module. Usually students get assigned to the module of their first or second choice. More information and the link to the form will be provided by Umail.
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
Not applicable
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office:
Remarks
This course is part of the Humanities Lab programme, visit the website for more information.
Visit the Honours Academy website for more information about the Honours College.