Disclaimer
At the moment, we are still working on the final information for this new interdisciplinary minor. This means that some texts may still change in the coming weeks.
Admission requirements
None.
Description
Why do we conduct research and what are the possibilities and limitations of research in international studies? What does a good research question look like and how can I make sure I am designing and conducting a research project properly and ethically? These are common questions that students have and this course is designed with these questions in mind.
Understanding and conducting research are key components of the BA International Studies programme and this course introduces students to research methods within a specific theme. Building on skills gained in courses such as Academic Reading and Writing, the aim of this course is threefold: to provide a basic understanding of the philosophical assumptions and ethical principles of academic research; to equip students with key practical strategies and techniques for different types and processes of data collection, analysis, and interpretation; and to merge theory and practice by having students design, conduct, and write-up a small research project.
The course utilises a combination of knowledge clips and seminars. The knowledge clips are watched by all students and are broadly applicable to research in the humanities and social sciences. They are meant to provide an overview of academic research, the logic and limitations of qualitative and quantitative methods, and a brief introduction to the philosophy of science and research ethics. The seminars provide a focused engagement based upon the research expertise of the seminar leader. The seminar meetings are meant to assist students in designing a small research project and writing up the tentative results in a research report. While each seminar is unique, all students will be introduced to field specific research design issues, multiple data collection and analysis methods, operationalising research questions, and how to structure and write a research report.
This seminar takes stock of a rich and fast-growing body of scholarship in the humanities and social sciences on global sustainability and the international evolution of sustainability discourse over the last decades. Historians, political scientists, sociologists, geographers, STS scholars, and environmental humanists have traced how “sustainability” emerged as a key framework in global governance, development debates, corporate strategy, grassroots activism, and everyday practices, and how its meanings have shifted across regions, institutions, and cultures. The seminar helps students understand the ecological and social consequences of resource extraction, energy transitions, waste regimes, food and water governance, and industrial and post-industrial modernization, while paying close attention to the political choices and power relations embedded in sustainability agendas.
A core thread of the course is the relationship between sustainability and health, with particular attention to One Health approaches and the development of public health policies that link human well-being to animal health and environmental change. Students will explore how sustainability debates have shaped, and been shaped by, issues such as pollution and chronic disease, workplace and environmental regulation, food systems and nutrition, antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic outbreaks and pandemic preparedness, climate and heat risk, and unequal exposures to toxicants and hazards. The seminar highlights how these concerns have been negotiated internationally across institutions (from local health authorities to international organizations), and how scientific expertise, risk governance, and public health infrastructures have traveled, been translated, and contested in different political and cultural contexts.
At the same time, students will learn how to research sustainability historically, culturally, and politically: how to reconstruct changing concepts and metrics, interpret policy, medical, and institutional archives, analyze competing narratives and imaginaries, and connect local case studies to transnational processes. Finally, the seminar invites students to pursue original research into the multiple histories of sustainability and health governance, including their promises, contradictions, and the movements, conflicts, and innovations that have shaped their global trajectory.
Course objectives
The purpose of this course is to prepare students to understand, design, and conduct academic research. After successfully completing the course students will:
Understand the importance of academic research in acquiring knowledge and how this relates to the philosophy of science and the position of the researcher.
Be able to explain the logic and limitations of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research.
Possess the practical skills necessary for designing research, conducting research, and writing up a research report.
Understand how to formulate and operationalise research questions, address issues in research ethics, collect different types of data, and learn how to analyse and interpret collected data.
Timetable
All course and group schedules are published on MyTimeTable.
The exam dates have been determined by the Education Board and are published in MyTimeTable.
It will be announced in MyTimeTable and/or Brightspace when and how the post-exam feedback will be organized.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
The Knowledge Clips will be viewed by students during specific weeks.
Seminars
There are seven seminar sessions in this course (typically weeks 38, 39, 40, 41, 45, 46, and 50). Attending all seminar sessions is compulsory. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform your tutor in advance. Being absent at more than two of the seminar sessions will result in a lowering of your Research Report grade (75% of the end grade) with 0,5 point for each session missed after the first two sessions
Assessment method
Assessment: Research design (25%) & research report (75%)
The final grade is established by the weighted average and is graded as either a fail or a pass.
Reading list
The reading list can be found on Brightspace.
Registration
30 EC minor
You can enroll for the complete minor through EduXChange, registration is open from 19 May to 30 June. The minimum number of students for the minor is 12.
15 EC minor
This minor is also open as a 15 EC minor for LUMC students. You can apply for the 15 EC minor through the regular half minor procedure communicated on Brightspace. This information is subject to change, but this will change 15 April at the latest. The minimum number of students for the minor is 12.
Contact
This interdisciplinary minor is a collaboration of the faculties of Medicine (LUMC), Governance and Global Affairs, Humanities, Law, and Science. The Faculty of Medicine (LUMC) acts as the overall coordinator of this minor programme. If you have any questions regarding this minor, please contact the LUMC Education Service Desk through their contact form.
Remarks
This course is part of the minor Sustainable health and care.