Admission requirements
Students should have a thesis supervisor at the beginning of the research.
Description
This course consists of a short, or narrowly defined disciplinary research project in Latin American country. Through methods and techniques of the humanities and social sciences, the student will collect material to report about in the Master’s thesis. The thesis supervisor will help the student with the research proposal, the selection of the location of the study, and the conduction of fieldwork in Latin America.
Under consultation with the thesis supervisor and the Board of Examiners, alternative research stays at Leiden University or data collection in the Netherlands are a possibility.
Course objectives
Students will deal with a different environment and culture, and learn to cope with a research practice that does not always correspond to the theories learned or the project on paper.
The ability to individually carry out academic research in Latin America by working with interviews, observations, archive research, discourse analysis, statistical data or other methods to collect information.
Students will be able to conduct research and solve practical, methodological and content issues within a short timeframe.
At the end of the course, students will be able to report on the fieldwork conducted in the region, and write a full research paper based on the empirical data or collected material.
Timetable
Method of Instruction
Fieldwork in Latin America. During the research stay, the students are in contact with the supervisor by email at least once every two weeks to inform on the developments and/or problems.
Study load
Fieldwork in Latin America (260 hrs.)
Revision/preparation research proposal (48 hrs.)
Writing research report (112 hrs.)
Elaboration research paper (140 hrs.)
TOTAL: (20ECs): 560 hrs.
Assessment method
The grade consists of three assignments:
Revised research proposal (Research Seminar Modern History) (20%)
Report research stay in Latin America (3.000-4.000 words), where the student presents the fieldwork results and preliminary findings (30%)
A research paper fully elaborated (5.000 words) (50%)
Re-sit: essay based on theoretical Research for your specific research topic.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used to post all the necessary information about the fieldwork.
Reading list
Under consultation with the thesis supervisor.
Registration
Register via uSis.
Contact information
Dr. J.C.G. Aguiar , tel. + 31 71 527 2189
Overview
Research Master students spend up to a full semester in the Latin American region, according to the research project. In principle, the fieldwork may take place in any country and location, in consultation with the thesis supervisor. Students can profit from the institutional contacts of LAS with partner universities in the region. See full list