ARTSCHOL 200 develops students’ research capacity and assists them in developing their own active research projects.
In this course we consider:
• The questions and stories that motivate research (its ‘why’)
• The practicalities of designing and undertaking research (its ‘how’)
• The ‘Great Works’ that underlie researchers' current projects
• Issues of power, 'positionality' and equity in the research space
• The potential impact of university research on communities, institutions, organisations and researchers.
Class sessions vary week to week, taking the form of:
• A seminar with a guest researcher or panel, speaking to one of the above themes
• A team challenge session, with one-off, in-class, group-based research challenges
.A lecture from the course convener on a particular methodology or approach to research such as textual analysis, research led creative practice or semi-structured interviewing.
• A practicalities session, exploring specific topics related to the design of research projects, e.g. human ethics, proposal design, survey design.
In Semester 1, we have scheduled research seminars (90-minute sessions each) led by active researchers in the Faculty of Arts. Through these students will get a taste of the range of research undertaken within the Faculty. Guests will be invited to discuss the motivations, methodologies and desired outcomes of their work.
Team challenges in the latter part of the semester will directly engage students in the research process. Each class will focus on grappling with a new, low-stakes research challenge to get students familiar and comfortable with aspects of research design and practice ahead of designing their own projects.
In Semester 2, our focus shifts to engaging more explicitly in the research process and designing individual research projects in preparation for the Stage III Arts Scholars course. The course builds towards the preparation of written proposals for research projects to be carried out in ARTSCHOL 300.