MA Philosophy Research Skills

PHIL60010 MA Philosophy Research Skills 30 Full year Postgraduate Taught Level 7 David Liggins Unit coordinator 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 15.0 This course unit is designed to support students to reflect on and develop their practice as researchers in Philosophy. Working in the context of a philosophical community of MA students, you will be encouraged to plan your own research development, identify current strengths and weaknesses, aspirations, research training needs, and ways to meet these needs and develop your practice. You will discuss and engage in critical analysis of philosophical texts and ideas, developing your abilities to analyse and develop cogent and creative criticisms of philosophical texts, to place particular views and arguments within a more general philosophical context, and to take responsibility for sustaining fruitful and inclusive seminar discussions. This unit also supports your preparation for writing your dissertation, including identifying a research topic, producing a research proposal, reflecting on how to plan your research, and thinking together about what constitutes good philosophical writing. You will present work to your peers and will learn how to communicate ideas in various formats and styles. Assessment tasks for the unit are designed to enable you to cultivate a variety of important aspects of your research practice, including presentation skills, giving and acting on feedback, and writing for different purposes and audiences.   This course unit is designed to support students to reflect on and develop their practice as researchers in Philosophy. Working in the context of a philosophical community of MA students, you will be encouraged to plan your own research development, identify current strengths and weaknesses, aspirations, research training needs, and ways to meet these needs and develop your practice. You will discuss and engage in critical analysis of philosophical texts and ideas, developing your abilities to analyse and develop cogent and creative criticisms of philosophical texts, to place particular views and arguments within a more general philosophical context, and to take responsibility for sustaining fruitful and inclusive seminar discussions. This unit also supports your preparation for writing your dissertation, including identifying a research topic, producing a research proposal, reflecting on how to plan your research, and thinking together about what constitutes good philosophical writing. You will present work to your peers and will learn how to communicate ideas in various formats and styles. Assessment tasks for the unit are designed to enable you to cultivate a variety of important aspects of your research practice, including presentation skills, giving and acting on feedback, and writing for different purposes and audiences.   <ul><li>To enable students to reflect on their practice as researchers in Philosophy, identify their research training needs, and undertake work to meet these needs and improve their practice.</li><li> To enable students to acquire experience of producing philosophical content in a variety of formats and for a variety of purposes.</li><li> To enable students to plan their research in a way that will equip them to write their MA dissertation.</li><li>To assist students in developing the skills required to manage their own research development through their graduate studies.</li><li> To get students to lead, sustain, and participate in philosophical discussions that are not aided by a tutor.</li></ul> On completion of this unit, successful participants will:<ul><li>Have gained experience of producing philosophical content in a variety of formats and for a variety of purposes.</li><li> Have identified and explained a set of research questions that interest them, and reflected on how they could address these questions within the scope of their MA dissertation.</li><li> Be able to communicate philosophical ideas using a variety of methods, which may include written work, verbal presentation with visual aids, and the provision of feedback to others. </li><li> Be able to understand and engage critically with advanced philosophical writing.</li></ul> Key Transferable Skills:On successful completion of this course unit, participants should have developed:<ul><li style="margin-left:40px;">Problem solving skills.</li><li style="margin-left:40px;"> Analytic and critical skills.</li><li style="margin-left:40px;"> The ability to argue from evidence.</li><li style="margin-left:40px;"> The ability to communicate ideas effectively.</li><li style="margin-left:40px;"> The ability to set appropriate goals and to work independently and/or cooperatively.</li></ul> Teaching will be seminar based, with a two hour seminar each week, spread over two semesters. Seminars will incorporate activities such as whole-group discussion, presentations, and activities in pairs or small groups. A piece of work such as a piece of reading or a reflective activity will often be set as preparation for a seminar.   0 Other 20% 2 Written assignment (inc essay) 80% Semester 1 AssessmentsResearch proposal. 30%. 800 words plus bibliography. Deadline: January.Task: to produce a written research proposal wherein the student identifies, introduces, and contextualises a suitable topic that could be addressed in their MA dissertation, explaining the scope of the questions within it and indicating how these can be tackled. Grading: numerical mark, on a scale 0-100.Written communication task. 20%. Deadline: January.Task: to produce short pieces of work in two formats – (a) an abstract of no more than 150 words written for an existing philosophical paper which does not have an abstract, and (b) a blog entry of up to 500 words on a topic related to the student’s planned dissertation research, which should be aimed at an hypothetical audience either of general readers, or of stakeholders outside academia, according to the topic and the student’s preference. Grading: Pass/Fail. 10% of credit for the unit is awarded for completion of the abstract; 10% of credit is awarded for completion of the blog entry.Semester 2 AssessmentsPresentation and discussion (totalling 20 minutes). 20%. Deadline: n/a (presentation slots during scheduled class time).Task: to prepare and deliver a 10 minute presentation which explains an argument from within the literature on the student’s research topic and presents the student’s critical response to that argument, followed by 10 minutes Q&A for the student to respond to questions from the tutor and other students. Presentations should incorporate visual aids (such as slides). Grading: numerical mark, on a scale 0-100.Portfolio of work involving forming, delivering and utilising critical feedback on philosophical writing. 30%. Deadline for submission of portfolio: May.Task: To work in pairs or groups to exchange and act on feedback, with each student both giving another student feedback on draft work, and receiving from another student feedback on their own draft work, which they then use to make revisions to their work. Each student should produce a portfolio containing the following: (1) the feedback (no more than 250 words) that they gave to another student; (2) a piece of work of up to 800 words which they have revised in response to feedback from another student on an earlier draft; (3) a report of up to 250 words on how they have addressed the feedback, along with a copy of the feedback they were responding to. Grading: Pass or Fail. 10% of credit for the unit is awarded for inclusion of component (1), 10% of credit for the unit is awarded for inclusion of component (2), and 10% of credit for the unit is awarded for inclusion of component (3).   Over the course of the unit, students will receive feedback in both written and verbal forms from the tutor and from peers, varying depending on the activity. An opportunity will also be provided for formative feedback on an excerpt from the student’s draft work for their research proposal in semester 1. MA Philosophy MA Philosophy PGDT Taught Component Mandatory MA Philosophy PT MA Philosophy PT PGDT Taught Component Mandatory N Seminars 40 0 260