The course aims to provide students with a specialised understanding of approaches to social research that activate co-constructed forms of knowledge and stimulate narrative expression through a combination of verbal, visual, and material elements. It delves into the implications of designing a research proposal and the challenges involved in communicating its outcomes across different contexts.
On successfully completing the course, students will be able to formulate a research question and develop a coherent research design suitable for both academic and broader audiences, particularly in contexts where the capacity to convey social complexity and lived experiences through expressive and situated forms of communication is relevant.
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The teaching will take place through lectures during which special attention is paid to foster debate and collective discussion. Moments of experimentation with methods are also proposed, through the implementation of exercises and their discussion. With the involvement of the students, these practice-based activities can be reworked into dissemination projects. Scientific activities curated by the Creative Methods Open Lab research group will be open to the participation and involvement of students.
The final exam consists of a written test lasting 75 minutes, comprising 6 open-ended questions that require short to medium-length answers. Each question accounts for 1/6 of the final grade, which is expressed in thirtieths. Evaluation is based on the completeness and relevance of the answers, as well as on the ability to make connections between concepts and to use the discipline’s specific terminology appropriately.
The course examines the characteristics, complexity, and ethical dimensions of research practices that engage with collective meaning-making and integrate narrative, visual, and material forms of expression. It considers how such practices can open up alternative ways of accessing and representing lived experience, and how they contribute to the co-construction of situated knowledge. Particular attention is given to the evolving relationship between researchers and participants, the positionality of the researcher, and the role of embodied and affective dimensions in shaping research encounters. These approaches are explored in relation to their potential for investigating social questions in diverse and context-sensitive settings.
The syllabus applies equally to both attending and non-attending students. Erasmus students, as well as students with an Individualized Didactic Plan (PDP) or an Educational Intervention Plan (PEI), are encouraged to contact the course professor at the beginning of the course.
