Applied Theorizing

Third-cycle level | 7.5 credits | Course code: SFGS316
HT 2020
Study period: 2020-12-14 - 2021-02-21
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION: The course is given in English
Application period: 2020-09-21 - 2020-11-30
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VT 2022
Study period: 2022-01-10 - 2022-02-25
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION: The course is given in English
Application period: 2021-06-21 - 2021-12-01
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VT 2023
Study period: 2023-01-09 - 2023-02-24
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION: The course is given in English
Application period: 2022-09-23 - 2022-12-01
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VT 2024
Study period: 2024-05-06 - 2024-06-14
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION: The course is given in English
Application period: 2024-03-14 - 2024-04-15
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Course description

The chief aim of this course is to help PhD students identify and develop the theoretical contribution of their dissertation by engaging in creative theorizing and situating their own research project within theoretical debates relevant to the dissertation’s emerging research aims. The focus of the course is on theorizing, i.e., how to come up with good ideas for research, and how to build a theoretical approach (rather than on substantive theories or meta-theories of the social sciences). Seeking to help students develop their theorizing skills through both critical reflection and hands-on exercises, the course covers issues such as the role of theory in a doctoral dissertation, how to generate new and interesting ideas and how to identify the ideas worth pursuing, how to formulate a research problem, and how to situate a PhD project within a larger academic discourse.

Target group

This course is compulsary for PhD students in Peace and Development Research at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg. The course is also open for students enrolled in a PhD program in Peace and Development Research, Environmental Social Science or other relevant fields of study at other departments and universities.

Requirements and Selection

Entry requirements

The course is open for students enrolled in a PhD program in Peace and Development Research, Environmental Social Science or other relevant fields of study, or equivalent.

Selection

PhD students at the School of Global Studies will be given priority. Other applicants will be assessed and admitted based on the relevance of their PhD project.

Other information

In the spring term 2024, the course is taught on campus, which means that you must be present in Gothenburg to participate in course events.

The course runs as a full-time course and is taught through a mixture of lectures, individual studies, seminar sessions, exercises, and written assignments.

Course syllabus

SFGS316

Department

School of Global Studies

Subject

Social Science

Type of course

Generic skills courses

Keywords

teori, teoriutveckling, forskningsproblem, samhällsvetenskaplig teori, begrepp, begreppsutveckling, theory, theorizing, theory development, research problem, social science theory, concepts

CONTACTJohan Karlsson Schaffer

j.k.schaffer@gu.se