Syllabus

PNG0091 Cross-disciplinary perspectives, 2.0 Credits

Subjects

Education cycle

Grading scale

Language

Prior knowledge

Objectives

Having completed the course the PhD student will have:

• Reflected on his/her own PhD project from cross-disciplinary perspectives

• Practiced analysing other PhD projects in order to identify potentials and obstacles to joint cross-disciplinary project

• Be able to analyse scientific articles from various kinds of disciplines and sub-disciplines with regard to different ways of writing, source criticism, references and other differences.

• Identified examples of potential obstacles that may occur in various cross-disciplinary projects

• Improved ones openness to find ways to overcome various problems in cross-disciplinary projects.

Content

Cross-disciplinary perspectives are often asked for but it is no easy task. The aim with this course is to introduce PhD students to cross-disciplinary ways of thinking and to pros, cons and challenges with this kind of approach. The course is web-based and primarily intended for SLU’s PhD students in various parts of Sweden and around the world. PhD students from all kinds of natural science, humanities and social science are welcome to this course, to create a melting pot of cross-disciplinary views! The course has its point of departure in the participants’ PhD projects and includes:

• Individual reflections and analyses of the participants’ PhD projects from cross-disciplinary perspectives

• Identification of similarities between the different PhD projects in the course, irrespective of how different the projects may appear at first sight.

• Identification and group discussions (brain storming) of potential cross-disciplinary projects on basis of the included PhD projects

• Source criticism in various kinds of disciplines and contexts

• Various scientific cultures and how these may vary between sub-disciplines, countries, etc.

• Comparison of scientific articles by other scientists in various disciplines and disciplines in order to identify and analyze differences in character, references, and other aspects that may provide obstacles when collaborating in cross-disciplinary projects.

• Potentials and obstacles to work cross-disciplinary in a world of disciplines? Publishing? Conferences? Positions? Depth and/or width?

• Interviews of course colleagues and other people at SLU and/or other universities about various aspects on cross-disciplinarity.

• Individual written assignment about a more general cross-disciplinary issue

Additional information

Responsible department

Department of Economics