Course detail

Research Methods in Humanities and Social Sciences 1

FaVU-3MVV1Acad. year: 2024/2025

In this course, students will be introduced to the fundamentals of social science and humanities research methodologies through thematic lectures, reading texts, and engaging in joint discussions about them, alongside guest speakers from related areas of artistic research. The course content is designed with an emphasis on both the performativity of social science research and the research-based practices in contemporary art, which often borrow, appropriate, and transform certain (especially qualitative) techniques from social science methodologies (similar to what happens in design) to suit their needs. Contemporary art is also closely connected with social anthropology and the humanities through a shared interest in modes of being that are in some way at odds with dominant paradigms—from postcolonial others (so-called ethnographic turns) to post-human/post-natural agencies. Throughout the course, students will not simply be introduced to a list of methods but will be inspired to cultivate their own research sensitivity to the processual, indeterminate, and complex nature of social phenomena, as well as to develop broader skills in intersectional theorization and contemporary reflection. Such sensitivity and reflexivity, in turn, open pathways to the possibilities of informed methodological hybridization or non-standard approaches that can be utilized in research as an artistic strategy.

Language of instruction

Czech

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

doc. Mgr. Václav Magid

Department

Department of Art History and Theory (KTDU)

Entry knowledge

None.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

Attendance at seminars is mandatory, with one unexcused absence permitted. Seminar instruction takes place on the premises of the Faculty of Fine Arts at BUT on dates specified at the beginning of the semester, but also on online platforms (MS Teams, Miro, hypothes.is, or possibly Notion or others). Preparation at home before each seminar is required (reading texts, or non-textual content, social annotation, short thought exercises, etc.). The course credit is awarded based on attendance and the completion of a credit assignment (based on the course content and in consideration of the students’ dissertation topics).

Aims

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the fundamentals of social science research methodology (the relationship between theory and research, positivism, objectivity, social construction, quantitative and qualitative research, inductive vs. deductive approaches, research goals and problems, research design, data creation, analysis, reflexivity, performativity, etc.). However, these topics are not presented linearly but rather organically through the reading of texts, lectures by the instructor or guest speakers, and interactive discussions, or workshops. This design aims to raise awareness of the multifaceted nature of reality, which research may attempt to make visible.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Cerwonka, Allaine; Liisa H. Malkki. 2007. Improvising theory: process and temporality in ethnographic fieldwork. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-10031-9.
Foster, Hal. 1996. The Artist as Ethnographer, In The Return of the Real by Hal Foster, s. 171-204. Cambridge: The MIT Press. An October book. ISBN 0-262-56107-7.
Haraway, Donna. 1988. Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective. Feminist Studies, 14(3): 575–599. https://doi.org/10.2307/3178066.
Harding, Sandra. 2015. Objectivity for Sciences from Below. In Objectivity in Science: New Perspectives from Science and Technology Studies, eds. Flavia Padovani, Alan Richardson & Jonathan Y. Tsou, s. 35-55. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, vol. 310. Springer. ISBN 978-3319143484.
Holstein, James A.; Gubrium, Jaber F. 2020. Interviewing as a form of narrative practice. In Qualitative Research (5th edition), ed. David Silverman, s. 69–85. Londýn: Sage.
Latour, Bruno; Stöckelová, Tereza (ed.). 2016. Stopovat a skládat světy s Brunem Latourem: výbor z textů 1988-2013. Navigace. Praha: Tranzit. ISBN 978-80-87259-37-5.
Law, John. 2004. After method: mess in social science research. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415 341744. http://www.leofoletto.info/wpcontent/uploads/2016/08/john_law_after_method_mess_in_social_science_research_international_library_of_sociology__2004.pdf.
Marcus, George. E.; Myers, Fred. R. 1995. The traffic in culture: Refiguring art and anthropology. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520088474.
Savransky, Martin; Stengers, Isabelle. 2016. The adventure of relevance: An ethics of social inquiry. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Stöckelová, Tereza. 2012. Nebezpečné známosti: O vztahu sociálních věd a společnosti. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství.

Type of course unit

Seminar

12 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Mgr. Zuzana Jakalová, Ph.D.