Open Research Seminar I (B-KUL-W0R11A)

4 ECTSEnglish26 First termCannot be taken as part of an examination contract
POC Philosophy (internationaal)

The aim of the Open Research Seminar is to enable students to study topics and authors that are not covered in the taught courses, by giving them the opportunity to set up a reading group that meets the criteria laid down by the Institute of Philosophy. 

The students should be able to:

  • take initiative and gather a group of students and a supervisor around a certain topic or author;
  • develop a syllabus with a programme and a format for the meetings that matches the study load of 4 ECTS credits (100-120 hours of study time, including meetings, readings, all kinds of preparation and reporting);
  • take care of all kinds of practical arrangements, e.g. setting up a schedule, booking a class room and making course material available to all participants;
  • organize the work in such a way that all student participants equally contribute to the organization of the course;
  • evaluate the contributions (both academically and practically) of their fellow students on the basis of the evaluation criteria.

Students should have a solid philosophical background and should be admitted (or be eligible for admission) to the Research Master of Philosophy.

Activities

4 ects. Open Research Seminar I (B-KUL-W0R11a)

4 ECTSEnglishFormat: Practical26 First term
POC Philosophy (internationaal)

Students set up a reading group on a chosen topic or author. In order to qualify for the 4 ECTS credits Open Research Seminar the reading group should have at least 5 student participants and should be supervised by one of the predocs, postdocs or senior academic staff members of the Institute of Philosophy. The reading group should meet for at least 20 hours (e.g. 10 two-hour meetings or 7 three-hour meetings), not including the meetings that do not focus on the reading but on practical and organizational issues. The total workload (taking everything into account) should approximate 100-120 hours.

The syllabus and the composition of the reading group should be submitted to the Programme Director (prof. Ernst Wolff), at the latest on the second Friday of the semester in which the course starts. Only when the Programme Director has approved the reading group, Research Master students can include it in their ISP for 4 ECTS credits under the header of the ‘Open Research Seminar’.

The course material consist of a book or a reader selected by the members of the reading group. Toledo can be made available to the members of the reading group so that they can share course material. If they want they can also use other Toledo features like a discussion forum, a blog, a wiki or a journal.

Evaluation

Evaluation: Open Research Seminar I (B-KUL-W2R11a)

Type : Continuous assessment without exam during the examination period
Description of evaluation : Report, Self assessment/Peer assessment, Participation during contact hours

The grading scale of this course unit is pass/fail.

50% of the evaluation is based on peer assessment. The other 50% is done by the supervisor of the reading group. Students submit their evaluation report to the supervisor of the reading group. This report consists of (1) an overview of the activities and an evaluation of the outcomes of the reading group and (2) an evaluation of the performance of every participant. The supervisor then submits the evaluation report of the students together with the supervisor's own evaluation of every student to the course holder (titularis). The Programme Director is responsible for giving the final evaluation (pass/fail) and submits the grades to the secretariat of the Institute.

The Open Research Course Cannot be retaken in the 3rd examination period.

No 2nd examination opportunity.