PHD-CONTEXT1 Ph.d.- kontekst kurs 1

Throughout the first two semesters of the PhD School we investigate the context in which research may be thought through and carried out in the history, theory and practice of architecture, design, urbanism, landscape and related fields. To this end, the course introduces a range of practical, conceptual, critical, methodological and epistemological lenses for interrogating and reflecting upon issues of collecting, analyzing, communicating and authoring research through both established and experimental means. The first part of the course (semester 1) is concerned with areas of common ground across AHO's areas of research expertise, while the second part of the course (semester 2) looks to the specific needs of the group to explore in depth particular areas of methodology, history, theory and practice. Following an introductory session to each theme, PhD Fellows work with a repeating series of directed reading and writing assignments, with individual responses being prepared for peer-oriented presentation, discussion and review during the next session. Core skill sets in gathering, reading, reviewing, analyzing, synthesizing and authoring research materials are continuously exercised in this manner, leading to the progressive building up of an individual “scrapbook of potentialities”, as well as a collectively-produced "augmented course bibliography" of reference material.

Course unit description

Context consists of understanding and defining research fields, both in order to understand a context in relation to the in the individual PhD project, and to understand this context in relation to institute-based research specialisms at AHO. The course investigates research fields in terms of characteristic methods and explores the implications of the interlocking of subject area, type of research question and research method.