PHUV9340 Discourses and Power Course description

A practical course in analyzing text and talk.

Approved by the Doctoral Committee October 25, 2018. Minor changes approved 27.04.2020.

This is a practical course where the students will be offered analytical tools to carry out analyses of documents, observations and/or interviews on the topics of their own research, in comparison with leading discourses as well as research knowledge and other contextual aspects. The course will also focus on strategies for discussing explanations and implications of findings. The content of the course is based on a combination of insights to discourses and power from social sciences and humanities.

This PhD-course is open for students at the PhD Program in Educational Sciences for Teacher Education, other PhD students and academic staff at OsloMet and other universities and colleges.

On completion of the course, the student will have achieved the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge 

The student 

• has in-depth knowledge about analyzing text and talk and their main research traditions.
• has in-depth knowledge of theories and conceptualisations about the relationship between discourses  and power.

Skills

The student

• has gained methodological competence to skillfully outline a discourse analysis based on own empirical material, as a core content of a paper aimed at publication in a research journal.

General competence 

The student

• can identify and establish constructive connections between theories, empirical data, and methods based on developed methodological competence.

The course consists of two parts. Students are expected to participate actively in both parts.

The first part consists of a two-days workshop at OsloMet with mandatory participation. In lectures and discussions the students will be introduced to relevant theories and methods.

The last part is a one-day workshop at OsloMet a few weeks later. This is also mandatory. External students will be given the opportunity to participate by electronic means.

Between the two parts, the students will write an individual paper that outlines how they may conduct an analysis based on knowledge and skills from the course and own empirical material. These papers will in part two be discussed with fellow students and teachers. 

Preparations for the course

Students are expected to read the syllabus before the first part of the course to be able to participate actively in discussions.

Work requirements

Mandatory participation at the two-days workshop in the first part of the course.

Mandatory participation at the one-day workshop in the last part of the course. External students will be given the opportunity to participate by electronic means.

Attendence

80 % attendence of the time of the course is required. If a student has attended at least 60 % of the course but less than 80 %, he/she must submit an extra paper of at least 3000 words plus reference list on a given topic.

The student writes an individual paper (as described in the section "Teaching and working methods") of between 3000 - 5000 words plus reference liste. The paper must be written in English, Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish. The deadline for submission will be 10 days before part two of the course. 

New and postponed examination

If a paper is not graded with "pass", the student must submit a revised version within a given deadline.

The grades are "pass" or "fail". The requirement for "pass" is that the paper builds on insights from the first part of the course and outlines ideas on how an analysis and journal article can be planned on this basis. The paper must be graded «pass» in order for the student to pass the course.

The paper will be assessed by the course coordinator and a member of the academic staff involved in the PhD program.

Target group

The target group is PhD students and academic staff who want to carry out a critical analysis of own data material. The course is relevant for PhD students and researchers who conduct research on almost any issue, including questions related to the welfare state, environmental issues, migration, extremism and radicalization, and any topics that are taught at school and are discussed in classrooms.

Admission requirements

The admission requirement is a five-year master’s degree (three years + two years) or equivalent qualifications in teacher education, other pedagogical education, educational science, development studies, or other education on equivalent level in subjects relevant for teacher education.

In case of a large number of applicants, PhD-students enrolled in the PhD programme in Educational Sciences for Teacher Education will be prioritized, then students in other PhD-programmes, then academic employees at the Faculty of Teacher Education and International Studies.

Applicants that are not enrolled on the PhD-programme at the Faculty of Education and International Studies at OsloMet must send a summary in English of maximum one A4 sheet with relevant information about their own project / area of interest, containing topic, methodology, theoretical approach, and why this course might be relevant for their project.