[Kaupunkitutkimus] New urban studies PhD course available

[Ruoppila Sampo]

Dear PhD students working with urban topics,

A new inter-disciplinary PhD course in urban studies will begin next semester (details below). The course is arranged by Turku Urban Studies Network, joint initiative between University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, and aimed at doctoral students in both universities.

The course consists of thematic modules (2 ECTS each) which each includes two intensive days led by a professor. To pass the course, a student has to participate to 3 modules (6 ECTS in total). It is possible to complete the course during one academic year, but also to participate to different thematic modules over a longer period of time.

The first modul will be arranged 7-8. September 2015. We kindly ask the interested to save the dates. You may pre-register with sending e-mail to Helka, but we will inform about registering later (August).

The teacher is professor Mihaela Kelemen from Keele University (UK) (http://www.keele.ac.uk/kms/staff/kelemen/). The topic is ”Knowledge co-creation using pragmatism as a philosophical approach and arts-based methodology (Cultural Animation in particular) as its manifestation”.

We hope to see many of you already during the first modul. The course can be started however any time of the year.

We kindly ask to distribute the message among the PhD students who might be interested.

Best wishes,

Sampo Ruoppila & Helka Kalliomäki
Turku Urban Studies Network

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XSTL1013. CONTEMPORARY URBAN THEORY (6 ECTS)

Objectives/Intended Learning Outcomes

The objective is to support the doctoral students’ understanding about the recent theoretical developments in urban studies, and to develop the doctoral students’ knowledge about theory formation. Doctoral candidates with diverse disciplinary backgrounds learn to position their research in the field of urban studies and to develop the theoretical framework of their thesis in relation to contemporary debates. Furthermore, doctoral candidates learn useful interdisciplinary and argumentation skills. The course is aimed for the doctoral students specialised in urban studies or more generally urban topics. The course is arranged by Turku Urban Studies Network, joint initiative between University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, and aimed at doctoral students in both universities.

Content

The course consists of three modules which each comprise pre-assigned readings, lectures, essay, and discussions. The modules are about various recent theoretical developments in urban studies. Doctoral students write a short essay on contemporary urban theories in relation to their own research topic. The essays are peer-reviewed and discussed in interdisciplinary student groups. The essay is written once per course.

Modes of Study

Pre-readings; lectures; essay; seminar

Course Assessment: 1-5

Language: English

Teachers: Professors of Turku Urban Studies Network and visiting lecturers. Course coordinator: Research Director of Urban Studies Sampo Ruoppila (sampo.ruoppila at utu.fi<mailto:sampo.ruoppila at utu.fi>).

Practicalities

The course consists of thematic modules (2 ECTS each) which each includes two intensive days led by a professor or a visiting lecturer. To pass the course, a student has to participate to 3 modules (6 ECTS in total). It is possible to complete the course during one academic year, but also to participate to different thematic modules over a longer period of time.
In addition to participating to 3 modules, students have to write one short essay (max. 5 pages) related to the topic of the chosen thematic module and the theoretical framework of their thesis. The purpose of the essay is to encourage doctoral candidates to develop the theoretical rigour of their thesis. If the themes of the modules are not directly related to the student’s research topic, the essay can be more focused on the topic of the module in general. The papers are peer-reviewed and discussed in an interdisciplinary student group during the 2nd day of the thematic module. Each thematic module consists of the above elements.