Handbook

This course is designed as a ‘capstone’ to a discipline major. It is open to final-year BA students with a high credit average in their major stream who would like to explore their discipline in more depth and to develop higher-level skills in methodology, research, and writing. It is therefore a foundation for those intending to apply for final year Honours or anyone wishing to pursue research in their later career.

The structure of the course is based on two pillars. The first is the design, development, and writing of an individual research project. The student will shape a project that interests them, with support from me and their peers, and develop it through various research and writing stages from a proposal, ‘workshopping’ different elements, to submission of a research essay. The second pillar is coursework that explores discipline and research methods and the nature and use of different source material.

The course invites students to shape their own learning and develop their capacity for creativity, self-directed and collaborative learning, critical analysis, and effective writing. The small-group seminar format aims to be an immersive and intellectually stimulating learning experience in which students gain a more nuanced understanding of their discipline and are rewarded by a deeper understanding of themselves as independent, rigorous, and reflective scholars.