Graduate Seminar 2020-2021

Intro

Outcome: Project Proposal (trim 4)

Outcome: Thesis (trim 4 & 5)

This is the page for the Graduate Research Seminar 2020-2021 run by Steve Rushton, Natasha Soobramanien and Marloes de Valk. The seminar will comprise individual tuition with Steve, Natasha or Marloes and group sessions on specific methods (including peer to peer commentary, editing, line-editing and proofing). The days set aside for the seminar will be devoted to achieving specific outcomes which further the research and completion of the proposal and thesis. This page will be used to upload information on your Project Proposal and Thesis and to serve as an ongoing record of research.

How The Sessions Are Structured

The sessions will be for all second year media students: Y2LB and Y2XPub. These will take the form of all-day workshops which will take place every other Thursday. The outcome of each session will be published on the wiki (or Pad or PubPub document) and reviewed by the group. Sessions will include group work, individual work and individual tutorials with Marloes, Natasha & Steve. Achievable aims will be set ahead of the next session. 

Key Dates and Deadlines

November - Graduate Proposal Deadline

November - Thesis outline

(Mid) Dec - Deadline First Chapter

Feb - Deadline First Draft Thesis

(Early) March - Deadline Second Draft thesis (texts to 2nd readers)

(Late) March - Deadlines Second readers' comments

(mid) April - DEADLINE THESIS

Grading procedure (Thesis):

Early May: Steve, Marloes and Natasha draft feedback on the thesis texts they supervised

Mid-May: Steve, Marloes and Natasha review each other’s feedback and grades

End of May: Finalize feedback and grades.

Early June: Finalized feedback and grades communicated to students.

Guides and Guidelines

Graduate_proposal_guidelines

Second Readers Guidelines

A Guide to Essay Writing (including guide to Harvard method).

Handbook details- thesis and final project

Thesis Guidelines

Criteria for evaluation (Thesis)

Session One

Intro ONLINE session hosted by AM Steve and PM Marloes.

Outcome session one: introductions of all students and writing tutors, outline of basic GRS plan for the year.

Pad for note taking and reference during the session: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/GRS_session1_20_21

Preparation for session one

This will be a jitsi session. Be prepared to give an account of where you are at with your self-directed research and talk about what you want to achieve this year and what you want to do. Lens-based students will talk about the "hack-pact"/"rapid prototyping"- give brief demos of current work flow. How have you been using the 2 week cycle between tutorials with Steve to make work?. Xpub students will talk about the work they have been doing on the Special Issues (individually and collectively). All students will be asked to consider what possibilities they wish to explore in the coming year.

Think concretely about what you want to make this year, how you are going to make it and why you are going to make it. Consider: What possibilities are open to you? (It is understood that making a final project is a process and things will change as you work on it). What material from the 'text for presentation' Lens-based students wrote last year could be useful for the proposal? What material have you written (descriptions of work , assignments for last year's methods class, the methods of annotation you developed &c) which you can use? Review the written feedback from tutors you got from previous assessments and have it available for reference during the first session.

Session Two

Outcome session two: Draft Project Proposal

Methods: 3 groups of 7/8 students-outline on pad - each student fills in 'what, how, why' - discussion on draft proposal in 3 larger groups, group feedback on pad, hackpact

1. what do you want to make?

2. How does it relate to your previous practice?

3. How are you planning to make it?

group feedback on pad

Session Three

Outcome session three : Thesis Outline

Methods: outline on pad, discussing outline in small groups, intro to thesis writing and what is an outline. hackpact

Research methods session (discussion - what methods and tools are students using which are helpful to them (jstor, memory of the world, etc.) -and info)

Three short presentations on:

What's a thesis, how to go about writing an outline (Steve)

Past students theses (show different examples)(Marloes)

Resources and referencing (where to find texts and books, how to reference them in Harvard style)(Natasha)

Session Four

Outcome session four: hackpact/prototyping show and tell (review draft project proposal, extended thesis outline and annotated bibliography).

Methods: Session 3 groups session, hackpact/prototyping show and tell,

At this point tutors are dedicated to individual students. Nov 2 sessions

Session Five

Outcome: Final Graduate Proposal and Thesis Outline

Methods: one-on-one sessions, group session, line editing draft texts, including first chapter

Session Six

Outcome: First Chapter Draft

Methods: review hackpact, one-on-one session, group session line editing texts, including first chapter

When can we mix groups and swap groups. [Mid November Graduate Proposal Deadline -> upload FINAL PROPOSAL 2020-2021 and THESIS OUTLINE

Session Seven

Outcome: Draft Second Chapter

Methods [Mid Dec Deadline First Chapter]

Sessions Eight - Seventeen

Jan 2 sessions

Outcome: draft thesis

Methods: buddy teams feedback on draft thesis, [group reading and feedback] = groups of three- 1 writer, 2 readers (didn't we do this earlier in the year?) = readers discuss the text and writer listens = WRITER DOES NOT COMMENT The writer takes notes

Feb 2 sessions Outcome: draft thesis [draft thesis] Methods [group reading, feedback and line editing sessions (same as in january?) = groups of three- 1 writer, 2 readers = readers discuss the text and writer listens = WRITER DOES NOT COMMENT.] [Early Feb Deadline First Draft Thesis]

March 2 sessions Outcome [2nd draft thesis] Methods: 2nd reader [Early March Deadline Second Draft thesis (texts to 2nd readers) -Late March Deadlines Second readers' comments]

April 3 sessions Outcome [Final Draft Thesis] Methods: final 1-on-1 feedback on complete text, 1-on-1 discussion of second reader feedback, group session line edit of final chapter?

[Mid April DEADLINE THESIS]

Last years Graduate Seminar wiki page:

https://pzwiki.wdka.nl/mediadesign/Graduate_Seminar_2019-2020