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50747-01 - Exkursion: Interdisciplinary Research in Ghana 5 KP

Semester Frühjahrsemester 2018
Angebotsmuster einmalig
Dozierende Elisio Macamo (elisio.macamo@unibas.ch, BeurteilerIn)
James Lawrence Merron (james.merron@unibas.ch)
Inhalt The aim of this Interdisciplinary Research Lab is to open up the exchange and collaboration between social science and natural science researchers. In our study we will research the ‘largest science project in Africa’ - comparable in size to the human genome project - to discuss how scientists make up their research objects. This interdisciplinary research lab (with a field trip to Ghana) will progress in three phases:

• 1. Preparation and training (February to May 2018): formulate individual research proposals and report writing in line with the theoretical and methodological challenges of doing interdisciplinary research;

• 2. Field course in Ghana (June 2018): apply field methods during a one week trip to Ghana; collect and analyze data, which will be presented in a final report;

• 3. Write individual reports (until September 2018): gain insights for MA projects and the potential to prepare for PhD projects to follow;

In preparation for the excursion James Merron and Elísio Macamo will offer a seminar that will have three block sessions (one full day per session). The first block session will be concerned with the logistics of the excursion (funding, travel and accommodation); the second block session will induct participants into Science and Technology Studies (STS) and the methodological challenges posed by the research objectives. The third block session will provide a sociological and ethnographic description of the research setting with a focus on how the object of research is constructed.

Following the seminar phase, we will travel to Ghana and base ourselves in proximity to the Space Science and Technology Institute, from which to explore topics using different disciplinary perspectives and tools. The basic purpose of the seminar is to encourage participants to engage with the theoretical and methodological challenges of doing interdisciplinary research. By encouraging social scientists to look over the shoulders of natural scientists – such as astrophysicists in Ghana, for example – the research lab seeks to develop a lens through which to view the characteristics of the research process, like how the object of inquiry is constructed as a researchable thing.

For further information, please contact James Merron (james.merron@unibas.ch).
Lernziele The research activities that serve as the backbone of this Interdisciplinary Research Lab will encourage participants to develop their ability (a) to ask “how” questions, especially those which refer to the manner through which scientific objects are rendered visible, (b) to wonder about the social arrangements and activities that produced these scientific objects, and (c) to pay attention to the context that makes possible the translation of observations into a general phenomenon.
Literatur Asabere, Bernard Duah, Michael Gaylard, Cathy Horellou, Hartmut Winkler, and Thomas Jarrett. 2015. “Radio astronomy in Africa: the case of Ghana.” arXiv preprint arXiv:1503.08850.

Jensen, Casper Bruun, and Kjetil Rodje. 2013. Deleuzian Intersections: Science, Technology, Anthropology. Oxford and New York: Berghahn Books.

Karin D. Knorr-Cetina. 1981. The Manufacture of Knowledge: An Essay on the Constructivist and Contextual Nature of Science. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Latour, Bruno. 1999. Pandora’s Hope: Essays on the Reality of Science Studies. Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press.

Mavhunga, Clapperton C. 2017. What Do Science, Technology, and Innovation Mean from Africa? Cambridge and London: MIT Press.

Misa, Thomas J., Philip Brey, and Andrew Feenberg. 2003. Modernity and Technology. Cambridge and London: MIT Press.

 

Unterrichtssprache Englisch
Einsatz digitaler Medien kein spezifischer Einsatz

 

Intervall Wochentag Zeit Raum

Keine Einzeltermine verfügbar, bitte informieren Sie sich direkt bei den Dozierenden.

Module Modul Applied African Studies (Master Studiengang: African Studies (Studienbeginn vor 01.08.2013))
Modul Environment and Human Well-Being (Master Studiengang: African Studies (Studienbeginn vor 01.08.2013))
Modul Erweiterung Methodenkenntnisse BA (Bachelor Studienfach: Religionswissenschaft)
Modul Erweiterung Methodenkenntnisse MA (Master Studienfach: Religionswissenschaft)
Modul Fields: Environment and Development (Master Studiengang: African Studies)
Modul Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master Studiengang: African Studies)
Modul Interdisciplinary and Applied African Studies (Master Studiengang: African Studies)
Leistungsüberprüfung Lehrveranst.-begleitend
An-/Abmeldung zur Leistungsüberprüfung Anmelden: Belegen; Abmelden: nicht erforderlich
Wiederholungsprüfung keine Wiederholungsprüfung
Skala Pass / Fail
Wiederholtes Belegen nicht wiederholbar
Zuständige Fakultät Philosophisch-Historische Fakultät, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch
Anbietende Organisationseinheit Zentrum für Afrikastudien

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