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58675-01 - Studio: Interdisciplinary Urban Research (10 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Every fall sem. |
| Lecturers |
Francesca Romana Dell'Aglio (francescaromana.dellaglio@unibas.ch)
Ernest Sewordor (ernest.sewordor@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This research studio equips Critical Urbanisms MA students who are preparing for their thesis work with advanced research skills. Participants will be guided to amalgamate research skills developed in previous Critical Urbanisms modules (i.e., Ways of Knowing the City; Urbanism from the South; Urbanism across Geographies; /or Anthropological Fieldwork modules). Participants will be challenged to expand their analytical and methodological rigor from multidisciplinary perspectives through interactive exercises conducted both individually and in group, which deepen students’ knowledge and understanding of key debates in urban studies, the research design process, methodological skill sets, and ethical and epistemological questions around knowledge production. Students are encouraged to come to the course with an initial topic of interest in mind for their research. The studio is iteratively built, in three main stages: (1) Critical Urban Research In this part, the course instructors will guide students to define their research interests and ambitions. At the end of this block, students will produce a poster/atlas (i.e., a composite of visuals, text, and notes) consisting of a title, abstract, and bibliography, which will be shared in the Research Design Workshop. (2) Research Design Workshop In this two-day workshop, students will present their work to their colleagues, the course instructors, and Urban Studies faculty, using their poster/atlas as a pedagogical tool and reference. Your presentation should introduce your research topic/ area of interest, articulate the methodologies you’ve considered for your work, and explain your research aims. Besides the feedback you will receive, the workshop is intended to pair you with a supervisor whose expertise is suitable for executing your thesis. (3) Combined Methods This block will introduce students to a variety of research methods that they are invited to explore, consider, and test through hands-on exercises. The combination of seminars and workshops in this block is tailored to jointly introduce students to different methods and in-depth exploration of research techniques ranging from ethnography, auto-ethnography, archival investigation, filmmaking, photography, to drawing. Students do not have to master all the methods. Rather, they are invited to choose a mix of 2 methods that are relevant to their research interests. Later, we will return to your draft research abstract and add a paragraph describing your methods. Throughout the course, students are given guidance about the different stages of a research process, from choosing a topic to identifying research methods. Blocks 1 and 2 should be considered a condensed introduction to the final thesis, during which students will identify their topic. During Block 3, students will primarily explore different urban research methods and reflect on those that could be most relevant to their work. Ultimately, students will submit a seminar paper consisting or research proposal – being an extension of the research idea they developed leading up to and pitched at RDW, plus a methodological statement proposing a mix of two (maximum) approaches to conduct their research they chose from Block 3. The seminar paper consisting or research proposal will be submitted to and assessed by each student’s first supervisor. |
| Learning objectives | ● To develop an independent, interdisciplinary research project that generates original argumentation and new ideas that contribute to debates in urban studies; ● To integrate methods, approaches, and theoretical frameworks from different epistemic and disciplinary traditions to generate original ideas; ● To hone the skills and vocabulary to critically reflect on one’s positionality within a given research project; ● To work across research mediums and connect the use of images, spatial practices, material analyses, and discursive evidence to produce narrative and visual projects. |
| Comments | Only open to Critical Urbanisms students who have fulfilled the Critical Urbanisms Intro module, the Ways of Knowing and the Urbanism across geographies/Urbanism from the South/Anthropology modules. Also, participants must have completed one of their three required seminar paper. |
| Admission requirements | Anmelden: Belegen ; Abmelden: nicht erforderlich |
| Course application | Anmelden: Belegen ; Abmelden: nicht erforderlich |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 10.00-17.00 | Petersplatz 14/ Hebelstrasse 3, Phantomsaal E013 |
Dates
| Modules |
Module: Interdisciplinary Urban Research (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Pass/ Fail |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Urban Studies |