Postgraduate Course: Exploring Situated Methods 2: Independent Field Lab (ARCH11288)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | In Exploring Situated Methods 2: Independent Field Lab, students develop their ability to engage with field sites independently. Students plan and carry out their own mini field projects responding to a shared site introduced by the course organiser. This student-led learning is complemented by seminars that extend students' knowledge of methodological and theoretical approaches to site-based research first introduced in Semester 1. Through oral and written work students reflect on their own learning via the projects, and place their field engagements into wider theoretical, social and environmental contexts. |
| Course description |
The focus of Exploring Situated Methods 2: Independent Field Lab is on developing students' independence and autonomy in site-based approaches and builds on skills acquired in Exploring Situated Methods 1: Site Specific Field Lab. Working with a site selected and introduced by the course instructor, students will plan and carry out mini experimental engagements which speak to their particular interests. With the support of the course organiser, they learn how to develop their own site based investigations, how to select methods appropriate to the site and their overarching interests, and how to reflect on their activities within wider theoretical, social and environmental contexts.
This course is based on 'research-led pedagogy' where students are encouraged to take ownership over their work, to share best practice, and engage in constructive critique with their peers' emerging independent projects. Through 6 x 2-hour weekly seminars, the first half of the course extends students' knowledge of site-based theories and methods, while 2 x 3-hour guided external visits introduce the multifaceted nature of the selected research site and offer varying entry points for students to unfold and explore their own concerns and approaches. In the second part of the semester, students will engage in independent fieldwork supported by peer and tutor feedback, individual tutorials and a final revision session.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 12 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 12,
Fieldwork Hours 6,
External Visit Hours 6,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Revision Session Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
166 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has ONE assessment component.
Fieldwork report (4150-4950 words), 100%, due end of semester.
A 4500 word report which describes the process and results of the independent site-based research; articulates its contributions to site-based methods and theories; and reflects on lessons-learnt and next steps. The report should be supported by relevant visual material. |
| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
Alongside feedback as a part of regular teaching activities, there will be three specific points in the semester for formative feedback:
1. In the first half of the semester students will make a short presentation on the focus of their proposed site-based research activities and receive verbal feedback from both course tutors and peers. Tutors/Course Organiser will also provide written formative feedback.
2. Midway through the semester students will submit a 500-word section of their fieldwork report for individual written formative feedback.
3. Students will be offered individual tutorials in the latter half of the semester to discuss their progress.
Summative Feedback
Students will receive written feedback on their summative submission. This feedback will include individualised recommendations to take forward to the final Situated Research Project.
Feedback will be provided as per University regulations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Formulate and execute original site-based research activities using appropriate critical fieldwork methodologies
- Reflect on their decisions and processes when designing site-based enquiries using your understanding of relevant theoretical frameworks and wider contemporary challenges
- Communicate the complex nature of site-based research coherently and creatively in written and visual formats
|
Reading List
Cambre, C., et al., 2020. Knowings and Knots: Methodologies and ecologies in research-creation. Calgary: University of Alberta
Despret, V & J Porcher, 2015. "The Pragmatics of Expertise", Angelaki, 20:2, 91-99.
Goralnik, L., T. Dobson, and M. P. Nelson., 2014. "Place-based care ethics: A field philosophy pedagogy." Canadian Journal of Environmental Education (CJEE) 19: 180-196.
Kanngieser, A. and Todd, Z., 2020. "3. From Environmental Case Study To Environmental Kin Study". History and Theory, 59: 385-393.
Robin, L., 2018. "Environmental humanities and climate change: understanding humans geologically and other life forms ethically". WIREs Clim Change, 9: e499. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
This course supports students to develop their:
- Personal and intellectual autonomy by identifying their own questions or avenues of interest within a particular site, designing and implementing experimental engagements, incorporating tutor and peer feedback, and identifying relevant wider contexts in which to articulate their contributions.
- Personal effectiveness by efficiently using the time available across the semester to familiarise themselves with the project site; planning and prioritising their activities within the given constraints; and being flexible, responsive and proactive in situations where activities do not unfold as planned.
- Research skills by identifying, testing and evaluating activities that respond to complex problems, while remaining resilient, open and contextually aware as their site-based experiments unfold.
|
| Special Arrangements |
This course is only available to students taking MSc Architecture, Landscape and Environment |
| Keywords | site specific research,fieldwork,interdisciplinary approaches |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Michelle Bastian
Tel: (0131 6)51 5779
Email: Michelle.Bastian@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Laura Varga
Tel: (0131 6)50 2430
Email: laura.varga@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage