Course Objectives

Students will complete a large project which will include a practical part and a written presentation (theoretical part). The various components included in the project may be of varying size, but it is a requirement that the practical and theoretical parts comprise a whole. It follows from the characteristics of the study programme that the projects may be of various types, depending on what the student decides to place emphasis on; for instance, documentation; theory related to art, culture, or tradition; practical execution; or dissemination. However, a project will not receive approval if practical aspects are not made clearly visible, or if it does not include theoretical aspects.

In other words, students’ Master’s degree projects may vary considerably; but before students commence on the work it is important that they first agree with their supervisors on a project plan. Despite the fact that students’ projects may vary, they should all contain the following basic aspects: students should acquire experience in working systematically with material from traditional arts and employ appropriate methods to obtain the relevant knowledge. Various methods for testing hypotheses are common in the majority of projects, as well as elucidating the background material and context. It is also important that students use the knowledge which may be acquired by practising the traditional arts. The presentation should be clearly presented and well documented so that other students at a similar academic level will be able to evaluate the work.

Course Description

The Master’s degree projects are developed individually by each student and will cover a broad spectrum of topics within the field of traditional arts. Since some projects will be theory-based and others practice-based, there will be great variation in content and in the forms of presentation. For all the projects it is important that students work systematically and scientifically to acquire knowledge and that students attain knowledge from both theoretical and practical sources. Knowledge relating to archives, collections and technical aids will also be necessary for the majority of projects.

The project and supervision will be adapted to the individual student and will be related to the source material the student will be working with. This source material will usually be found within the field of Norwegian traditional arts; however, students will also be encouraged to acquire insight into other traditional cultures, for instance, through study periods abroad. Further, foreign students would most likely take their own national culture as their starting point.

The content of the theoretical/written part and the practice-based part includes:

• Formulation of problem
• Choice and explanation of strategies and methods
• Elucidation of relevant material and principal concepts
• Execution of a project with the aid of sources, observations and practice
• Relevant documentation, both theoretical and practical-aesthetic
• Discussion of results

As a supplement to the Master’s Degree Project a written summary of 1-2 pages must also be drafted, which will be included in a database of research projects.

Documentation

The Master’s Degree Project should be started with documentation work. Students who require instruction in basic technical skills will be given the opportunity to learn these skills when starting their projects; for instance, related to the use of sound, images, objects and processes.

Folk music:

Basic technical knowledge

Many folk music students will need to gain insight into the technical foundation for various sound and image formats, such as paper, film, celluloid film and various digital formats. They must be acquainted with the relevant differences between the various technical documentation alternatives that are available today.

Information and bearers of information

In many projects it will be important for students to understand how traditions can vary over a period of time, from area to area, between different performers, and with regard to performers during the course of their own lives. Various technical aids (various recording methods) in registration and documentation may also result in different information being recorded with regard to the variations in traditional expressions. It may also be necessary to take a critical stance to information bearers and traditional expressions.

General overview of archives

It is important to have knowledge of the public archives system, as well as the most important private archives in the country. In addition, knowledge is needed with regard to how students may use the various archives, and the current rules for making archive material available to the public.

Folk arts:

Registration

In many of the folk arts’ projects it may be important to acquire knowledge of various forms of registration and documentation of folk arts’ objects and work processes related to wood, textiles and metal. The student must often document and register basic material within the area in question. The basic material should not be too comprehensive, because this material should be used, disseminated and analysed within reasonable practical and theoretical frameworks.

Museums and collections.

In many of the projects within the field of folk arts it will be necessary to have access to the various public institutions that are responsible for preserving folk art and cultural objects. It may be of importance to know why these institutions were founded, and how they have functioned up until the present day. Knowledge of private institutions may also be of importance. In such cases it may be useful for students to become acquainted with the various methods of registration and cataloguing which are useful, as well as the relevant rules and guidelines for using / loaning, and making the material available to the public.

Practising / performing

Practising the arts should also be part of the Master’s degree project. Students should experience and have an understanding of how knowledge is gained by practising the traditional arts. Other practical aspects may also be included as a secondary part of some of the projects, such as collecting material, archive skills, computer processing and knowledge of media etc.

In some projects, primarily those with a practising element, artistic instruction may be necessary. For instance, folk musicians may require instruction on their main instrument; whereas, folk artists may require instruction in the work with the material they have chosen, techniques and artistic expression etc. This type of instruction would constitute part of the supervision; in such a case it is the supervisors who decide whether or not time allocated for supervision should be used in this way.

Dissemination

The Master’s Degree Project should include dissemination, but in some projects this part will receive more emphasis than in others. This should be made clear when the students are preparing their prospectuses. In addition, the student, in consultation with the supervisors, evaluates which approach should be chosen for the dissemination, as well as the theoretical and practical extent of the part which will be disseminated.

Learning Methods

Individual supervision constitutes the most important teaching method during the course of the Master’s Degree Project. Students and supervisors will sign a supervision agreement. This agreement stipulates the rights and obligations for both parties. In addition to regular supervision sessions, two seminars will be held in the autumn semester. One seminar will take up issues relevant to students' projects. During the second seminar, students will present their projects to each other and to the 1st year students in the Master's degree study programme.

Assessment Methods

Practical / theoretical examination

• Master's Project (60 ECTS): The Master’s Degree Project is divided into two parts, both practice and theory; both will be evaluated:

1) Practice: Performance and dissemination component. This component may be completed by live performance or documented through video including commentary, DVD, audio recording, images with commentary, exhibitions with commentary and concerts, etc.

2) Theory: Written component.

Ideally, the two components should be equal, but it is also possible to emphasise one of the components more than the other, if the project’s problem approach calls for such a solution. The weighting will be determined by the supervisors in collaboration with the student in the final phase of the supervision process. If the project has a practical performance focus, the grade for the performance component will be given the greatest weighting; and if the project has a theoretical focus, then greatest weighting will be given to this component. It is nevertheless important for the evaluation that the practical and the theoretical components constitute a whole.

The Master’s Degree Project will be concluded by an oral examination, where the student will be examined in both the practical and the theoretical components. The oral examination may influence the part-grades. On the basis of assessment of the performance component and the theoretical component in the Master’s Project, and the result of the oral examination, the final grade for the Master’s Project will be calculated and determined by the examiner.
The diploma for the Master’s degree programme will include:

• Written examination in the Joint Theoretical Component – grade counts for 25% of the final grade.
• The Preliminary Project: pass / fail
• The Master’s Degree Project counts for 75% of the final grade
• Performance component: part-grade
• Written theoretical component: part-grade

No grade is given for the oral examination (not included on the diploma).

The grade given is on a scale A-F, where E is the lowest passing grade, and F is a failing grade.

If the student passes all parts of the assessment he/she will receive a grade from A to E. Each part of the assessment must receive a passing mark in order to receive a final passing grade.

Please refer to Telemark University College’s examination regulations.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean