Learning outcome

Students will have acquired:

• Knowledge of a specific traditional material, sources and research history relevant to their projects
• Skills to develop a project concept, a research question and a project plan, where aesthetic practices are examined from a theoretical perspective
• General competence to define and organize a research project

Course Description

Preliminary project including prospectus

Before students embark on their Master’s degree projects it is important that they use time to delimit the material and topic, and clarify problem approaches and methods. This work is called the preliminary project, and involves students demonstrating how documented and collected material may be used with regard to developing a realistic project question. In connection with work on the preliminary project, students will be expected to locate theoretical references that are of special relevance to their Master’s degree projects.

The student will be assigned a supervisor in the first semester, when work on the preliminary project begins. During seminars in the first semester, the student will receive help to outline his/her project. This outline should be submitted towards the end of the autumn semester.

Work on the preliminary project will be followed up through three obligatory seminars in the second semester, when the various projects will be discussed. The preliminary project will lead to a prospectus, an overview of 8-10 pages outlining the work of the proposed Master’s project. The overview will include the thesis question, methodology, bibliography and work schedule. The written prospectus must be approved before the student may continue with his/her Master’s project. The prospectus may be approved at any time during the second semester, but not later than the presentation in the third seminar.

In the seminars, each student will give a 30 minute presentation, covering the work on the prospectus to that point, and as well as different parts of the project. Students must agree the presentation contents with their supervisor in advance. For each presentation another student will act as an opponent for 10 minutes. Both the presentation and the opponent are mandatory.

The projects and supervision will be adapted to each individual student and will be related to the source material the student is working with, as well as the practical objective of the project. The source material will most probably 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 prospectus will include:

• 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

Teaching and Learning Methods

All the lectures in the joint introductory part will focus on the preliminary project. This will be particularly evident in the lectures on Fundamental Topics and Documentation. Otherwise, various project seminars will be given where students will actively contribute. The teachers who participate in these will primarily be from the department, but occasionally guest lecturers from other colleges and universities will be invited. The aim is to provide students with assistance in preparing their project plans. It is also important that students form study groups where they can discuss their work with each other. Individual supervision is also part of the teaching.

Assessment Methods

The three presentations and the prospectus in the 2nd semester constitute 30 ECTS.

A passing or failing grade will be awarded. Students must receive passing marks before they will be allowed to continue with their Master’s project in the 3rd semester.

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