Print Syllabus

Syllabus

P000074 Introductory Course - Research Design in Landscape Architecture, 5.0 Credits

Subjects

Landscape Architecture Other social science

Education cycle

Postgraduate level

Grading scale

Prior knowledge

Accepted as a PhD student.

The course is aimed for PhD students within the subject Landscape Architecture, but is open to all PhD students working in the social sciences and humanities.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the students shall be able to: \- Describe and discuss the development and scope of landscape architecture as an academic discipline
\- Understand and actively reflect on various approaches to research design within landscape architecture
\- Explain how the perspectives of the course relate to their own research

Content

*Objectives* After the course, students should: \- Have an overview of the development and scope of landscape architecture as an academic discipline
\- Have a good knowledge of various approaches to research design within landscape architecture
\- Be acquainted with central concepts, theoretical standpoints and methods covered in the course and be able to reflect on how they relate to their own and other scholars’ research
\- Situate their research in relation to the perspectives within landscape architecture covered in the course *Content* The course enables PhD students to get an overview of the diversity of approaches and perspectives within landscape architecture as an academic discipline. Current research designs will be explored and discussed in relation to a wider societal and academic context, as well as the development of ideas and methods over time within landscape architecture and landscape planning. The aim is to enable PhD students to position their own research within the context of landscape architecture as they get acquainted with its scope, theories and methods. The overarching aims of the course are to: (a) highlight the diversity in research design within the field of landscape architecture and related research and encourage reflection of the different approaches and perspectives and their common ground. (b) facilitate discussions between researchers and PhD students, as well as among PhD students involved in different aspects of landscape architecture. (c) support PhD students in situating and contextualising their own research within the field of landscape architecture. The course is designed around research presentations and joint discussions in seminars and the students assignments, where they reflect on their own research design within the scope of the course. Researchers within landscape architecture or closely related subjects at the departments SOL, LAPF and IMS will talk about their research design as well as participate in the following discussion with the students. These activities will be a major part of two workshops which will be held in Ultuna and Alnarp. Between the two workshops, there will be two seminars with a main focus on the exploration of the development of research design within landscape architecture. The first seminar is concentrated on research in Sweden, while the second seminar has an international orientation. These seminars are prepared by the students through literature, which together with the remaining literature, lectures and discussions will form the basis of a written paper, Here the students are required to reflect on their research position and connections within the field of landscape architecture. The papers will be discussed jointly in the last workshop and then revised before being examined. Participation in the two face-to face workshops and two blended seminars is mandatory, as is the required preparations, such as reading the literature All students will be required give a 10 minutes talk during the third seminar. They are also expected to submit a short written paper which will be presented on the second workshop and then revised before handed in.

Additional information

*Pedagogical form*

The course involves two workshops on site in Ultuna and Alnarp respectively in order for the students to get acquainted with the environment in both sites. The workshops include lectures followed by seminars, where researcher and PhD-students discuss together. During the seminars the students are also expected to shortly present their research design and how it relates to the research design presented in the course. Between the meetings the students are expected to read literature and prepare a short paper. During the shorter blended seminars, the students are actively discussing and reflecting on the development of landscape architecture. The structure with two longer workshops at site, and the possibility to meet face-to-face, not only on-line, is a conscious choice, in order to create an open and trustful atmosphere in the course, a prerequisite for fruitful discussions.

Responsible department

Department of Urban and Rural Development