EAST4610 – Voices from East Asia: How to Communicate Research Results
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
In this course you work individually, or in a team with other students, in order to develop your knowledge in a field of your own choice related to East Asia or parts of it, and to practice the communication of such knowledge. You first decide upon the topic of your study in collaboration with the supervisor you were assigned for your Master thesis. The topic may be closely related to your Master thesis, but it can also be another topic that you wish to explore. With guidance from your supervisor, you compile a reading list of at least 600 pages of academic literature related to your topic, and identifying at least one primary source in the East Asian language of your specialization (Chinese, Japanese or Korean).
With guidance from your supervisor, you read and critically summarize the academic literature, and on this basis you create one shorter piece of work aimed at a broader audience. The specific topic of this piece should be judged, by you and your supervisor in collaboration, to be of interest also to a non-academic and not-specialized audience, and the format should be accordingly (see also the "guidelines for Voices from East Asia", below). If appropriate and if quality allows, this part of your exam will be published online on the Voices from East Asia-blog, and, if possible, be fed into professional media or other public fora through contacts established by your supervisor or yourself (for instance Asiapunkt).
Learning outcome
- Ability to collect, read and critically summarize academic literature.
- Skills of communication that reach beyond the academic/university community
- Insights into how academic knowledge is acquired and how it may be translated into more popular forms of communication.
- Editing and communication skills that are often asked for at the job market.
- Ability to use search engines (e.g. Oria) to identify relevant literature.
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
Admission to the MA programme option Chinese Culture and Society?or?Japanese Studies?and passed 60 credits of courses that are a part of the degree.
Teaching
There is no mandatory teaching in this course but students are encouraged to participate in workshops on podcast-recording, video-making, creative writing. After you and your supervisor have chosen the topic for your work, you compile a list of 200 pages of relevant sources and literature including at least one primary source in an East Asian language. You read and critically summarize in written form this literature/sources. The list and review have to be approved by your supervisor. You will write a short project description as part of your final portfolio, and create your final project content aimed at a general audience. At the end of the course, and before submitting your portfolio, you need to document that you have had at least two conversations with your supervisor (either through meetings, skype, phone, or e-mail in case you or the supervisor are abroad) about your choice of topic and literature, and regarding the piece aimed at a general audience.
Compulsory activities:
- Dialogue with your supervisor regarding choice of topic and secondary/primary sources and at least two meetings throughout the semester and before the portfolio is submitted.
- A short literature review (at least 800 words) and a list of at least 200 pages of relevant literature/sources, and at least one source in your East Asian language of specialization must be approved by the supervisor.
All compulsory activities must be approved in order to qualify for the exam. It is the student’s responsibility to check whether or not the compulsory activities are approved. This is how you apply for valid absence from compulsory activities/compulsory attendance.
Examination
The exam is a portfolio consisting of two parts:
1. A short project description of 1000 - 1500 words. It is supposed to give the presentation product a frame, providing background information and literature review, and disclosing sources and data used for the presentation. The text should contain
- a brief introduction to the topic of your "Voices from East Asia" project
- an explanation how and why you chose this topic
- a literature review about which sources and material were selected and why
- a discussion of the pros and cons of the chosen presentation type and format
- a reflection on the intended audience
- a list of references.
2. A presentation related to your topic that is meant to be communicated to an audience beyond your area of specialization, that is, to the interested public. Language and content of your presentation should be adapted to this purpose. The format could be, for instance, a general blog post, a commentary, a film clip/audio feature, an interactive figure / illustration; small collection/ database, a news digest / public discussion analysis, a Q&A digest / factual interview, a review article, or something else that you agree to in advance with your supervisor. All written formats should be of at least 1500 words, and any audio/visual output should be longer than 20 minutes. See "guidelines for Voices of East Asia" for recommendations and ideas regarding these formats. If appropriate, this piece will be published on the?Voices from East Asia-blog.
One single grade is awarded for the portfolio as a whole.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English.You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.