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Dr Robin Humphrey Director of the Postgraduate Research Training

Crossing Boundaries: Developing Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Training across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Dr Robin Humphrey Director of the Postgraduate Research Training Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Newcastle University, UK.

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Dr Robin Humphrey Director of the Postgraduate Research Training

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  1. Crossing Boundaries: Developing Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Training across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Dr Robin Humphrey Director of the Postgraduate Research Training Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Newcastle University, UK

  2. Interdisciplinarity at the ESRC: A current example • Interdisciplinary early career research fellowship scheme. The aims of the scheme are to: • Foster the development of interdisciplinary research capacity in selected priority areas for cross-Research Council research • Fund high quality, independent, relevant, innovative, interdisciplinary research cutting substantially across the remits of the ESRC and at least one other Research Council which will complement, and contribute to, one of the three major cross-Council research programmes

  3. Interdisciplinarity at the AHRC: A current example • Interdisciplinary Research Networks and Workshops • The Interdisciplinary Research Networks and Workshops scheme is designed to encourage and enable the discussion and development of ideas by researchers either through establishing new research networks or by running a series of workshops, seminars or similar events.

  4. Postgraduate Research Training at Faculty Level, Newcastle University, UK • Training Programme for Research Postgraduates (PhD and MPhil students) • Modules for 1+3 Research Masters and IPhD (New Route) Programmes • Research Training Module for Taught Masters Programmes in Arts and Humanities

  5. External Pressure 1: Heightened emphasis on research training by ESRC • ESRC • Extensive training guidelines published since 1996 • Only outlets who demonstrate extensive generic and discipline specific training to receive recognition • Prescriptive: All students have to receive wide range of training • 1+3 Doctoral Scheme (2001) and Quotas (2005) (currently under review)

  6. Newcastle Response • Multi-disciplinary social science training programme established (1996) http://www.ncl.ac.uk/hss/postgrad/training/ • Pragmatic rationale • Economies of scale • Generic training deepened at disciplinary level • Intellectual rationale/promise • Multi-disciplinary Programme • Leading to Interdisciplinary awareness

  7. Postgraduate Research Training Programme: Module summary Year 1 • Managing a PhD • Information Skills • Nature of Explanation and Enquiry • Introduction to Qualitative Methods • Introduction to Quantitative Methods • Multi-disciplinary conference (oral presentations)

  8. The Nature of Explanation and Enquiry • The Philosophical Foundations of Knowledge • Science and Pseudo-science (Politics) • Laws, Prediction and Explanation (Politics) • Scientific Knowledge as a Social Construct(Politics) • Interpretation, Meaning and Relativism(Geography) • Objectivity, Hermeneutics and Reflexivity(Sociology) • Post-structuralism and Post-modernism (Politics) • Contemporary Debates • Actor Network Theory(Business School) • Critical Realism(Sociology) • Feminist and Queer Theory(Sociology) • Post-Colonial Theory(English Literature)

  9. Internal Reorganisation: Radical Restructuring (2003) • 9 Faculties to 3 • New Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences established • 31 Departments to 9 Schools • Architecture, Planning and Landscape • Arts and Cultures • Business School • Education, Communication and Language Sciences • English Literature, Language and Linguistics • Geography, Politics and Sociology • Historical Studies • Law School • Modern Languages

  10. Internal Reorganisation: Radical Restructuring (2003) • Rationale for Restructuring • Rationalisation and streamlining of Management • Promoting Interdisciplinarity • Amalgamation of Arts and Humanities and Social Science training programmes for PhD students

  11. External Pressure 2: Heightened emphasis on research training by AHRC • AHRC • At time of restructuring, training plan and open competition • Going down similar route to ESRC, although less prescriptive • Now, Block Grant Partnership Scheme

  12. Qualitative Methodology in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences • Generic session: Philosophical roots and epistemological frameworks (Anthropology and Sociology) • Social Science Option 1: Interviewing approaches Interviewing the less powerful (Education)Interviewing elites (Politics) Sensitive interviewing (Geography, Education)Biographical Methods (Sociology)Focus Groups (Sociology) • Social Science Option 2: Ethnography, Case Studies and Institutional Approaches • Ethnographic traditions (Anthropology) • Institutional Approaches (Planning, Politics) • Case study approaches (Planning)

  13. Qualitative Methodology in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences • Arts and Humanities Option 1: Museum, Galleries, Heritage and Archives • Researching Museums (Cultural and Heritage Studies) • Researching Galleries (Cultural and Heritage Studies) • A Guide to Using Archives (Historical Studies) • Researching Heritage (Cultural and Heritage Studies)

  14. Qualitative Methodology in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences • Arts and Humanities option 2: Texts, Images and Sounds • Word and Interpretation (English Literature and Linguistics)Text and Image (English Literature and Modern Languages) • Interrelationships Between Artistic Practices (Arts and Cultures) • Performance, Audience and Reception (Modern Languages) Image and Sound (Modern Languages) • Generic sessions: • Analysing and Writing-up Qualitative Data (Sociology) • Integrating different Data Sources (Education)

  15. Other significant developments • 2004: Roberts Skills Development Agenda • Joint Research Council Skills development agenda published • Enhance employability • £800 for each research council-funded student • In HASS, Joint Research Council agenda incorporated into already developed research training programme • Regional Collaboration, originally with Northumbria but now with all 5 North East Universities (Regional collaboration group) • Writing across Boundaries: Explorations in Representations, Rhetoric and Writing in Qualitative Research (ESRC Research Development Initiative Project)

  16. Conclusion • Interdisciplinary postgraduate research training a laudable and largely obtainable aim. • Traditional academic boundaries need to be crossed. • Conditions for fostering Interdisciplinarity: • External pressures • Institutional arrangements: Disciplinary; Bureaucratic • Champion

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