English 9002A

Advanced Research Methods

Co-Instructors: Professor Donna Palmateer Pennee and Academic Librarian Melanie Mills
Fall Half Course.

This course introduces students to techniques, methods, and cultures of research in literary and cultural studies, and assists in developing their skills, knowledge, and understanding of advanced research methods. This course is required for all M.A. students and for Ph.D. students who have not already taken a comparable course during their MA studies.

The course may include

  • readings on research methods in literary and cultural studies
  • readings on the archives of literary and cultural studies, including studies in textual editing, the history of the book, and the digital humanities
  • readings on humanities research in the corporatized university
  • reflection on our own methods, assumptions, and positioning within English and cultural studies
  • library-based instruction in basic and advanced archival research and search methods
  • instruction in the development of SSHRC and OGS graduate funding applications
  • facilitation of the development of individual research projects (for example, for another course during the same term of study, for an IRP, for a conference paper or article, or for early stages of the dissertation)
  • development of a cohort or community of researcher-colleagues through shared weekly course activities and in-class discussion

 The course will be graded on a pass/fail basis. In our first class, we will discuss types of assignments most useful to individuals’ paths of study. This discussion will facilitate completion of the weekly schedule, which will be posted to the OWL course site not later than our second class of the term.

View the course outline here: English 9002A. PDF download