Latin America in the Context of Globalization Processes: Culture, Religion, Politics, and Economy 3305-ALKG-SEM-MGR

The aim of the Master's seminar is to prepare students to write a thesis, taking into account the requirements stipulated at the level of second-cycle studies. In particular, this means familiarising seminar participants with the following issues: substantive aspects including the main types of sources and research tools, formal aspects including editing, and methodological aspects.
The area of research interest of the seminar participants is contemporary cultural as well as socio-political problems of Latin America in the historical and world context.
The subject includes:
- identification and analysis of a research problem,
- familiarisation with and application of the methods and techniques necessary to carry out research in the selected subject area,
- preparation of a master's thesis under the guidance of the supervisor.
As a result, the student will be prepared to conduct research and academic debate in the field of Latin American Studies.
At the same time, during the course, research projects will be subjected to:
- group discussion
- consultation on the thesis plan and the development of the individual chapters of the thesis.
Features of the seminar:
1. interdisciplinarity
- Research projects will combine methods from different disciplines, allowing for a more comprehensive approach to the issues studied.
- The analysis will focus on problems and issues at the intersection of different disciplines and areas of science, dealing with issues of religion and culture, economy and politics.
2 Historical perspective
- The inclusion of a historical perspective is crucial, as the process of globalisation is closely linked to modernisation.
- Modernisation has brought changes in economy, politics, religion and culture, which will be analysed.
3 Participants
- The seminar is aimed at people with a broad range of interests in both the social sciences and humanities.
- It is ideal for students who wish to explore topics at the interface of different disciplines and broaden their research horizons.
In the first and second semesters of the course, the students improve the skills they have learned in a dedicated proseminar. They will become familiar with key theories on globalisation, developed mainly within the seminar's leading disciplines (political science; cultural and religious studies) and corresponding to the research problems that their work will address.
The topics of the course will also focus on specific methodological challenges related to the problems of the individual papers: after discussing the general principles of designing a scientific study and its implementation at all stages, specific methodological strategies and research methods and tools will be presented.

Type of course

Master's seminars

Mode

Classroom
Blended learning

Prerequisites (description)

1. Knowledge of Spanish at level C1-C2 and knowledge of the history and contemporary socio-political situation in Latin America are essential. 2. The course is intended for students preparing a Master's thesis in Spanish on the culture, religion, politics, economy and society of Latin America and its relations with the world. 3. Through the application of the knowledge acquired during the course and the familiarisation with theories and methods from the humanities and social sciences during the course, the thesis is prepared.

Course coordinators

Katarzyna Dembicz
Marta Wójtowicz-Wcisło

Learning outcomes

Knowlege: upon graduation the student knows
-subject-specific and methodological specificity of the studied field of
knowledge, and is able to develop it creatively and apply it in professional
activity and also knows the terminology in the field of Iberian studies at an
advanced level [K_W01]
-scientific and cultural phenomena in Latinamerican countries, and in particular has in-depth knowledge about the connections of new research and trends in these fields of study with other humanities and social sciences related discourses [K_W04]
-terminology, theory and methodology necessary in the disciplines typical of
Iberian studies [K_W05]
- basic concepts and principles in the field of intellectual property and copyright
protection and understands the need to manage intellectual property
resources [K_W03]
Abilities: upon graduation the student is able to
-use acquired research skills, including the critical analysis of cultural products
and social phenomena in Latinamerican countries, synthetize various ideas and views, select methods and develop research tools, present results, allowing original solutions to complex problems in the fields relevant to Iberian studies [K_U01]
- use acquired language skills in understanding and creating oral presentations
and written texts using professional terminology [K_U03]

Social competences: upon graduation the student is capable of
- cooperating within a group, taking on various roles [K_K01]
- critically assessing their own knowledge and skills, and also understanding the
need for continuous improvement and development; [K_K03]

Assessment criteria

A relative and an absolute method is used.
Criteria considered for assessment are:
- attendance in class (2 unexcused absences allowed)
- activity in class
- progress in writing the diploma thesis (1st semester: definition of the research problem and learning the literature on the topic, 2nd semester: construction of the thesis together with determination of the aims, hypothesis and research methods, subsequent semesters are connected with analysis of the selected topic and writing the diploma thesis).
Passing the last semester of the seminar depends on handing in the final version of the thesis to the supervisor.

Bibliography

Andrzejczyk, A. (2023). Interdyscyplinarne badania naukowe w procesie kreowania wiedzy. Repozytorium Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku. Dostępne na: https://repozytorium.uwb.edu.pl/jspui/bitstream/11320/16270/1/A_Andrzejczyk_Interdyscyplinarne_badania_naukowe.pdf
Babbie, E. (2006) Badania społeczne w praktyce, Warszawa
Berger P. L., Luckmann T. (1995) Modernity, Pluralism and the Crisis of Meaning. The Orientation of Modern Man. Gütersloh, Bertelsman Foundation Publishers.
Clifford, J. (1999) Itinerarios transculturales. Barcelona. Gedisa.
Culture in the communication age (2001) edited by James Lull. London, Routledge.
Dembicz, A. (2006) Filozofia poznawania Ameryki, Warszawa: CESLA Uniwersytet Warszawski, Warszawa
Denzin Norman K., Yvonna S. Lincoln (coords.) Manual SAGE de investigación cualitativa. Vol. I – V.
Denzin Norman K., Yvonna S. Lincoln (2017) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, SAGE Publications, Inc.
Deves Valdes E. (2004) El pensamiento latinoamericano en el siglo XX. Entre la modernización y la identidad, Buenos Aires: Biblios.
Eco, U. (2007). Jak napisać pracę dyplomową.Poradnik dla humanistów. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
Hannerz, U. (1996) Transnational Connections: Culture, People, Places. London and New York, Routledge.
(2002). Flows, Boundaries and Hybrids: Keywords in Transnational Anthropology. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Friedman, J. (1994) Cultural Identity and Global Process. London: Sage.
Lipovetsky, G. (2008) Los tiempos hipermodernos. Barcelona, Anagrama.
Ritzzer, G. (2007) The Globalization of Nothing. SAIS Review of International Affairs. DOI: 10.1353/sais.2003.0053
Robertson, R. (1992) Globalization: social theory and global culture. London ; Newbury Park ; New Delhi, SAGE Publications.
The social life of things: commodities in cultural perspective (2017) edited by Arjun Appadurai, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sztumski J. (2005) Wstęp do metod i technik badań społecznych, Katowice
Transnational Transcendence. Essays on Religion and Globalization (2009) edited by Thomas Csordas. University of California Press.

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3305-ALKG-SEM-MGR in USOSweb