Research as a Profession: Skills, Pathways and Strategies

Course goals

In this course, you learn how to reflect on and deploy scholarly, critical and ethical research practices in line with the standards in the field. This course also provides you with a clear understanding of the various paths to a research career, ranging from academic to non-academic work, (2) strategies for developing a career in research, and (3) a foundation in basic research competencies necessary to succeed in this program and beyond.

Content

During the first four weeks of this course, we address foundational questions concerning the epistemology, value and ethics of historical research as a profession: How do historians think? What is the (added) value of historical research? And finally, what should historians do? In the second half of the course, we engage in conversations with guest speakers about the opportunities and challenges accompanying several professional roles: for example, as policy advisor, expert witness, and as public historian.