Universität Wien
Warning! The directory is not yet complete and will be amended until the beginning of the term.

180171 SE Interdisciplinary Research Seminar in Philosophy and Economics (2022S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Continuous assessment of course work
REMOTE

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 15 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Credits: 5 ECTS credits / 2 semester-hours (SWS/SSt)
Time: Wednesdays, 15:00-18:15, starting on March 9, 2022
Location: Seminar Room 2.i, Neues Institutsgebäude (NIG) 2nd floor, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, and via Zoom as needed
Lecturers: Justin Leduc, Department of Economics, justin.leduc@univie.ac.at, and Felix Pinkert, Department of Philosophy, felix.pinkert@univie.ac.at

The seminar is co-taught by Justin Leduc and Felix Pinkert. In some weeks, you will have a 90-minute philosophy or economics session, in others, a 180-minute interdisciplinary session, in some weeks, you will have no seminar session and more preparatory work to do at home. Overall, the amount of seminar time is equivalent to 2 semester-hours. The precise schedule will be announced on Moodle. The formal allocation of students to a 90-minute group time slot on u:space is purely a formality, all students need to be available for the entire time slot, and are taught and assessed by both lecturers jointly. Therefore, *please reserve the 15:00-18:15 time slot in each week*.

*Special arrangements pertaining to COVID-19 public health regulations:* The seminar is planned as an onsite seminar with a live online participation option for students who are unable to attend in person, e.g. due to personal health or travel restrictions. Depending on public health regulations, the seminar may have to switch to an online format in some weeks. The assessment remains the same, and we will use the same time slot for online sessions in which we reproduce the seminar setup with plenary and small group discussions.

Note: This seminar is offered specifically for students of the MA Philosophy and Economics. Other students who wish to attend require a background in philosophy and in economics comparable to the backgrounds of students in the second semester of the MA Philosophy and Economics. These students need to apply for special permission from the lecturers before registering for this class, clearly stating their background in both subjects and their interest in this seminar.

  • Wednesday 09.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 16.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 23.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 30.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 06.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 27.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 04.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 11.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 18.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 25.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 01.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 08.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 15.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 22.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Wednesday 29.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In this interdisciplinary research seminar, we explore a selection of contemporary social issues from an interdisciplinary philosophy and economics perspective, and practice interdisciplinary research skills and independent topic-based research.

Upon successful completion of the seminar, you will have developed your skills in independent interdisciplinary research and will be able to use your knowledge of philosophy and economics to position yourself with regard contemporary social issues in an academically rigorous manner.

Before the start of the semester, the lecturers will, in consultation with all participants, select two seminar themes. For each of the two seminar themes, you will complete a series of research steps that lead you:
(a) from a rough selection of contributions relating to a contemporary social issue to a more focused research topic;
(b) from this research topic to knowledge of key philosophy and economics ideas and debates that relate to it;
(c) to a fully formulated research question and a plan for an essay, larger research thesis, or public engagement contribution concerning that question.

Under the guidance of the lecturers, you will take some of these steps in individual seminar preparation, and others cooperatively with other students during the seminar.

The seminar is taught and assessed in English (notable exception, long read articles – one of the final assignment types, see below – can be submitted in German as well). It will feature extensive small group discussions.

Assessment and permitted materials

The seminar is assessed through weekly assignments, a video presentation, and a final written assignment.

1) *Weekly research tasks* which contribute to collaboratively exploring a new research topic and developing research plans. These are marked for completeness, not for "correctness": what matters here is that you have seriously attempted the tasks and prepared for the seminar. *Deadline:* Each teaching week at 11:59am on Monday, so that students can read each other's contributions in preparation of the seminar. Tasks that are late without authorisation can at most score a grade of 4 (mere pass). If upload is delayed for reasons outside of your control, e.g. illness, and lecturers have been informed, then this penalty does not apply. *Weight of all tasks combined: 30%*.

2) One pre-recorded *video presentation*, of 6-7 minutes, in which you explain a paper in economics or philosophy that is of key importance to the seminar themes. There will be a sign-up roster for selecting a seminar week to contribute your video presentation to: For each of the seminar themes, there will be one week discussing philosophy, and one week economics ideas relevant to the theme. Your presentation will present one key paper of your own choosing, the paper selection must be agreed upon with the lecturers, and lecturers can offer guidance for selecting a paper. *Deadline:* The video presentations must be uploaded by 11:59am on the Monday that precedes the respective seminar. *Weight: 20%.* Since the success of the seminar depends on everyone watching the presentations before the seminar sessions, delayed uploads can at most score a grade of 4 (mere pass). If upload is delayed for reasons outside of your control, e.g. illness, and lecturers have been informed, then this penalty does not apply.

3) A final written assignment, of 2500-2700 words. *Deadline:* September 15, 2022, 23:59. *Weight: 50%*. You have a choice of three assignment formats:
- An interdisciplinary academic essay/paper, which argues for a particular claim or answer to a question pertaining to one of the seminar themes, and which uses ideas from both disciplines to make its point.
- A research proposal, suitable either as an extended master thesis proposal or for a PhD application. It explains a problem or question pertaining to the seminar themes, the state of the art of the relevant literature in philosophy and economics on that theme, and outlines a thesis and research programme.
- One or two long read journalistic-style articles (as may be found in a longform sections of newspapers, magazines, blogs, or on a think tank’ communication webpage) on a problem or question pertaining to one of the seminar themes, which uses ideas from both disciplines. The intended target is an interested general audience. The piece must be explicitely based on existing academic debates.

All assigments in line with either of the first or the second format must be submitted in English. If you choose the journalistic long-read article format, then you may submit in English or in German (e.g. if you intend to work towards publishing your piece in a German-language publication venue). You may choose to work in a team on the final assignment (up to three participants). In this case, the required number of words changes proportionally (5000-5400 for a group of two, 7500-8100 for a group of three). Co-authored assignments are given a single mark that applies equally to all authors.

The paper outline and paper are to be submitted on Moodle, as pdf file, with all identifying information (name, student ID) in the text, file name, and file metadata removed to facilitate anonymous marking. Delayed submissions get a marking penalty of +0.2 for each day (24h) of lateness, although this penalty does not lead to a failing grade. If your submission is delayed for reasons outside of your control, please contact the lecturers via email as soon as possible.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Each of the three assessments is evaluated on a scale from 1 (“Very Good”) to 5 (“Unsatisfactory”). A positive evaluation requires that you achieve a pass grade (4) in all assessment components, and that you actively attend the seminar. Two unauthorized absences will be excused.

Detailed marking criteria for each of the assignments and assignment options are posted on Moodle, and are available beforehand upon request.

Conditional on fulfilling the necessary requirements just mentioned, the final grade, comprised between 1 (“Very good”) and 4 (“Adequate”), is a rounded weighted average of the separate assessment grades. A failure to achieve a pass grade in one of the necessary requirements yields a 5 ("Insufficient").

We will only look at and mark the final assessment after the deadline, irrespective of how early you submit, and will then mark them within four weeks. If you need your mark earlier, e.g. if you are on an exchange semester, please explicitly request this by email.

By registering for this course/seminar, you tacitly agree to having all your electronic submissions checked by the plagiarism detection software Turnitin.

Examination topics

Your presentation needs to cover the seminar theme and academic discipline relevant for the seminar week you have selected. Your final assignment may be on any topic linked to the seminar themes. You are encouraged to develop your own research topics, and to consult with the lecturers on your writing plans.

Reading list

Since this seminar aims at learning independent research skills, there is no pre-set reading list. Students collaboratively explore the research topics and compile literature lists, under the guidance of the lecturers.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Sa 08.07.2023 00:17