MES4610 – Voices from the Middle East: How to Communicate Research Results
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
In this course you will be trained in communicating your research to a general, non-academic public. You will be offered an opportunity to practice how to make your academic research interests relevant and accessible to a general audience.
Aiming to enrich common knowledge and public debates on the Middle East, this course will help you to apply your expertise in a more concrete way than in academic papers and to explain your ideas in a non-technical language. By working with media oriented towards a general audience (such as presentations and podcasts), you will acquire editing and communication skills that constitute some of the basic abilities expected from graduates in various future job situations.
For the course, you will work individually and/or in groups on a presentation related to your MA research interests, preferably with preliminary materials collected for your Master's thesis.
There are two projects for this course: a mock, ten-minute academic conference presentation and a podcast. The presentation should ideally complement or even challenge common knowledge on Middle Eastern societies, histories or culture. The podcast will integrate one dimension of your research and make use of audio equipment at the university or from your mobile phone. These projects will involve your use of original sources and material, mainly in your language of specialization. Guidance from your academic supervisors will also be provided as you present, or immediately thereafter..
The course must be taken in conjunction with MES4020 - Field Work in the Middle East.
Learning outcome
- You will be provided with an opportunity to practice how to make your academic research interests relevant and accessible to a general audience.
- Aiming to enrich common knowledge and public debates on the Middle East, you are encouraged to apply your expertise in a more concrete way than in academic papers and to explain your ideas in a non-technical language.
- By working with media oriented towards a general audience, you will acquire editing and communication skills that constitute some of the basic abilities expected from graduates in various future job situations.
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
This course only admits students from Asia and Middle East Studies, programme option Middle East Studies.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
Students must have completed their first year of studies in the programme option Middle East Studies before they can take this course.
Teaching
Five seminars throughout the semester. The seminars will focus on different presentation forms.
In addition to the course instructor, your academic supervisor will assist and guide your data collection and provide individualized advice regarding methodology. You are advised to communicate with your supervisor at least once a month throughout the semester.
Compulsory activities
- Obligatory submissions throughout the semester. Information about the submissions will be given in the teaching and in Canvas.
Approved compulsory activities are only valid for one semester.
Absence from compulsory activities
It is important that you familiarize yourself with the rules regarding absence from compulsory activities, to prevent being excluded from teaching and losing your eligibility to take the exam.
Access to teaching
A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.
Examination
The exam is your final presentation.
Students may then, in consultation with their supervisor, choose to publish their presentation text on the UiO IKOS "The New Middle East Blog" or in a media outlet.
You must submit the exam in Inspera - see guides for digital exams
You must fulfill the requirement of the compulsory activities in order to qualify for taking the exam.
Language of examination
You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.