Kolloquium Current Issues of Global Political Economy Colloquium prior registration required

The purpose of this course is to help you manage the MA thesis research process in the field of Global Political Economy and Globalization. The course is a forum for formulating and discussing your thesis proposal and problems regularly. The following topics will be part of the course: - Choosing a thesis topic and supervisor, research proposal - Grading criteria and how to meet both your expectations and the ones of your supervisor - Carrying out the thesis and overcoming obstacles (writing blockades, getting lost in theories or data etc.) - Steps and strategies in academic writing - When and how to stop - Preparation for the defense of the thesis (MA GPE) Besides regular attendance and active participation (feedback to your fellow classmates, in-between tasks), all participants are expected to give one or more (midterm) presentation(s) and receive feedback. For these presentations the participants are asked to arrange that their individual MA thesis supervisor participates in this specific session as well. You will not receive a grade from me for the course (except I supervise your thesis), but from your thesis advisor, on the thesis itself. Please bring a thesis proposal to the first session (not longer than 12 pages) which contains the following sections: 1. Working Title, 2. Purpose of the thesis, 3. Central questions to be answered and relevant background information (for the non-specialists), 4. Reference to the theoretical and conceptual literature you intend to use (beginning with a short survey of current work on the topic), 5. Methodology, 6. Brief Chapter Outline, 7. Tentative (realistic!) timeline, 8. Bibliography. Prior registration via email is required: Helena.Schwenken@uni-kassel.de FB 05 Gesellschaftswissenschaften Uni Kassel SS2006 Global Political Economy Prof. Dr. Schwenken Helen