6 ECTS credits
180 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 1023919CNW for working students in the 1st semester at a (C) Bachelor - specialised level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Enrollment Requirements
NOTE: registration for this course is only possible for working students. Day students can register for courses whose code ends with an R. At Inschrijven / studentenadministratie@vub.be you must be registered at the VUB as a working student for the current academic year.
Taught in
Dutch
Faculty
Faculty of Languages & Humanities
Department
History
Educational team
Wouter Ryckbosch (course titular)
Activities and contact hours
14 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
136 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

This course component deals with the 'comparative method' - a specific research methodology within history that is closely related to the social sciences. Because this method more than other historical methods makes use of explicitly formulated hypotheses, a carefully designed research design, and a targeted questioning of causal connections, this course provides insights into the specificity of knowledge and the advantages and disadvantages of various historical research methods. 
The method is taught through a combination of lectures and practical exercises, including both individual and group assignments, as well as oral presentations and written assignments.

Course material
Digital course material (Required) : Digitale syllabus, begeleidend digitaal materiaal bij de lessen, een gespecialiseerde bibliografie
Additional info

Due to the teaching methods used, attendance during the lessons is required. 
A digital syllabus on the comparative method in history will be made available, as well as the digital material accompanying the lessons, as well as a specialised bibliography that can be used for the assignments.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

- Students can identify and define the 'comparative historical method', and are able to compare its advantages and disadvantages to other historical methods.
- Students are familiar with the different steps required to use a comparative method, and they can correctly name the relevant concepts that are used in the process, such as units of comparison, parameters, necessary and sufficient conditions, equivalence, independence, and the methods of difference and agreement. 
 - Students can recognise the difference between a correct and incorrect application of the historical comparative method, and can explain why a specific application is correct or not. They can argue when in specific research designs the application of the comparative method is feasible or not. Students can also indicate the advantages and disadvantages of the method.
- Students can deduct the epistemological assumptions underlying the comparative method.
- Students can independently apply the comparative method, by:
* formulating a research question suitable for comparative historical research;
* selecting relevant and suitable parameters and units of comparison with the help of a peer group;
* interpreting the results from a comparative study in a correct and meaningful way, and identifying the historical causal mechanisms that are potentially responsible for the results found;
* reporting carefully on their own application of the method in a scientific and methodological way. 
- Students can critically assess the merits of comparative methods in historical research by recognising and identifying the methodological and theoretical problems, but also by formulating solutions and alternative approaches. 

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
PRAC Presentation determines 30% of the final mark.
SELF Paper determines 70% of the final mark.

Within the PRAC Presentation category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Mondelinge presentatie with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 30% of the final mark.

    Note: De studenten worden beoordeeld op de mondelinge presentatie van hun onderzoeksontwerp. Dit onderdeel kan enkel afgelegd worden tijdens de eerste zittijd.

Within the SELF Paper category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Taak with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 70% of the final mark.

    Note: De studenten worden beoordeeld op de oefening alsook op de wijze waarop de algemene literatuur werd geïntegreerd. Wie niet geslaagd is voor deze proef kan de taak herwerken. Dit leidt tot een geheel nieuwe beoordeling (geen gemiddelde).

Additional info regarding evaluation

Students will be evaluated based on an oral presentation and individual, written paper. The paper can be re-submitted during the second exam period (for a new grade, not an average). The oral presentation can only be completed during the first exam period. 

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of History: Minor Minor Human Sciences (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of History: minor Social Sciences (only offered in Dutch)