Research Summer Schools

Critical Methodologies

Online classes:

28 April, 5 May, 8 May, 12 May and 19 May 2025, 15:15-17:00 in each case

Attendance week: 02-06 June 2025

Essay deadline: 20 June 2025

Places available: 4

Course fees: none

Application deadline: 12 March 2025

Drawing on critical, decolonial and participatory perspectives, this course will discuss methods in practice related to decolonising research and thinking differently. It looks at cross-disciplinary approaches such as participatory, multisensory, decolonial, feminist, indigenous and intersectional methodologies.

Global approaches in the social sciences, humanities and cultural studies will be addressed and problematised, engaging in dialogue with perspectives from the margins of society through research practice in different disciplines and in intercultural contexts. Students will gain insights into critical methodologies that aim to dialogue across structural, physical and disciplinary boundaries and challenge binary thinking. We critically reflect on the politics and ethics of knowledge, research design and impact, inequalities, power relations, coloniality, intersectionality, positionality, reflexivity and the unforeseen and failure in research.

The course begins with digital lectures and seminars, followed by a five-day residential week of lectures, seminars, participatory, multi-sensory workshops that provide empirical research experiences. Students present their research findings in seminars, incorporating the perspectives of the course.

Target group: Doctoral candidates in the humanities and social sciences

Please apply to the University of Potsdam via this link, select ‘EDUC Outgoing grant’ and upload the following documents:

• Letter of motivation with a brief description of your research project and methodology (max. 1,500 words)
• CV

Further information can be found here.

In principle, the offers and scholarships are open to all students within the EDUC Alliance as long as they are enrolled at one of the Alliance universities. Students who are on an Erasmus exchange or who are international students at the University of Potsdam can also apply for the scholarships as long as they are enrolled at the University of Potsdam for the entire duration of the offer.

Please note that there are individual offers with certain additional participation requirements, which are noted in the respective description.

As a rule, no. If you need a grade for recognition of the course at the University of Potsdam, please contact the offering university in advance for individual clarification.