zum Inhalt springen

Faculty of Arts and HumanitiesDepartment of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Fieldwork self-organised or affiliated to ongoing research projects

Topthemen

  • Fieldwork self-organised

    Fieldwork self-organised
  • CRC 1187 Media of Cooperation
    Fieldwork affiliatet to

    CRC 1187 Media of Cooperation

    supervised by Prof. Dr. Martin Zillinger and Dr. Nina ter Laan
  • ERC Advanced Grant
    Fieldwork affiliatet to

    ERC Advanced Grant "Rewilding the Anthropocene"

    supervised by Prof. Dr. Michael Bolling and Dr. Lea Lacan
  • VW - Research Unit
    Fieldwork affiliatet to

    VW - Research Unit "The Production and Reproduction of Social Inequalities"

    supervised by Prof. Dr. Michaela Pelican
  • Research Focus
    Fieldwork affiliatet to

    Research Focus "China Global

    supervised by Prof. Dr. Susanne Brandtstädter

As an alternative to the guided research classes, Master's students may also conduct field research

  • completely self-organised,
  • or affiliated to one of the department's ongoing research projects,
  • or in connection with one of our Field,  Summer or Spring schools,
  • or coupled to one of our partner universities,
  • or as part of the Research Training Group "connecting - excluding" (Graduiertenkolleg "anschließen - ausschließen").

Do you intend to conduct your research independently within the framework of one of the following research projects? Then please contact the supervising professor independently during office hours:

Research Master - within the Framework of Research Training Group "connecting - excluding" (Graduiertenkolleg "anschließen - ausschließen")

With the Research Master, the Research Training Group ties in with the established programme of the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities at the University of Cologne. As students of one of the participating Master's programmes of the Faculty of Humanities, the participants receive an excellent professional education.

To facilitate the fast track from the Master's stage to the doctorate, the Research Master's programme supports students in developing a complex independent research question for a possible subsequent dissertation project based around the topic of  "anschließen - ausschließen" ("connecting - excluding"). The regular curriculum of the programme is complemented by the colloquium of the Research Training Group. In addition, there is the possibility of participating in all events and projects.

Supervision and mentoring of students in the subject of Social and Cultural Anthropology is provided by Prof Dr Sandra Kurfürst.

Homepage Graduiertenkolleg "anschließen - ausschließen"

More information:  a.r.t.e.s research master

Prof. Dr. Michael Bollig / Dr. Gerda Kuiper:
Scholarships for 3-month research stays, affiliated to the "African Climate and Environment Center - Future African Savannas (AFAS)", funded by DAAD


Who: maxium 5 Master students
Where: Kenia oder Cote d'Ivoire
With whom: affiliated to partner universities
When: between 2023 and 2025. Please contact  Dr. Gerda Kuiper during her consultaton hours.


Weitere Infos: African Climate and Environment Center - Future African Savannas (AFAS)

Prof. Dr. Michael Bollig / Dr. Lea Lacan:
Independent field research connected to ERC Grant "Rewilding the Anthropocene".


Who: maximum 2 Master students
Where: KAZA Area (Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area),
With whom: Prof. Bollig / Dr. des. Lea Lacan
When: as of winter 2022/23, please contact Prof. Bollig during his consultation hours.

Further information: https://www.rewilding.de/

 

Prof. Dr. Michael Bollig / Dr. Hauke Vehrs:
Independent field research affiliated to CRC 228 "Future Rural Africa"

Who: maximum 2 Master students
Where: KAZA Area (Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area),
With whom: Prof. Bollig / Dr. Hauke Vehrs
When: as of winter 2022/23, please contact Prof. Bollig during his consultation hours.

Further information: https://www.crc228.de/projects/project-a04-future-conservation/

 

Prof. Dr. Martin Zillinger / Dr. Nina ter Laan
Independent field research affiliated to CRC 1187 "Media of Cooperation - TP B04 Digital Publics and Social Transformation in the Maghreb "


Who: maximum 1 Master student
Where: Spain, Marocco
With whom: supervised by Prof. Zillinger / Dr. Nina ter Laan
When: as of now, please contact Prof. Zillinger during his consultation hours.


Further information: https://www.mediacoop.uni-siegen.de/en/projects/b04/

 

 

Prof. Dr. Michaela Pelican
Independent field research affiliated to partner university Yaoundé 1

Who: maximum 2 Master students
Where: Cameroon
With whom: local partner at University of Yaoundé 1, arranged by Prof. Pelican
When: as of now, please contact Prof. Pelican during her consultation hours.

Further information: Field Work Practice Cameroon 2018 (see on Homepage: Archive Field Work Projects)

Prof. Dr. Michaela Pelican
Independent field research affiliated to Volkswagen Research Unit "The Production and Reproduction of Social Inequalities: Global Contexts and Concepts of Labor Exploitation"

Who: maximum 2 Master students
Where: not specified, can be discussed
With whom: supervised by Prof. Pelican
When: as of summer 2022, please contact Prof. Pelican during her consultation hours.

Further information: Website "The Production and Reproduction of Social Inequalities: Global Contexts and Concepts of Labor Exploitation"

Prof. Dr. Susanne Brandtstädter
Independent field research affiliated to

Who: maximum 2 Master students
Where: China (Xiamen, Fujian), Nord-Thailand (Chiang Mai), Georgien (Tiflis)
With whom: local partners arranged by Prof. Brandtstädter, for example Chiang Mai in Thailand (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, cooperation with Prof. Yos Santasombat) or Tbilisi State University in Georgien (Institute of Ethnology, cooperation with Prof. Ketevan Khutsishvili)
When: as of summer 2022, please contact Prof. Brandtstädter during her consultation hours.

Further information: http://china-global.uni-koeln.de/

 

 PD. Dr. Clemens Greiner

The BiPoN forum aims to determine how human action and environmental factors interact in decision-making processes about edible food plants, including crops and trees, that are introduced and cultivated in different parts of the world. The Master’s students involved in this project conduct empirical research for selected case studies across the Global North and South. With their Master’s projects they collect important data and are thus an integral part of the research team.

Research on predefined topics within the framework of BiPon:

Who: Master's students of S&C Antrhopolog or Master's students of Culture and Environment in Africa

Where an what about:

  1. Smelling the “wild” – the political ecology of rare botanical substances in the organic cosmetics industry supervised by Dr. Clemens Greiner | Fieldwork might take place either in Southern Africa or Europe
  2. Hunger for the wild supervized by Dr. Clemens Greiner | Fieldwork might take place either in Southern Africa or Europe.

Supervised by whome:  PD Dr. Clemens Greiner

When: see homepage https://bipon.uni-koeln.de/

Further information:

Beyond the Domesticated and Wild Divide: Plant Biology and the Politics of Nutrition - BiPoN

 

 

 

Field research affiliated to research projects

Sandra Tikala, for example, has carried out her research in connection with ongoing research projects:



Affiliated to the ongoing research projects Future Rural Africa and the ERC Grant Rewilding the Anthropocene, I had the opportunity to conduct a two-months ethnographic research on cereal seeds in Northeast Namibia. The research was prompted by the NGO Namibia Nature Foundation and was significantly shaped by the cooperation with it. For example, I was able to implement more (participatory) methods and share the research results to wider audiences together with the NGO.

If you plan your own research project in cooperation with an NGO and are interested in an exchange, I look forward to hearing from you!
Based on my own experience, I am also happy to provide support as a fellow student with questions regarding the preparation, implementation or follow-up of such research.

Sandra Tikale,
contact: stikale@smail.uni-koeln.de

 Research - completely self-organised

Moreover, you can of course also practise your field research in a completely self-organised way. For example, Sarah Mund successfully conducted her own research project in Canada:



I conducted field research on the west coast of Canada after spending a study semester abroad at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. My research focused on human-environment relations and the perspective of indigenous groups. I spent two months with a First Nations community and worked with them on the topic of indigenous tourism. Issues such as resource use, indigenous self-determination and concepts of sustainability also played a role.

As I have organised this field research independently, I am pleased to assist interested students who would also like to conduct their own field research. Based on my own experience, I am happy to help with any questions related to research preparation and implementation.

Sarah Mund,
contact: smund4[at]uni-koeln.de.

 

If you intend to organise your research all on your own, too, extensive guidance from a professor is another prerequisite. This guidance is needed for both the preparation and the follow-up of the self-organised research. Please arrange for such guidance during the professor's consultation hours.

 

How is self-organised research or affiliated research credited in the Master's programme?

Self-organised fieldwork - and also affiliated research - is to be registered in the  EM1 module "Field Research Practice".  Please take the following five steps:

  1. First, get initial advice and agreement from your supervisor;
  2. Prepare your research design with the guidance of your supervisor;
  3. Conduct your fieldwork;
  4. Write up your field research report with the guidance of your supervisor and then submit the report to your supervisor for grading.
  5. Once you have received the grading of your report, contact m.boeck@uni.koeln.de

The registration for EM1 Field Research Practice (12 CP total) is done by m.boeck@uni.koeln.de after the submission and grading of your research report. M. Boeck will credit the following module units for you in KLIPS:

  • EM1 module unit a) practical exercise: Preparation of field research
  • EM1 module unit b) Field research training with practical exercise for follow-up work
  • EM1 moduel examination

EM1 Field Research Practice is credited in KLIPS with as sum total of 12 CP by m.boeck@uni.koeln.de as soon as you are able to present the grade for your field report (i.e. module examination)