Research and Guided Inquiry
Research and guided inquiry involve the production of new knowledge through scholarly research methods, whether in a laboratory or document archives. Sudents pursue research/inquiry with close guidance of a faculty member either as an independent study project or as part of a course.
| Physics Research: E-L and the Scientific Method
"A typical scenario for a physical explanation of a given situation is this: a small collection of basic physical principles relevant to the situation is used to create a mathematical model of it; computations are carried out using the model, leading to predictions that are checked experimentally; if there is agreement, the physical situation is deemed to have been explained." Physics Department overview in the University Bulletin |
A Sampling of Research and Guided Inquiry Courses:
WGS 198:Women’s and Gender Studies Research Practicum
Examines theories and practices of feminist scholarship and introduces interdisciplinary methodologies in order to guide students in designing and completing an independent research project. Usually offered every year in the fall.
Ms. Lanser and Ms. Schattschneider
ENG 181a: Making Sex, Performing Gender
This course introduces students to the theoretical frameworks of performance studies and involves them in a hands-on project, The Mapping Brandeis Project. Students map interactions among people at Brandeis in terms of the performative production of gendered and sexual subjects. They develop web-based projects using visual and soundscape recordings to document and reenact their research and analysis in ways that allow for others to interact with the information and to add their own layers to the developing maps and stories.
Mr. King
BIO 98:
Offered in Spring '06 as a pilot course and expected to be offered again in Spring '07. This course will teach genetic analysis through laboratory work, including genome-wide analysis of bacterium E. coli and will integrate aspects of comparative genomic analysis using computer genome databases. Students will be involved in the development of new tools for genetic analysis and will evaluate their efficacy. The course design is modeled after the
| Theory and Practice in a Humanities Seminar
Through purposefully structured dialogue and analysis, students practice the principles of not only critical thinking, but also civic engagement. "The small humanities classroom, with a teacher and a dozen or so students sitting around a table and analyzing the language of a poem, or decoding a difficult philisophical passage, or discussing a character from Shakespeare or Sophocles, with each participant listening to, arguing with, and learning from the views of others, can stand as a model for a civilized and cohesive polity." Michael T. Gilmore, Paul Prosswimmer Professor of American Literature |