Content and aim
This PhD course is intended for PhD students, post-docs, and other academics and researchers who work with phenomenology or intend to incorporate phenomenology into their qualitative research projects, including the fields of nursing, health care, sport, dance or the arts.
The course will be taught by faculty trained in philosophy and qualitative research who are experts on the integration of phenomenology and qualitative methods. We introduce phenomenology in an accessible manner and in a way that provides clear and productive avenues for concrete application. We sketch central criteria for good qualitative research and explain how one can apply phenomenology in qualitative research as well as how one can apply qualitative research in phenomenological analyses.
The course focuses on methodological questions, practical exercises and possible solutions on how to combine qualitative methodologies with phenomenology – more specifically:
- How to assess which qualitative methods and which phenomenological concepts suit the object of the investigation
- How to generate ‘rich’ descriptions for a phenomenological analysis
- How to combine phenomenology and qualitative research in different phases of the study
- How to handle epistemological and ontological questions
- Exercises and group discussions on participants’ projects: how to handle methodological challenges related to phenomenological analyses in your own project(s)
Form
Lectures will be delivered in plenum, followed by breakout sessions for small-group discussions about the lecture topics. Hands-on exercises will also be conducted in breakout sessions, with each group facilitated by one or more of the lecturers.
About one week before the start of the course, we will host a two-hour session on Zoom to introduce participants to the general aims and structure of the course. The main part of the course will take place in-person over four days at University of Southern Denmark, Campus Odense.
Ahead of the course, you will be asked to read selected articles as well as introductions to phenomenology. You will be encouraged to complete a MOOC (massive open online course) before the course starts. You will also be asked to prepare a short text/abstract where you specify your interest in phenomenology in relation to your own research. This text is to be uploaded two weeks before the course. Part of the course will include opportunities for presenting and discussing your own generated data and ongoing analyses. Thus, it will be an advantage to have conducted part of the interviews and/or fieldwork for a (PhD) project prior to the course (however, the course is also open to those who have not yet generated data and/or conducted a qualitative study).
Lecturers
Supervision and discussions are facilitated by the course coordinators, Susanne Ravn, Peter Stilwell and Anthony Fernandez, as well as guest lecturers David Ekdahl (Arhus University) and Giovanna Colombetti (Exeter University)..
Important dates
- Course beginning - online introduction (zoom): May 8th, 2025, 15.00-17.00 (CET)
- Course dates: May 19th to May 22nd, 2025
Link to MOOC
Course Fee
The course is free of charge for PhD students enrolled at the Faculty of Health Sciences at SDU.
For PhD students from other universities that have joined the "Open market agreement" or NorDoc the course fee is:
DKK 1200
EUR 160
For other participants there is a course fee of:
DKK 5300
EUR 710