Science, Policy and Society Reading Lab

A topic can be initiated by a PhD candidate or (co)supervisor, thus a centralised selection of topics is not needed. Relevant literature is selected by both the (co)supervisor and PhD candidates. One PhD candidate is asked to act as coordinator. PhD candidates take turns to prepare a session, around two articles. At the end, each PhD candidate write an introduction to the special issue, including:

• title of the special issue
• briefly discussion of the articles (including how they are related)
• reflection on theoretical / conceptual / empirical relevance for your PhD research (and possibly indicate if one of the included articles can serve as a ‘model’ for one of your own articles).

The resulting special issue should have around 10 articles. Therefore, a minimal of four sessions should be organised.

Participating PhD candidates can include the module in their PhD Education programme for 2 EC. The coordinating PhD candidate obtains 3 EC.

An Athena Reading Lab session can start at any time, as long as there are interested PhD candidates and a supervisor. Repeating topics in subsequent years is not a problem, nor are overlapping topics/articles (different angles on the same topic and on the same articles enriches the understanding).

Requirements:

• announce on Trello before commencing;
• (co)supervisor checks with colleagues for relevant Athena articles to be included;
• compile a digital folder with all materials, including the editorial introductions, produce a pdf and printed copy of the special issue (to be done by PhD candidates).
• Copies of special issues to be kept in meeting room.
• PhD candidates discuss their assignment (the editorial introduction) with their own (co)supervisor in order to include it in their PhD Education programme

Why:

• Discussing literature is a regularly activity in PhD guidance.
• Discussing it with a mix of PhD students (and possibly (co) supervisors) enriches the learning experience for all.
• Supervisors sharing their insights with PhD candidates not guided by them has been a wish of many.
• Including Athena articles in the mix allows for building upon the various research lines within Athena.
• Producing a series of 'Athena Learning Lab special issues' may serve many purposes, amongst which building a repository of theoretical and empirical perspectives relevant to Athena’s work for researchers joining Athena.