Courses 2022 - 2023

LAW B 558 Doctoral Seminar

This seminar prepares Ph.D. candidates for the dissertation aspect of their program by systematically modeling how to construct research questions, how to develop a hypothesis and narrative that will sustain a book-length manuscript, and how to organize material and develop argumentation around a central thesis and subsidiary questions. Questions of U.S. thesis style, national differences in writing genres, and efficient ways to organize and cite sources are also covered. Students in this seminar will draft and redraft and draft again their dissertation abstracts, tables of contents, and preliminary chapters (particularly if based on an existing research paper). Students will present their arguments orally to the group and will identify core theories and applied studies that they wish to incorporate in their own work. The group will read a selection of published work and indicative articles of reference for each student's dissertation-in-development.