{"word_count": 1233, "character_count": 8391}
&#160;Chers collègues,je vous transmets ce message de la part d'une collègue italienne:La "European graduate School for Training in Economic and Social Historical Research" (ESTER) organise son prochain "Research Design Course" pour les historiens de l'économie et de la société à Vérone les 12-14 novembre prochains.L'appel à participation est destiné à des étudiants de 1ere et 2nd année de doctorat. La date limite pour la présentation des demandes est fixée au 1 juin 2013.Vous trouverez toutes les informations nécessaires sur le site:  http://hum.leiden.edu/posthumus/ester/rdc-2013-verona.htmlCA L L F O R AP P L I C A T I O N SESTER Research Design Course: How tostrengthen your dissertation projectThe European graduate School for Training in Economic and social historicalResearch (ESTER) is an European platform for postgraduate teaching.ESTER announces its annual Research Design Course for economic andsocial historians on12-14 November 2013, Verona (Italy)The ESTER network, established in 1991, involves more than 60 universitiesthroughout Europe and offers high-level research training for PhD students inan international context. At present the network is organized by the N.W.Posthumus Institute, which is a national graduate school for economic andsocial history in the Netherlands and Flanders. The Unger-Van Brero Fund,founded on the initiative of economic historian W.S. Unger (1889-1963) andhis widow E. Unger-Van Brero, supports and promotes this PhD-course forthe study of social-economic history.The Research Design Course (RDC) is a format promoted by ESTER sincethe late 1990s. The RDC Course assists students in setting up a high qualityand well-designed plan for their dissertation under the guidance of a team ofleading senior researchers whose task is to provide comments and leaddiscussions.First, students will be offered advanced theoretical and methodologicalexpertise in the field of history. Theory and methodology in this sense shouldnot be understood at the level of prevailing empirical theories that attempt toexplain specific historical problems, such as the rise of the welfare state ormodern economic growth. The theory and methodology offered in this coursewill focus on issues such as the goals and strategies of social and historicalresearch, the use of concepts and language in historical explanation, theconstruction of data bases and the use of quantitative methods of analysis, orthe construction of the "plot" in a historical inquiry. The aim of this type ofreflection is to investigate the scientific procedures that historians use to reachscientific explanations and to combine all analytical elements into a syntheticand coherent historical account. The course welcomes students drawing froma wide range of theoretical and methodological orientations.Second, the RDC course aims to assist PhD students in constructing theirdissertation plan. Students will be invited to apply the theoretical andmethodological knowledge they have obtained to their own dissertationproject. This must be done in a well-structured manner. With the help ofguidelines, students will be asked to write a paper in which a detailed workplan for the dissertation should be given. These guidelines serve as a kind ofscreen through which students examine their own project, and in particular theway in which they intend to put together their dissertation. The paper has aminimum of 25 pages and should provide the structure in which the remainingresearch for the dissertation will take place. The papers will be thoroughlyscrutinized and examined during the course by junior and senior scholarstogether.In this way the RDC course offers students help in sharpening and refiningtheir research questions, in strengthening the focus of their research, inincreasing the consistency of their overall dissertation plan, in making explicitthe various theoretical and methodological choices that have to be made inthe course of the project, and in improving the composition of the dissertation.The RDC course thereby aims at a better awareness of research choices thatneed to be made.Description and organization of the RDC courseThe RDC course consists of a 3 day workshop. Prior to the workshop studentswill be asked to prepare some extensive reading material and they will beasked to write a paper (25 pages) according to a set of guidelines. Workduring the workshop consists of discussions of student papers. Each paperwill be examined in separate one-hour sessions. Each session will begin withcomments prepared by one of the participating students, followed bycomments by one of the instructors, after which a general discussion amongall participants will take place.All papers must be circulated in advance; students need to read and prepareall papers to be discussed in their group. This year a maximum number of 35students can be admitted; work will take place in two or three groups ofstudents. A team of senior scholars will be formed around Dr. Edoardo Demo(Verona), Professor Marco Belfanti (Brescia) Dr. Jeroen Touwen and Dr.Marijn Molema (Leiden). A European Advanced Postgraduate Certificate willbe awarded to participants who have successfully completed the course.Student requirementsThe RDC program is intended for PhD students in economic and social historyregardless of the subject of their dissertation. Students need to be at the veryleast in the end of their first year of PhD-research at the time of the course,and at the most at the end of their second year. For a fruitful participation it isabsolutely vital that students have actually been working on their ownresearch for at least 6 months by the time they begin writing their paper sothat they are able to put together a first extensive design of their researchplans (aims, objectives, sources and methods). The working language forpapers, presentations and discussion is English. Participants of the courseshould be aware of the fact that sufficient command of English is a necessityfor a useful and satisfying participation.Applications and admissionStudents should apply online and submit a 800 word abstract of the content oftheir dissertation project. A letter of approval from the supervisor can be partof the selection procedure.A first selection of students will take place on the basis of the abstract. Afterthis stage, students who are accepted will be asked to follow a set ofguidelines in order to draft their research paper. The final admission to thecourse depends upon the following points:· the students must meet the deadline for submission of his/her paper.· the quality of the paper: the papers must be of sufficient academicquality, and the level of the English used in the paper must besufficient.In case of equal and sufficient quality of the presentations, students ofeconomic and social history from institutions and countries participating inESTER will be given priority, but the organizers strongly encourage studentsbased on any European university to apply.Dates and locationThe 2013 RDC will take place at the University of Verona, Italy, fromNovember 12th-14th. The course will start on Tuesday at 9.00 AM, so the dayof arrival will be on Monday, November 11th. Students wishing to participateare requested to send in their application no later than June 1st, 2013. For thispurpose it is necessary to use the online form. The selection of students willbe completed by the beginning of June. Deadline for submission of papers byaccepted students is October 1st, 2013. Following that date, the papers will bemade available to all participants on the ESTER-website.Timepad (2013)15 March Call for Applications1 June Deadline application15 June Selection completed, applicants informed1 October Deadline paper submission12 October Papers online for reading12-14 November RDCFundingRegistration costs for the RDC in Verona, which have to be paid beforehand,are € 50,-. Costs for accommodation (November 11th-14th) and catering will becovered by the organizers. However, the student's home institution shouldcover travel costs. Travel arrangements to and from Verona have to beorganized by the selected participants themselves.ContactFor inquiries concerning this course, please contact the program director ofESTER and the N.W. Posthumus Institute:Dr. Marijn MolemaInstitute for History - PO Box 9515 - 2300 RA LEIDEN (The Netherlands)E-mail: nwp@hum.leidenuniv.nl