Course PhD masterclass with Professor Paulina Sliwa

Course description

This PhD masterclass is organized in connection with Professor Paulina Sliwa’s visit to Aarhus University as the 2025 Hartnack Lecturer. Professor Sliwa (https://paulinasliwa.weebly.com/) is a leading philosopher working in moral psychology, ethics, epistemology, and feminist philosophy. The event offers a unique opportunity for PhD students to engage with her expertise in a focused, high-level academic setting.

The purpose of the masterclass is to support PhD students in developing material from their dissertations into publishable research papers. The workshop is structured around individual presentations in which each student presents a core idea or chapter from their dissertation that they believe holds the potential to become a journal article. The format emphasizes clarity, precision, and argumentative focus, and the presentations will receive detailed comments from Professor Sliwa and local faculty members.

Prior to the session, each participant is expected to prepare a short presentation responding to five guiding questions. These questions are designed to help students articulate the context, problem, relevance, contribution, and methodology of their research. During the workshop, each student will have 15 minutes to present, followed by 10 minutes of in-depth feedback and discussion.

This course aims not only to sharpen participants’ understanding of their own projects, but also to provide training in how to communicate complex research ideas in a clear and publishable form. It provides a rare opportunity for direct dialogue with an internationally recognized senior scholar and fosters a collegial environment for exchange and feedback among peers. The masterclass is particularly well suited for students who are at a stage in their PhD project where they are preparing to submit work for publication or conference presentation.

Aim/Learning outcomes

Participating PhD students will:

• Sharpen their research focus by clearly articulating their project’s core problem and significance
• Develop a structured introduction to a publishable article
• Receive targeted feedback from an internationally renowned philosopher and invited faculty
• Improve their ability to present complex research ideas clearly and persuasively
• Strengthen their academic writing and presentation skills

Requirements for participation:

Each participating PhD student should prepare a short presentation by addressing the following five key questions on five slides, one slide per question:

1. Context and background: What is the academic setting and intellectual tradition in which your idea is situated?
2. Problem statement: What is the specific problem or issue you aim to analyze?
3. Relevance: Why is this problem significant—both academically and in broader societal terms?
4. Contribution: What is your original contribution to the topic?
5. Methodology and approach: How will you address the problem (methods, arguments, analytical techniques)?

By responding to these questions, each PhD student will effectively outline a structured introduction to a potential research paper. The focus will be on crafting a clear and precise presentation of their idea, which will receive feedback from Professor Sliwa and local faculty.

Target group/Participants

The course is open to all PhD students, but it is particularly relevant for those who are at a stage in their project where they are beginning to prepare material for publication or conference presentation. It is especially suited for students who have developed a clear research idea or chapter and are seeking structured feedback to refine it into a publishable paper.

Workload

• Course/ teaching hours: 7.5 (including breaks)
• Preparation hours: 10 hours (developing presentation and slides)

Language 

• English

Lecturers

• Paulina Sliwa, professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Vienna
• Jens Christian Bjerring, professor, Department of Philosophy, Aarhus University
• Lauritz Munch, assistant professor, Department of Philosophy, Aarhus University

Literature

• To be distributed after the application deadline.

Venue 

• 24 November 2025. 09.00-17.00. Jens Chr. Skous Vej 2 , 8000 Aarhus C. Building 1485, room 542

Course dates:

• 24 November 2025 09:00 - 17:00