Across six three-hour sessions, participants work on their own material from the first meeting, taking up the elements of the design: the research problem, the selection of material (objects, cases, data), the relevant literature and theoretical frames, and the structure and scope. These are treated not as a fixed sequence but as parts that have to be brought into conversation, and are then drawn together into the pilot study and a work plan for the coming years. The course involves a significant amount of reading and writing. Attendance at all sessions is mandatory.