SFEL8000

The teaching consists of six introductory lectures and four seminars (two obligatory) distributed over four modules. The seminars in module 3 require active participation from the students. Examination is in the form of written analysis tasks, related to the participants' research interests.

Module 1: Introduction. Basic concepts and perspectives

Tuesday 31 January (13.15 - 16.15) – Room D7, Building 2, Level 3

Wednesday 1 February (13.15 - 16.15) – Room D135, Building 12, Level 4

Thursday 2 February (13.15 - 16.15) – Room D138, Building 12, Level 4

• An overview of ontological and epistemological traditions and their implications for contemporary research traditions within social/behavioral science.
• Paradigmatic traditions - programmatic and "practical", methodological standpoints.
• Controversies within the field of philosophy of science.
• Research questions – possibilities and limitations.
• The role of values in research.
• Research ethics

Module 2: Philosophy of science – methodological implications and strategies.

Monday 27 February (13.15 - 16.15) – Room D138, Building 12, Level 4

Tuesday 28 February (13.15 - 16.15) – Room D135, Building 12, Level 4

Wednesday 29 February (13.15 - 16.15) – Room D135, Building 12, Level 4

• The building blocks of social science – Definitions and concept-formation.
• Descriptive strategies.
• Traditions of interpretation.
• Forms of aggregation and strategies of inference.
• Forms of explanation and explanatory strategies.
• The practical use of theory.
• Social and behavioral science: A cumulative project?

Module 3: Workshop related to the exam

Monday 26 March (13.15 - 17.15) – Room D8, Building 3, Level 3

 Tuesday 27March (13.15 - 17.15) – Room D13, Building 10, Level 4

• Summary.
• Workshop.

Module 4: Seminar with feedback (not obligatory]

Monday 16 April (13.15 - 16.15) – Room D8, Building 3, Level 3

 Tuesday 17 April (13.15 - 16.15) – Room D135, Building 12, Level 4

 Feedback on examination tasks.

• Tutorial related to specific PhD-projects.

 

Reading list:

 (Selection to be made, dependent on participant's research interests).

Abbot, A. 2004. Methods of Discovery. Heuristics for the Social Sciences, New York, London, W.W. Norton & Company.

Becker, H.S. 1998. Tricks of the Trade. How to Think About Your Research While You Are Doing It. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Benton, T. & Craib, I. 2001. Philosophy of Social Science. The Philosophical Foundations of Social Thought. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Bourdieu, P. 2004. Science of Science and Reflexivity. Oxford: Polity.

Delanty, G. & Strydom, P. (eds.) .2003. Philosophies of Social Science. The Classic and Contemporary Readings.Maidenhead ; Philadelphia: Open University Press.

Hacking, I. 1999. The Social Construction of What? Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press.

Harding, S. (ed.).2004. The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader. Intellectual and Political Controversies. New York: Routledge.

Martin. M. & McIntyre. L. C. (eds.) 1994. Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science, Cambridge, Mass. The MIT-Press.

Montuschi, E.2003. The Objects of Social Science. London: Continuum.

Newton-Smith, W.H. (ed).2001. A Companion to the Philosophy of Science, Oxford, Blackwell Publishers Ltd.

Steel, D. and Guala, F (eds). 2011. The Philosophy of Social Science Reader, London and New York, Routledge.

Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences, Law and the Humanities, http://ethics.gc.ca/francais/pdf/links/GuidelinesResearchEthicsintheSocialSciencesLawHumanities.pdf

Additional material related to the participants research interests.

 

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