SS5102 Philosophy and Methodology of Social Science is a module that aims to expose you to the epistemological underpinnings of research, develop your knowledge of a variety of methods of data collection and data analysis, give you practical experience of research and enable you to design and undertake your own independent projects in future. In particular it seeks to challenge you to think about the epistemological assumptions underlying your own MRes research project and about how and whether these tally with your evolving methodology. SS5102 is a chiefly seminar based module.
- To introduce students to the basic theoretical approaches to the social sciences.
- To give students an awareness of a broad range of debates that constitute these approaches
- To encourage students to make connections between the methodological and epistemological issues involved in conducting social scientific research
- To encourage students to reflect critically their own experience.
Students who perform well in this module will:
Demonstrate knowledge of:
- The basic theoretical approaches to social scientific research,
- The major philosophical and methodological debates in contemporary social science.
Have developed the following skills :
- The ability to make an informed choice about different theoretical approaches
- The capacity to critically reflect on both the content and process of a research project and to identify and understand the major philosophical and methodological issues arising within it.
- The ability to lead a stimulating seminar discussion.
- The proficiency to write about philosophical and methodological issues in a clear and concise manner.
The module will be assessed by mean of one short (1500 word) review of a relevant book or article in the philosophy or methodology of social science (35% of overall mark), one longer (3500) essay (65% of overall mark).
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Introduction:
This week will be introductory and discuss some general aspects of the module, discussion of students backgrounds and projects as well as assigning presentations and so on.
The Historical Evolution of the Social Sciences:
This session will present an introduction to the historical evolution of the social sciences. It will emphasise the contingent and personal factors in social science and examine the breadth of the fields involved. It will look at some of the major and foundational figures and issues (Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Freud).
Positivist Social Science: the Inductive Method - from Classical Positivism to Karl Popper .
This seminar focuses upon the philosophical, epistemological and methodological aspects of classical positivism and the inductive approach to the social sciences. It also deals with The Vienna Circle and the emergence of Popper's theory of falsification, and the nature of functional explanations, including system theory and the impact of these developments on the social sciences in general.
Gender and the Social Sciences
This session will examine the impact of gender studies and, in particular, feminist insights into the work of the social sciences.
Interpretive Social Science
This session examines the characteristics and manner of the leading interpretive approaches to social science (for example cultural anthropology, verstehen social theory etc). It will also examine in detail what is at issue between interpretive and positivistic modes of social understanding.
Critical Theory and the Social Sciences.
This session examines one of the most generally influential traditions of philosophical reflections on the social world the tradition of ‘critical theory', associated with the so-called Frankfurt school and, especially today, with its leading contemporary representative, Jurgen Habermas.
Post-structuralism
This session will focus largely on what are often called post structural or post-modern methods and their assumptions
Debating Reason and Rationality
This session would focus on one of the central philosophical and methodological questions of social science: How we should understand and employ the notion of rationality
New Methods in the Social Sciences?
TopThis session looks at a number of possible new directions the philosophy and methodology of social science might be taking.