Unit name | Philosophy of Social Science |
---|---|
Unit code | SOCIM3125 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Professor. McLennan |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The main purpose of the unit is to examine some of the main developments and issues in what is traditionally known as the 'philosophy of social science', or in a more recent phrase, the 'meta-theory' of the social sciences. As part of this task, we need to address the current climate of opinion concerning the status of the idea of 'social science' itself. What exactly does the 'science' in the 'social' signify, and the 'social' in the 'science'? A closely related question is: what is the nature and role of theorizing in social science understanding today? These questions lead us to some interesting conceptual dualisms and pairings such as: positivism/post-positivism, explanation/interpretation, objectivism/relativism, science/ideology, universalism/situationism, and realism/constructionism. The unit relates these ideas to the practice of social science and the 'culture wars' that continue to divide the modern academy.
This Unit alms to:
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
The main method of teaching will be weekly face-to-face seminar sessions which will Involve a combination of lecturing, group discussion and student presentations.
The assessment will relate directly to one of more of the learning outcomes specified above in 15 and will be an extended essay of 4000 words (or equivalent) showing an in-depth understanding and integration of key aspects of the unit.
Contemporary Readings Open University Press, 2003 .