PIM54: Philosophical Issues in the Social Sciences

Module code: PIM54

Module provider: Graduate Institute for Politics and International Studies

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor Alan Cromartie, email: a.d.t.cromartie@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This is a research training module that is aimed at doctoral students and MA students equipping themselves for future doctoral study.Ìý It introduces students to philosophical, methodological, and ethical questions inseparable from research design in Politics and International Relations.Ìý

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:Ìý

1. Identify philosophical and methodological assumptions in programmes of researchÌý
2. Select methods that are suited to their dissertation projectsÌýÌý
3. State their own methodological assumptionsÌý
4. Reflect upon ethical questions that arise from their researchÌý

Module content

The module will introduce students to the philosophy of social science through considering such topics asÌý

1. The search for covering lawsÌý
2. Kuhnian paradigmsÌý
3. Methodological individualismÌý
4. Durkheimian holismÌý
5. Collingwoodian historicismÌý
6. Causal explanationÌý
7. The idea of interpretationÌý
8. The claims and character of MarxismÌý
9. The applicability or otherwise of Darwinian ideas in social scienceÌý
10. Rational actor theoriesÌý
11. The ideal of value-freedomÌý

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will be taught through two-hour classes involving guided reading of relatively abstract philosophical material.

Study hours

At least 22 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.