Postgraduate Module Descriptor

SOCM002A: Philosophy of the Social Sciences 1

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The module aims to promote a reflective attitude to the nature and foundations of social scientific and related forms of social inquiry in general, and to your own domain of inquiry and research interests in particular. It introduces and familiarises you to with a range of central philosophical concepts and ideas that will aid this endeavour. Through learning how to think philosophically and to pose philosophical questions on the nature and possibility of social inquiry the module aims to enable you to come to see more clearly the theoretical and philosophical foundations and presuppositions of your discipline and to facilitate reflection and clarity on the nature, limits and possibilities of social scientific knowledge and understanding.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate comprehensive knowledge and understanding of central philosophical concepts pertaining to the ontological, epistemological and normative foundations of social inquiry. 2. show how philosophical analysis offers insight into the fundamental nature of the social world and identifies explanatory and interpretive issues in seeking to know and understand it 3. illustrate how philosophical analysis can aid the assessment and evaluation of the findings and claims of, and theoretical and methodological disputes within, social scientific inquiry. 4. draw on philosophical concepts and ideas in to illuminate explanatory and interpretive issues in students own domain of inquiry
Discipline-Specific Skills	5. recognise and debate the contested and provisional nature of knowledge and understanding 6. identify and evaluate approaches to problem-solving 7. think philosophically and theoretically and to apply this ability to the students own research questions.
Personal and Key Skills	8. undertake independent/self-directed learning (including time management) to achieve consistent, proficient and sustained attainment 9. work as a participant or leader of a group and contribute effectively to the achievement of objectives. 10. reflect on the process of learning and evaluate personal strengths and weaknesses. Apply ideas to new situations.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

What is philosophy of social science?
Social and institutional ontology: the nature and conditions of the social and cultural world
Holism and individualism: the nature of collective action and collective responsibility
Structure and agency: social determinism and individual agency
Realism and social constructionism: the debate over reality and social construction (race, class, gender, sexuality, scientific knowledge)
The Idea of a social science: the Wittgensteinian critique and its critics
Social science, ethics and the fact-value distinction

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activites	22	11 x 2 hour seminars
Guided Independent Study	10	Time preparing for 750 word summary
Guided Independent Study	68	Time doing weekly readings
Guided Independent Study	40	Time preparing summative essay(s)
Guided Independent Study	10	Independent study

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).