Module EDUC3081: NEW DIRECTIONS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE

Department: Education

EDUC3081: NEW DIRECTIONS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• To give students a good understanding of recent trends in reconceptualising the social sciences against a background of contemporary changes in society.
• To this end it attempts to delineate and assess the impact on the social sciences of recent movements, such as postmodernism and post-structuralism and of the writers associated with those movements, particularly Lyotard and Derrida.

Content

• the connections between power and knowledge.
• the rejection of the 'sovereign subject' , with its impact on notions held to be central to the social sciences, eg rationality and autonomy.
• the challenge to the idea that 'truth' consists in a correspondence to 'reality'.
• the foregrounding of language, with the concomitant emphasis on 'textuality'.
• the radical version of relativism sometimes held to be implied by postmodernism.
• scepticism towards linear theories of development and associated conceptions of 'progress'.
• the challenge to Enlightenment-derived ideas of liberty and equality.
• the replacement of the ideal of 'knowledge' by that of 'conversation'.
• 'Incredulity' towards 'grand narratives'.

Learning Outcomes

• Good knowledge of recent work in the theory of social science;
• Good knowledge of the forces shaping the contemporary world;
• Acquired a sophisticated understanding of key social science terms, e.g. postmodernism, poststructuralism, deconstruction.

• To think through and developed their own stance as a social scientist.
• Reflect on the different philosophical perspectives used to explain key concepts within the social sciences.
• Use skills of argumentation as a means of discussing ideas within the domain of social sciences

• communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively in written form.
• manage time and work to deadlines.
• construct and sustain a reasoned argument.
• evaluate and make use of information from a variety of primary and secondary sources.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Students are taught by weekly lectures and fortnightly seminars.
• Students are expected to improve their skills in discussion and argument and the seminars are particularly helpful in encouraging student to question whether it makes sense to think in terms of such skills at all.
• Success in applying these modes of thinking is attested by the annual evaluation.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

One essay during the first term (2000 words max)