Undergraduate Course: Knowledge and Social Criticism (SCIL10066)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Sociologists have been debating and disputing the nature of social scientific knowledge, and the most desirable political orientation for social inquirers to adopt since the discipline came into being. This course explores the interconnections between four different 'images' of sociological inquiry, their conceptions of sociological investigation and their views on the appropriate stance towards political and moral debates. These images range from positivist conceptions, where social inquirers are encouraged to be scientists who set their value-judgements to one side, to postmodernist accounts, where the ideal of sociology as a science and the notion that value-judgements can be set aside, are questioned. Also considered are interpretive approaches, arguing the importance of grasping actors' perspectives on the social world, and critical/emancipatory orientations, seeing social scientific knowledge playing key roles in the liberation of social actors from domination and repression. This course critically assesses these approaches considers and appraises pieces of research linked to each perspective. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | No |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Sociology courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
| After successful completion of this course the student will have developed an understanding of theories and debates concerning relationships between knowledge and power, and will be able critically to assess contrasting approaches.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jonathan Hearn
Tel: (0131 6)50 4242
Email: J.Hearn@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Sue Renton
Tel: (0131 6)50 6958
Email: Sue.Renton@ed.ac.uk |
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