Introduction to Social Science

Objectives

The main goal of the curricular unit is to provide students a theoretical framework on the birth and development of social sciences and its several disciplines, with control of concepts, social theories and problems, in order to learn how to think society and social structure and social dynamics in a transdisciplinary way.

1. Generic skills:

1.1. Organization and fluency of oral and written expression.

1.2. Capacity of analysis and synthesis.

1.3. Capacity to cope with complex and contradictory information.

1.4. Capacity to conceptualize and to question.

2. Specific skills:

2.1. Generic knowledge on the birth and development of social sciences and its different disciplines, with control of concepts, social theories and problems which will be studied in depth in other courses.

2.2. Capacity to think society, social structures and social dynamics in a crossdisciplinary way, starting from questions that are common to the different social sciences.

Program

Introduction:

What is knowledge?

1. The common sense interpretations. The rationalist proposal of breaking up with the pre-notions: relativization, putting into relation, selfreflexivity. Good science versus bad science: the question of values; science as social knowledge.

2. The concepts of “society” and “social”. Humanities or social sciences? Why do social sciences exist? The object and the scope of social sciences. The birth of the disciplines and the growth of the social sciences field: authors and theories.

3. Objectivity/subjectivity: is it possible to have a “neutral” social science? The question of the “axiaological neutrality”: its defenders and its critics. Rationality, objectivity and relativism. The different types of relativism. The contribution of the postmodern criticism to the debate.

4. Paired concepts as false contradictions or controversies.

Conclusion:

Social sciences and society in the 21rst century.

Teaching Methodologies

1. In the curricular unit the teaching methodologies will be of two kinds: magistral and student-centered active methodologies (oral presentation and debates).

2. The teacher’s magistral presentation will focus mainly on the theoretic issues, highlighting the way social sciences grew, the contribution of certain social scientists to the debates and suggesting what are the key problems in social sciences today.

3. Students will read and debate in class texts related with the central problems that are studied in the curricular unit. This will show if the concepts were correctly understood. Thus, the students themselves will participate in teaching in a way that we believe will improve the integration of teaching and learning.

Bibliography

CORCUFF, Philippe, As Novas Sociologias. A realidade social em construção, “Heterodoxias”, 2ª ed., Sintra, VRAL, 2001 [edição original: 1995].

COSTA, António Firmino da, Sociologia, “O que é”, 4ª ed., Lisboa, Quimera, 2003 [edição original: 1992].

FERNANDES, António Teixeira, Recomposição Social e Abordagens Teóricas, “Biblioteca das Ciências Sociais, 71”, Porto, Edições Afrontamento, 2009.

LAHIRE, Bernard, L’esprit sociologique, “Textes à l’appui”, Paris, La Découverte, 2005.

LAHIRE, Bernard, Monde pluriel. Penser l’unité des sciences sociales, “La couleurs des idées”, Paris, Éditions du Seuil, 2012.

SILVA, Augusto Santos, Entre a Razão e o Sentido. Durkheim, Weber e a Teoria das Ciências Sociais, “Biblioteca das Ciências do Homem, 9”, 3ª ed., Porto, Edições Afrontamento, 2001 [edição original: 1988].

SKINNER, Quentin (dir.), As Ciências Humanas e os seus grandes pensadores, “Nova Enciclopédia, 31”, Lisboa, Publicações Dom Quixote, 1992 [edição original: 1985].