| Abstract: | This seminar provides a foundation and overview for students in the Honors in
the Social Sciences Program. It introduces students to theories and methods
from several social scientific disciplines, emphasizing the diversity of
approaches through which knowledge about ТsocietyУ is produced in the
academy today. Specific topics include the rise of the
social
sciences
in
Europe and the United States from the late 19th century to the present, the
connection between abstract theory and empirical research, and the
contributions to knowledge production of different social scientific methods,
such as archival research, ethnography, household surveys and statistics. Over
the course of the semester, we will make an effort to place the development of
major disciplinary paradigms, schools of thought and scholarly debates in their
wider social and political contexts. Faculty from across the Queens College
Division of Social Sciences will give guest lectures.
General Education Requirements: This course fulfills two general education
requirements. Through its discussion of social science
theories and
methods,
it fulfills the ТAnalyzing Social StructuresУ Area requirement. Because
it discusses the rise of the social sciences as a distinct intellectual
tradition of the so-called ТWest,У it fulfills the ТEuropean
TraditionsУ Context of Experience requirement. |
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