Application deadline

September 1th for Ph.D.-students from UiT the Arctic University of Norway

June 1st for Ph.D.-students from other universities and participants at UiT Associate Professors Programme. Application code: 9303.

Type of course

Admission requirements

• category 1: doctoral students at UiT
• category 2: Participants in the Associate Professor Programme at UiT who fulfil the preliminary knowledge requirements
• category 3: doctoral students from other universities

Course content

The common part includes selected contemporary topics related to the philosophy of science. These topics are fundamental for the study of sociocultural phenomena. They concern:

• realism versus constructivism
• the ontological distinction between natural and social phenomena
• consciousness and intentionality
• social and institutional reality
• speech Act Theory
• truth, explanation and understanding

The specialization part in social sciences deals with:

• central features in the methodology and practices of the social sciences (such as concept formation, development and use of theory)
• the role as researcher
• selected current challenges within the philosophies of social sciences

The specialization part in the humanities deals with: Central methodological problems in the humanities, with a view to their practical implications. The discussion will centre around the following key words:

• hermeneutics and prejudice
• nomothetic vs. ideographic research
• the functions of theory
• theoretical pluralism
• the concept of paradigm in the humanities
• the use of theory as method
• method as ethics

The specialization part in linguistics deals with: What are the challenges linguists faces in the information age? How do these challenges inform our theoretical ideas, our methodologies and the data we choose to test our hypotheses against? We will discuss these questions against a historical background, and see how the language sciences have changed in the twentieth century, with special focus on:

• European and American structuralism
• the Chomskyan revolution
• the socio-linguistic turn in the seventies
• the renewed interest in language as a cognitive system towards the end of the twentieth century
• the quantitative turn in the beginning of the twenty-first century

With these historical events in mind we will ask how linguistics can find its place as a science between the humanities, the hard sciences and the social sciences.

Objectives of the course

The student will have gained knowledge and understanding of:

Knowledge:

• important and influential issues within general philosophy of science and philosophy of sciences specific to the student's field
• key conceptual and methodological issues within the philosophy of science
• methodological, epistemological and ontological assumptions that are involved in these issues

Skills

• The students will be able to identify, reason about and take a stand on relevant issues related to the philosophy of science in their own research project and other scientific works within the students' subject area.

General competence

• The students will be able to participate in an informed way in the public debate on issues related to the philosophy of science.

Language of instruction and examination

The language of instruction is Norwegian or English, depending on the composition of the student group. The course is advertised in English.

The language of examination can be chosen among English, Norwegian, Danish or Swedish.

Teaching methods

The instruction involves class attendance and lasts for four days. The course has a tripartite structure:

• Common part
• One or more parallel specialized parts. In the years when more than one specialized part is offered, the students may choose the one corresponding to their research interests (social sciences, humanities or linguistics)
• Workshop with presentations of own drafts and comments on the drafts of others.

The instruction is given every fall term. It is not possible to take the examination during terms when there is no teaching.

The PhD candidates must submit a draft of about 2¿3 pages approximately three weeks before the course starts. The draft must include a proposition of topics to be discussed during the workshop, or the questions to be answered in the final course paper. The draft must contain a justification of the scientific relevance of the chosen topic/question. Every student must present his/her draft before his/her fellow students and the leader of the group.  Every student must comment the draft of another student. Participation and 80% attendance are obligatory. The assessment of the work requirements is made on an approved/not approved basis.

Assessment

A paper of 3 000-3 750 words. The paper must present a reflection of issues related to philosophy of science in the student's doctoral thesis, own research, or discipline. Potential topics/issues for the paper: methodological problems, application of theory, the relation between theory and empirical material, reflections on your own role as a researcher etc. The syllabus as well as additional literature can be referred to in the paper to identify such topics and issues. The paper must be submitted for assessment about six weeks after the completion of the course. The examination is evaluated according to the pass/fail grading system.

Students who have failed may register for a re-sit examination.

Recommended reading/syllabus