Working with Concepts

In this course, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of positivist reconstruction and interpretivist elucidation, including their presuppositions, objectives, and tools. You will learn how to construct concepts by defining and organising properties, placing them on a ladder of generality, building complex ladders that incorporate diminished subtypes, and evaluating their quality based on criteria such as external differentiation, internal coherence, explanatory utility, and content validity.

You will also be introduced to basic elucidative strategies inspired by ordinary language philosophy and Foucauldian genealogy, and learn how to recognise and address issues of one-sidedness, universalism, and objectivism in social science concepts.

How the course will work online

This course takes advantage of the flexibility afforded by online teaching to offer a rich, multi-modal learning experience that includes:

• Pre-course readings that provide you with foundational knowledge about working with concepts in the social sciences.
• Independent but collaborative reading that gives you foundational knowledge about working with concepts.
• Recorded lectures that teach you about the presuppositions, aims, and tools of positivist reconstruction and interpretivist elucidation.
• Independent exercises that allow you to build your reconstructive and elucidative skills.
• Live sessions that give an opportunity for class discussion and afford you practice in reconstructing and elucidating a concept that you have chosen yourself.

To avoid online fatigue, the course employs a pedagogy that includes small-group work, short and focused tasks, as well as troubleshooting exercises that utilise a variety of online applications to facilitate collaboration and engagement with the course content.

During the week, you should expect to spend roughly four hours each day on homework (readings, watching videos, completing exercises) in addition to the three-hour live class sessions.

What you'll need

A concept or two
You will need to identify one or two concepts relevant to your own research interests. You'll be working with these concepts during several hands-on exercises.

Hardware, software and database requirements

• Internet connection on a computer with Zoom installed
• Ability to work in Google docs.
• Access (from your home institution) to Jstor and the Oxford English Dictionary is optimal but not essential.
• A tablet, laptop or second monitor to view worksheets during live sessions may be useful but is not essential.

There is no prior knowledge required for this course. All of the information you need will be covered in the lectures and tutorials.

During the week of the course, you will spend three hours per day in live class sessions. You should expect to devote, in addition, roughly four hours each day to homework (readings, watching videos, completing exercises).  The instructor will conduct live Q&A sessions and offer designated office hours for one-to-one consultations.

Disclaimer

This course description may be subject to subsequent adaptations (e.g. taking into account new developments in the field, participant demands, group size, etc.). Registered participants will be informed at the time of change.

By registering for this course, you confirm that you possess the knowledge required to follow it. The instructor will not teach these prerequisite items. If in doubt, please contact us before registering.