The History of Debates in Sociology and Anthropology

lpols1316  2020-2021  Louvain-la-Neuve

The History of Debates in Sociology and Anthropology
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information below is subject to change, in particular that concerning the teaching mode (presential, distance or in a comodal or hybrid format).
8 credits
45.0 h + 20.0 h
Q1
Teacher(s)
Laurent Pierre-Joseph; Mangez Eric;
Language
French
Prerequisites

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.
Main themes
The course tries to avoid presenting the history of these disciplines either as the development of one great theory, or as a succession of unrelated, arbitrary and immeasurable theories. Instead, the course attempts to reconstruct this history around major theoretical issues in social sciences in terms of a series of theoretical dialogues set within specific historical contexts. It will cover subjects characteristic of both the 19th and 20th centuries. The protagonists in the debates discussed during the course have their philosophical roots in research traditions and their historical roots in societies whose preconceptions and conflicts they share.
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 The general objective of this course is to provide students with the knowledge and conceptual tools they need to deconstruct and rebuild for themselves not social phenomena, but the social theories intended to identify and explain them and direct attempts to regulate, transform and control them. The aim therefore, is to consider the context of genesis of the theories (where do they come from? which societies produce them, which conflicts?), their context of application (to whom or for what are they of use?) and the philosophical preconceptions underpinning them. Although the course does not adopt a uniquely historical approach, it is nevertheless this approach that forms the main thread. In particular, students should, by the end of the course, have acquired a capacity to: - give an account of some important theoretical and meta-theoretical controversies within the social sciences - identify the historical and practical context of the formulation of a theory - analyse the philosophical and political preconceptions of a particular theorist or school of thought
 
Content
The reading of at least a book and classic, or more contemporary, texts
Faculty or entity
ESPO


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology

Minor in Sociology and Anthropology