Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course, the student will be able to:

• demonstrate a broad understanding of the history of the social sciences and the humanities and their developments in social contexts in the 20th century
• describe and discuss the main features of recent studies on the history of the humanities and social sciences
• demonstrate an ability to analyze and compare a selection of examples from the humanities and social sciences by using the concepts of boundaries, persona and knowledge circulation
• critically reflect upon the roles and uses of social scientific and humanities knowledge and what it means to be a researcher in these disciplines today.

Content

In recent decades, historical research on the social sciences and the humanities (SSH) has grown stronger and developed more dynamically. The aim of the course is to give an overview and introduction to the history of the SSH and their changing societal roles in Sweden and internationally in the light of this recent research and to discuss how this new historiography relates to the existing and broader research on the history of science and knowledge. The course applies a long time perspective with a chronological focus on the development in the 20th century to the present day. Particular conceptual focus is placed on the circulation and boundaries of SSH knowledge, as well as the changing roles and personae of SSH researchers. How has the field of the SSH changed in the 20th century? In what ways have the boundaries between different disciplines, fields of science and politics been defined? How was the role of the SSH legitimized in the Swedish welfare state compared to other national contexts? How can we understand the uses and functions of SSH knowledge? What is the position of the SSH today? The course combines overview lectures with thematically in-depth seminar discussions based on a number of selected key texts and case studies. 

Instruction

The language of instruction is English. The course consists of compulsory seminars and lectures.

Assessment

Assessment will be based upon written and oral assignments.