PHIL 370. PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

Earlham College, Fall Semester 2005-2006
Monday, Thursday 1:00-2:20 Carpenter 315
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 328
Office Hours: Wednesday, Friday 10:00-11:00, and by appointment
Office Phone: 983-1399
e-mail: guvenfe@earlham.edu

Course Description: The aim of the course is to understand the philosophical foundations of the social sciences.  In particular we will concentrate on the relationship between modern science and its historical, political and cultural prerequisites and consequences.  We will see how modern scientific discourse is implicated in issues such as imperialism, colonialism and global capitalism.  The scientific worldview that emerged in modernity presupposed the perspective of subjectivity. The social sciences also endorsed this perspective. However, the modernist conviction that a society is either a collection of independent and free individual subjects, or itself behaves like a general subject with a will and intentions, has been significantly discredited in the 20th Century. In light of these philosophical developments, the methodology, as well as the complicity of the social sciences in imperialism and colonialism need to be rethought. This methodological transformation has important implications for the analysis of power in society. In relation to these transformations, we will investigate how questions of gender, race, and class are framed within modern ("scientific") society.

Reading Assignments: (available in the Earlham College bookstore)
Horkheimer, M. and Adorno,  T. The Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments, trans. E. Jephcott, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002)
Mitchell, Timothy. Colonising Egypt, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991)
Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality: An Introduction, (New York: Vintage Books, 1990)

In addition to these texts, the following readings are on reserve at the Lilly Library (as books and/or in photocopy form) and in the Philosophy Department.
Heidegger, Martin. "The Age of the World Picture" and "Science and Reflection" from The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, (New York: Harper and Row, 1977).
Joan Scott, "The Evidence of Experience" from Feminist Approaches to Theory and Methodology, eds. S. Hesse-Biber, C. Gilmartin, R. Lydenberg, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 79-99.
Patricia Hill Collins, "Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought" from Feminist Approaches to Theory and Methodology, eds. S. Hesse-Biber, C. Gilmartin, R. Lydenberg, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 155-178.
Chandra Talpade Mohanty, "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses" from Contemporary Postcolonial Theory, (London: Arnold, 1996), 172-197. 
Derrida, Jacques. "The future of the profession or the university without condition (thanks to the 'Humanities,' what could take place tomorrow" from Jacques Derrida and the Humanities, ed. T. Cohen, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 24-57.

Requirements and Evaluation: This course will be conducted in a seminar format. Therefore, attandance and participation are important dimensions of the course and your grade. I expect you to come to class prepared and ready to participate, i.e., having read the text carefully, and ready to raise and answer questions.

You are expected to write four papers (4-6 pages). These papers will be mainly explanation or exegesis of the text. I will provide topics for each of these assignments. Your are also encouraged to decide on your own topic/question.  For every paper (including papers on topics of your own choice) you are responsible for the general guidelines provided.  See "Comments and Suggestions for Papers."

Each student will prepare one presentation. These presentations will consists of two parts. The first part will be a protocol.
A protocol is a carefully edited summary/notes of the previous class session written in full sentences. Protocols will be 2 single-spaced pages and will be photocopied by the student who wrote it and handed out to all students at the beginning of each class to be read aloud.  The protocol will serve as a cumulative record of the course. In addition to reviewing the material covered in the previous class, it should include announcements made in class and questions not addressed in class. The best protocols will be those that do not simply reproduce word for word everything that was said during class, but that rearrange the material thematically, editing out what was unimportant and emphasizing what was significant. One of the advantages of the protocols is to allow you to think during class and not just take notes; because someone will be taking notes for you, you can concentrate on the ideas being presented, and participate without having to write constantly. Also, you will have a summary of every class which will help you with writing papers.
The second part of your presentation will introduce us to the new reading for the day. The most important dimension of this part of your presentation is to articulate the connections between the material we covered in the previous class and readings we will cover in the current session. This presentation will include a brief summary of the readings assigned for the day, and raise questions concerning this material. I do not expect you to cover everything in the reading for the day. These presentations are designed to initiate and maintain class discussion at a high level.

Your grade will be calculated according to the following distribution: Paper 1: 20%; Paper 2: 20%; Paper 3: 20%; Paper 4: 20% Presentation 10%; Participation and Attendance: 10%.
There will be no final examination.

The success of this course depends on your contribution. Even though I am not inclined to legislate strict attendance policies, you will fail this course, regardless of your grade, if you miss more than four sessions.

Office hours are for students to discuss ideas, assignments and questions. You are encouraged and welcome to come by my office or make appointments for times other than scheduled office hours. You should take advantage of office hours and appointments not simply to discuss your papers (you are obviously welcome to do that too) but also to understand ideas, and texts discussed in class, or discuss your own ideas.

Our sessions will start at 2:30 pm. Students are expected to come on time. Walking into (and out of) the classroom while the session is in progress is very disruptive for everybody.  I ask you not to do these. For every two late attendance you will be marked absent for one class session.

Any student with a documented disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the instructor and Disability Services Office (Academic Support Services) at the beginning of the semester. Accommodation arrangements must be made during the first-two weeks of the semester.

Calendar: There will be several modifications to this calendar. It is your responsibility to be aware of these changes. These changes will be announced in class. If you miss a class you should make sure that you are informed about the assignments for the next session.

Week 1:
August 25:  Introduction to the course

Week 2:
August 29:  Heidegger, "The Age of the World Picture"
September 1:  Heidegger, "The Age of the World Picture"

Week 3:
September 5:  Heidegger, "Science and Reflection"
September 8:  Heidegger, "Science and Reflection"

Week 4:
September 12: Adorno and Horkheimer, The Dialectic of Enlightenment
September 15: Adorno and Horkheimer, The Dialectic of Enlightenment

Week 5:
September 19: Adorno and Horkheimer, The Dialectic of Enlightenment
September 22: Adorno and Horkheimer, The Dialectic of Enlightenment

Week 6:
September 26: Mitchell, Colonising Egypt
September 29: Mitchell, Colonising Egypt

Week 7:
October 3: Mitchell, Colonising Egypt
October 6: Mitchell, Colonising Egypt

Week 9:
October 17:  Scott, "The Evidence of Experience"
October 20:  Scott, "The Evidence of Experience"; Collins, "Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought"

Week 10:
October 24: Collins, "Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought"; Mohanty, "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses"
October 27: Mohanty, "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses"

Week 11:
October 31:  Foucault, History of Sexuality
November 3: Foucault, History of Sexuality

Week 12:
November 7:  Foucault, History of Sexuality
November 10:   Foucault, History of Sexuality

Week 13:
November 14:  Foucault, History of Sexuality
November 17:  Foucault, History of Sexuality

November 21-November 25:  Fall Break