PHIL 370. PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

Earlham College, Fall Semester 2007-2008
Monday, Thursday 1:00-2:20 Carpenter 321
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 328
Office Hours: 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 connected with imperialism, colonialism and global capitalism.  The modern scientific worldview that determines the scope of the social sciences presupposes the perspective of subjectivity. 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 of the social sciences needs to be reevaluated. 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") discourse.

Reading Assignments: (available in the Earlham College bookstore)
Michel Foucault, The Order of Things, (New York: Vintage Books, 1994)
Mitchell, Timothy. Colonising Egypt, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991)

In addition to these texts, the following readings will be available on Moodle.
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 (5-7 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: 15%; Paper 2: 20%; Paper 3: 20%; Paper 4: 20%; Presentation 15%; 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 1:00 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: Introduction to the course
January 10: No Reading

Week 2:
January 14: Heidegger, "The Age of the World Picture"
January 17: Heidegger, "The Age of the World Picture"

Week 3:
January 21: Heidegger, "Science and Reflection "
January 24: Heidegger, "Science and Reflection "

Week 4:
January 28: Foucault, The Order of Things, Part I: 1st Paper Due
January 31: Foucault, The Order of Things, Part I

Week 5:
February 4: Foucault, The Order of Things, Part II
February 7: Foucault, The Order of Things, Part II

Week 6:
February 11: Foucault, The Order of Things, Part III
February 14: Foucault, The Order of Things, Part III

Week 7:
February 18: Foucault, The Order of Things, Part IV
February 21: Midsemester Break

Week 8:
February 25: Mitchell, Colonising Egypt; 2nd Paper Due
February 28: Mitchell, Colonising Egypt

Week 9:
March 3: Mitchell, Colonising Egypt
March 6: Mitchell, Colonising Egypt

Week 10:
March 10: Mitchell, Colonising Egypt
March 13: Mitchell, Colonising Egypt

March 15-March 23: Spring Break

Week 11:
March 24: Scott, "The Evidence of Experience"; 3rd Paper Due
March 27: Scott, "The Evidence of Experience"; Collins, "Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought"

Week 12:
March 31: Collins, "Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought"
April 3: No Class.

Week 13:
April 7: Mohanty, "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses"
April 10: Mohanty, "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses"; Derrida, Jacques. "The future of the profession or the university without condition..."

Week 14:
April 14: Derrida, Jacques. "The future of the profession or the university without condition..."
April 17: Review