* The Final WW Date is the final date from which you can withdraw from the unit without academic penalty, however you will still incur a financial liability (see Withdrawal dates explained for more information).
This unit provides an introduction to core issues in the philosophy of social science and the philosophy of history. The unit will assess the nature and role of social scientific and historical theories, the ways in which such theories are related to the evidence, the different forms of social scientific and historical explanation, and the nature of social scientific and historical understanding. A key motif throughout the unit will be the possibility of truth and objectivity in social scientific and historical inquiry, and the role of evaluative commitment in such inquiry.
Specific topics may include: individualist and collectivist models of analysis, symbolist and functionalist models, the idea of the 'grand narrative', the Standard Social Science Model, the relationship between the social and historical sciences and psychology, and the autonomy of the social sciences.
WEIGHT: 12.5%
ASSESSMENT: 2,000 word assignment (40%), 3-hr end of semester exam (60%)
Units are offered in attending mode unless otherwise indicated (that is attendance is required at the campus identified). A unit identified as offered by distance, that is there is no requirement for attendance, is identified with a nominal enrolment campus. A unit offered to both attending students and by distance from the same campus is identified as having both modes of study.
Campus - H Hobart, L Launceston, W Burnie. Study Centre - V Sydney, R Rozelle, P Beauty Point. Distance units may also have a campus identifier of I Isolated, N Interstate, O Overseas. Units delivered in Transnational Education (TNE) Programs have a campus identifier of A Hangzhou, F Fuzhou, G Shanghai, K KDU Malaysia, Q Kuwait or Y Hong Kong.
Special approval is required for enrolment into TNE Program units - campuses A, F, G, K, Q and Y click here for more information.
