Introduction to Social Sciences

Code:

LPSI111

Acronym:

ICS

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Social and Human Sciences

Instance: 2023/2024 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Psychology
Course/CS Responsible:	First degree in Psychology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LPSIC	187	Official Curricular Structure	1	-	3	27	81

Teaching language

Portuguese
Obs.: Português

Objectives

To provide a general view on the antecedents and forerunners of Social Sciences.
To introduce students to the evolutionary perspective on social behavior.

Learning outcomes and competences

At the end of the Unit, the students should be able to identify biological constraints of human social behavior, integrating knowledge from the areas of Paleontology, Evolutionary Biology, Sociobiology, Evolutionary Psychology and Anthropology, and to recognize several connections between Psychology and the other social sciences.

Students should be apt to initiate an informed debate on the nature/nurture dichotomy in psychological explanation.

They should also be able to approach the evolution of thought about Society and the State from Antiquity to the Modern Age, taking into account historical circumstances in the social, political and religious domains, and to illustrate the main sociological currents of Modernity.

In these approaches, students should present an increased ability to relate concepts developing from different social sciences, such as, Economy, History or Political Science.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Biology and Society: an ethological approach to human beings as social beings.
Evolutionary perspectives on social behavior. Social cohesion and language. Altruism and cooperation.

The emergence of thought on society - Philosophical, socio-political and ideological bases. Illuminist philosophy and the idea of Social Contract.
Forerunners of social sciences: Tocqueville and Comte.
Introduction to three classic sociologists: K. Marx; E. Durkheim; M. Weber. Their respective philosophical influences, key concepts, research methods, vision on Society and on the Individual.

Mandatory literature

Robin Dunbar; A história do Homem: Uma nova história da evolução da humanidade, Lisboa: Quetzal Editores , 2006
Bottomore Tom; História da análise sociológica
Barrett Louise; Human evolutionary psychology. ISBN: 0-333-72558-1
Morin Edgar; O^paradigma perdido. ISBN: 972-1-01721-3

Complementary Bibliography

Durkheim Émile; A^divisão do trabalho social
Delas, J.-P. & Milly, B. ; Histoire des pensées sociologiques, Dalloz, 1997
Mendras, H. & Etienne, J.; Les grands auteurs de la sociologie ; Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Hatier, 1996
Kuper Adam 340; The^social science encyclopedia. ISBN: 0-415-20794-0
Foucault Michel; As^palavras e as coisas. ISBN: 972-44-0531-1
Dunbar Robin; Grooming, gossip and the evolution of language. ISBN: 0-571-17397-7

Teaching methods and learning activities

Expositive, using audio and video media, and group exercises.

keywords

Social sciences
Social sciences > Psychological sciences

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Teste	100,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	54,00
Frequência das aulas	27,00
Total:	81,00

Eligibility for exams

Attendance to classes not required.

Calculation formula of final grade

- Evaluation consists of two tests classified in a 0-20 grade scale. The final grade results from the average of the two grades, but the student should not have less than 8 on eah test.
- Nonattendance to the tests or reproval in one of them, implies evaluation through the final exam.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable.

Internship work/project

Not applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

As previewed in the evaluation regulations of the faculty. 

Classification improvement

The improvement of the final grade may be made only once until the second call of the school year subsequent to the one when the student was approved and in which there is an examination previewed for the discipline.

The final grade is the highest among the one obtained initially and the one that results from the effectuated improvement of the grade.