Introduction to Social Sciences

Code:

LP101

Acronym:

ICS

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Social Science

Instance: 2004/2005 - A

Active?	Yes
Web Page:	http://www.fpce.up.pt/ciencias_sociais/index.htm
Responsible unit:	Psychology
Course/CS Responsible:	Psychology Degree

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LPSI	133	Plano oficial a partir de 2001/02	1	6	13	-

Objectives

1. Knowledge of theoretical approaches (namely the
concepts) introduced by the classical authors
in Social Science: Comte, Marx, Durkeim, Simmel,
Weber;
2. Analysis of the problem of scientific knowledge: the
irreducibility between reality and knowledge, "real
objects" and "knowledge objects"; common knowledge
and scientific knowledge; social science as a product of
society, as reproduction of society, and as production of
society;
3. To be able to analyse the specificity (if any) of human
cultures as compared to non-human primate cultures;
2. Introduction to the specific difficulties in producing
knowledge in the domain of social sciences;
4. Introductory knowledge of research methods in social
sciences;

Program

1. Biology, Society, and Humankind: Ethological bases of
humans as social beings
2. The classification of social sciences:
- M. Duverger's classification
- Piaget's classification
Brief description of some branches of social sciences:
demography, human geography, history, sociology,
ethnology, anthropology;
3. Pre-History of the Social Sciences: philosophical, socio-
-political and ideological bases for the emergence of
Social Science
-ideology, science and social organisation under
the "Ancien Regime"
-the Renaissance revolution
-Metaphysics
-Darwinism, Marxism, Positivism
-the emerging Social Science
4. Frames of sociological thought
-psychological perspectives (Freud, LeBon)
-sociologic perspectives (Durkheim, Weber, Simmel)
-interacionist perspectives (Tarde, E. Ross, G. H. Mead)
5. Psychology as a social science

Main Bibliography

ARON, RAYMOND (1967). As Etapas do Pensamento Sociológico. S. Paulo, Livraria Martins Fontes.
BOTTOMORE, TOM, NISBET, ROBERT (1978). História da Análise Sociológica. Rio de Janeiro, Zahar Editora.
DELAS, J.-P., & MILLY, B. (1997). Historie des pensées sociologiques. Paris: Sirey.
KUPER, A., & KUPER, J. (1999). The Social Science Encyclopaedia. London: Routledge.

Complementary Bibliography

Colby, C. (1996-1997). Introduction to Evolutionary Biology (Version 2). http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-intro-to-biology.html
Conroy, G.C. (1990). Primate Evolution. Nova Iorque: W.W. Norton and Co.
Estes, R.D. (1991). The Behavior Guide to African Mammals. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Fleagle, J.G. (1988). Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Nova Iorque, NY: Academic Press.
Fleagle, J.G. (1999). Primate Adaptation and Evolution. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Groves, C. (2001). Primate Taxonomy. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Rowe, N. (1996). The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates. East Hampton, Nova Iorque: Pogonias Press.
Wilson, E.O. (1975). Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical and pratical classes.

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam