Focus: Sociology
Critical realism is a philosophical movement born in the 1960s that acquired a reputation, firstly in the field of Philosophy of Science, due to its devasting criticism of positivism, using both the social and the natural sciences’ point of view. Although it has expanded into other fields, whether in philosophy (e.g. ethics and metaphysics) or other sciences (e.g. sociology, economics, biology, etc.), critical realism seems to be mostly confined to English-speaking countries, and even in them, it is not the mainstream. This course will address the topic of critical realism and it has a threefold objective: (1) to make a general introduction to the topic; (2) to foster its diffusion to a Brazilian audience, where the issue has been virtually unexplored and (3) to explore some of its possible contributions to the social sciences, in general, and to what is done in developing countries, in particular.
Professor:
Thiago Pimentel (UFJF)
Language: English
Courseload: 5 hours
Date&Time: 14th-16th, 10:20 am–12 pm (Brasilia time zone)
Target audience: undergraduate and graduate
Spots available: 100