Philosophy of Science for Cultural Inquiry

During this course, students learn to

You have been studying media and culture and practising cultural inquiry for at least a year by now. But what exactly is cultural inquiry? How do you approach a cultural object scientifically? How do you generate scientifically-sound and reliable knowledge? In earlier courses, you might have discovered that there is no one correct answer to these questions. There is no single scientific method, but countless perspectives and approaches that open up the world differently in their own ways. In this course we offer you tools to identify, navigate, and ultimately apply complex, versatile, and cutting-edge philosophies in cultural studies.

We will link these philosophical perspectives to current social and political themes. Cultural inquiry does not exist in isolation, but is always part of a context, an ‘ecology’. As we will see, that context—be it a political, an organic, an economic, a technological environment—influences the production of scientific knowledge and that knowledge in turn has effects on its contexts. You will learn to relate your positionality as a researcher in a responsible way to contexts/ environments, and consider the ‘ecology’ cultural phenomena is embedded in.

Finally, philosophy of science is more than contemplation: it is also a practice. Specifically, you will learn important skills that will help you approach the abstract subject of philosophy of science. For example, you will learn how to read and interpret philosophical texts, and how to apply philosophical perspectives to cultural objects and phenomena from your discipline. You will also be given space to reflect on the role of philosophy of science in your own study trajectory.

For students interested in this course from outside of the Media and Culture programme, please note that this is a philosophy of science course which is theoretical in nature, but it is not a Philosophy course.