History of Social Science
Course dates: 2 - 5 February 2026
The course examines the history of the social sciences in their relationship to science and technology and to the humanities. Focus is on the institutional history of social science, both in academia and in relation to the power apparatus of the nation state and corporations, that is to changing forms of governmentality and population control linked to statistics, archival technology or ethnographic techniques.
At the heart of social science stands a set of disciplines that formed in the 19th and early 20th century, notably sociology, political science, economics and anthropology. These core disciplines interact with history and philosophy, disciplines that became modern in the 19th or 20th century, but retain a deep connection to intellectual roots that are much older. History has a double scientific identity, as a humanistic study of text and culture, and as a social science studying change and stability.
In the twentieth century new social scientific disciplines like media studies emerged, along with a cluster of cross disciplinary approaches to the study of themes like gender, migration, ethnicity, decolonization and science and technology. The study of the social sciences and their history is a research field in its own right.
Notably, social theory has emerged as a field apart, offering a language of translation between disciplines and between empirical studies.
The participants are expected to read key texts in preparation for each meeting and will present a research paper (15-20 pages) of their own design at the end of the course that covers one essential element of the history of social sciences.
All students must be fluent in English and hold a completed master’s degree.
PhD students will be given priority.
After completing the course, the student must have obtained:
Knowledge
After completing the course, students should have gained advanced knowledge about:
- The history of the social sciences
- Approaches and methodologies within science history and the study of the social sciences
- The nature of social theory
- The historical relation of social science to governmental techniques and technologies
Skills
After completing the course, students should have advanced their ability:
- To contextualize knowledge and theory historically
- To choose theory applicable to a given set of evidence
- To actively use theory in analyzing data
- To validate and justify theoretical claims in relation to the history of the social sciences
General competence
After completing the course, students should have advanced their ability:
- To do inter- and cross-disciplinary research and to work in an interdisciplinary environment
- To read, understand, and apply social science theories
- To develop critical approaches that combine empirical data and theoretical reflections
- To understand and express existent theoretical knowledge to concrete case studies
No fees for internal candidates.
Fee of NOK 1000 for external candidates.
Theory. Compulsory.
The course is compulsory for students at PhD in Social Science.
Individual adjustments can be made, contact student advisor for more information.
Lectures and seminars.
Students are expected to attend at least 80% of the course's lectures and seminars and participate actively in them.
- During the course, participants are required to present orally one of the texts on the reading list or a text of their own choice that is relevant to the course context.
- Minimum 80% presence is required.
- Participants are required to submit a course paper that explores and critically discusses a self-chosen theme relating their own research interests to the history of the social sciences. The paper should draw on relevant course literature and reflect on key debates, theoretical perspectives, and methodological considerations addressed throughout the course. Emphasis should be placed on analytical depth and the ability to situate the chosen theme within broader contexts. The paper should be between 4000 and 6000 words (including references) and will be assessed on a pass/fail basis.