POLS 801 - HISTORY OF KNOWLEDGE

3credit hour(s)

Description The primary goal of this course is to introduce students to political science as a discipline of systematic inquiry. The course considers disciplinary epistemological issues and approaches in order to prepare students to rigorously assess what is really “known” about political phenomena. Students will clarify different theories of knowledge that predominate among political scientists; assess the strengths and weakness of the different approaches; identify the reasons why analysts may pursue different forms of inquiry; develop an understanding of the systematic implications that different theories of knowledge have for scholarly agendas and investigatory processes; and consider the possibilities for an interplay among and synthesis of the various epistemological perspectives in actual conduct of inquiry.

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