History and Sociology of the Social Sciences and the Humanities: Boundaries, Persona and Knowledge Circulation

About the course

In recent decades, historical research on the social sciences and the humanities (SSH) has grown stronger and developed more dynamically. The aim of the course is to give an overview and introduction to the history of the SSH and their changing societal roles in Sweden and internationally in light of this recent research and to discuss how this new historiography relates to the existing and broader research on the history of science and knowledge.

The course applies a long-time perspective with a chronological focus on the development in the 20^th century to the present day. Particular conceptual focus is placed on the circulation and boundaries of SSH knowledge, as well as the changing roles and personae of SSH researchers. How has the field of SSH changed in the 20^th century? In what ways have the boundaries between different disciplines, fields of science and politics been defined? How was the role of the SSH legitimised in the Swedish welfare state compared to other national contexts? How can we understand the uses and functions of SSH knowledge? What is the position of SSH today?

The course combines overview lectures with thematically in-depth seminar discussions based on a number of selected key texts and case studies.