Theories of Science - Spring 2025 - All you need to know

The course provides an introduction to theories of science and relevant social science and humanities scholarship, with an emphasis on the history and philosophy of science and the social organization and dynamics of various academic fields, including their strategies for producing knowledge and the interaction between research and society.

The course engages with issues such as philosophical assumptions underlying high-quality scholarship, making claims about truth and objectivity, professional and societal relevance of science, navigation of academic challenges, and classic and contemporary critiques of science. To contribute to a better understanding of academic work, insights into the history of science and academic scholarship and the key features of the modern university are provided. Moreover, the course is one of the few arenas in which PhD students from a wide variety of disciplines meet and work together, which increases their interdisciplinary sensitivities.

Lecturers

Professor Thomas Berker (responsible for the course: thomas.berker@ntnu.no), Professor Ståle Rainer Strøm Finke, Associate Professor Terje Finstad, Professor Jonathan Knowles, Associate Professor Sofia Moratti, Associate Professor Rune Nydal, Associate Professor Astrid Rasch, Associate Professor Elisabeth Stubberud, Professor emeritus Knut H. Sørensen, Research Professor Govert Valkenburg, and Postdoctoral Researcher Hannah Winther.