Doing Conceptual Analysis
Full course description
In this skills course, students will be introduced to working with concepts in academic research and writing. Building on introductory texts on the study of concepts, students will learn what a concept is and how concepts matter for academic writing. They will then explore approaches to the analysis of concepts and how their meaning may shift over time. Students will apply their knowledge to the concepts like “democracy” or “freedom”.
Course objectives
Students will be introduced to several approaches to studying the meaning of concepts. The course will first provide an understanding of what concepts are and of the importance of concepts for interpreting texts in Arts and Culture. Second, the course will introduce students to historical and philosophical approaches for studying the (shift of the) meaning of concepts. Thirdly, the course will enable students to use these historical and philosophical methods for studying the (shift of the) meaning of concepts such as democracy or freedom.
Recommended reading
To be announced at the start of the course.