SV-601 Imaginative Theorizing in the Social Sciences (Spring 2026)
- ECTS Credits:
- 10
- Responsible department:
- Faculty of Social Sciences
- Course Leader:
- Ove Skarpenes
- Lecture Semester:
- Spring
- Teaching language:
- Engelsk
- Duration:
- ½ year
Table of contents
The course is connected to the following study programs
Teaching language
Recommended previous knowledge
Learning outcomes
On the completion of the course, the candidate will have:
- gained an advanced understanding of different types of theory
- grasped how theory is applied in deductive, inductive and abductive social research
- acquired some important skills and tools to make novel discoveries in social science
- practiced theorizing
Contents
Imaginative Theorizing in the Social Sciences is a course aimed at doctoral students with an interest in the challenges and capacities of theorizing. The course will explore various understandings of what theory is and how it can be applied and developed in different ways within deductive, inductive and abductive research strategies. The primary focus will be on theorizing in the social sciences and more specifically, how to use, critique and advance theory in your own research project.
Theorizing requires imagination, ingenuity and the ability to make discoveries and to see what has been rendered difficult to see but also disciplined argumentation and rigorous interpretation. The course is designed to provide concrete advice, tricks and strategies for developing creative habits of thinking. We will discuss specific examples to illustrate how theorizing can unfold: from collecting data, constructing concepts, deconstructing discourses, identifying imaginaries, finding categories and advancing a theory through, for example, the use of analogies, metaphors, rhetorical tropes or comparisons. We will explore the potential results of theorizing that might produce, for instance, ideal-types, models, typologies and four-quadrant tables and we will debate some of the inevitable challenges involved in theorizing, such as navigating normative assumptions, political implications and dilemmas of generalizability. Participants of the course will develop the skills for theorizing in their own research, drawing both on established literature and their own sociological imagination.
Teaching and learning methods
Instruction will comprise:
- Workshop given by lecturers and guest lecturers
- Discussion of case studies
- Practical exercises
- Student presentations
- Active participation