World Epistemologies
Code: 107229Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Social and Cultural Anthropology | FB | 1 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Andreu Ballus Santacana
- Email :
- andreu.ballus@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Andreu Ballus Santacana
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
No prerequisites
Objectives
The main objective of the course is to introduce students to the major epistemological traditions of the world, starting from recent developments in Western epistemology in order to recognize our own frame of reference for what it is: a situated framework that is not culturally neutral. Emphasis is placed on understanding the differences and specific features of the Greek, Indian and Chinese epistemological traditions, and on problematizing their relations with the epistemologies of other cultures and periods. The course also aims to analyze how knowledge of these frameworks enriches current problems in globalized epistemology.
The course incorporates a gender perspective and reflection on androcentric, Eurocentric and colonial biases in the production, transmission and legitimation of knowledge.
Learning outcomes
- CM01 (Interpret current and past world events from social and humanities disciplines.) Interpret current and past world events from social and humanities disciplines.
- CM03 (Adequately transmit information, ideas and arguments from the social and human sciences in order to explain an anthropological fact.) Adequately transmit information, ideas and arguments from the social and human sciences in order to explain an anthropological fact.
- KM02 (Recognise and integrate the basic concepts of related disciplines in the analysis of social phenomena.) Recognise and integrate the basic concepts of related disciplines in the analysis of social phenomena.
- KM03 (Give information about anthropological topics to general and specialised audiences using ICT.) Give information about anthropological topics to general and specialised audiences using ICT.
- SM01 (Describe social phenomena in a theoretically relevant way from related sciences, taking into account the complexity of the factors involved, their causes and effects.) Describe social phenomena in a theoretically relevant way from related sciences, taking into account the complexity of the factors involved, their causes and effects.
- SM04 (Adequately use the basic language of related sciences in both oral and written expression.) Adequately use the basic language of related sciences in both oral and written expression.
Contents
1. Contemporary epistemology in its framework: the roots of the Gettier problem in the specificity of Western culture
2. Society, virtues, and justice in epistemology: the reason for late arrivals in hegemonic epistemology
3. The Greco-Roman and Christian roots of Western epistemology
4. Vedic-rooted epistemology: the Nyaya school and its impact
5. Foundations of Chinese epistemology: Confucianism, Mohism, and Daoism
6. The sociocognitive framework of the development of the three great traditions: oikos, griha, and jia.
7. Islamic epistemologies: Avicenna, Al-Ghazali, and the development of Islamic philosophy
8. Colonial epistemologies vs. “indigenous” epistemologies: African, Afro-Caribbean, and Native American traditions
9. The feminist question in situated epistemologies
10. The praxis of epistemology in a globalized world: the impact of modernity, postmodernity, and technology
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 50 | 2 | CM01, CM03, KM02, SM01 |
| Autonomous work | 70 | 2.8 | CM01, CM03, KM02, KM03, SM01, SM04 |
| Class debates | 22.5 | 0.9 | CM01, CM03, KM02, KM03, SM01, SM04 |
The course methodology will be based on continuous assessment and on the progressive work of the course contents.
- Students will carry out comprehensive readings of strategic texts related to the subject matter of the course, which must be prepared in advance for the scheduled commentary sessions. These texts will be made available through the virtual campus one week before the class devoted to joint discussion and text commentary.
- The lecturer will provide theoretical explanations of the key points of the course syllabus.
- Critical discussion in class will be encouraged regarding the different epistemological traditions studied, with particular attention to the historical, social, cultural and political processes that condition the production and legitimation of knowledge.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written essay (X2) | 50% (25%+25%) | 4 | 0.16 | CM01, CM03, KM02, KM03, SM01, SM04 |
| Test exams (2) | 50% (25%+25%) | 3.5 | 0.14 | CM01, KM02, KM03, SM01 |
The continuous assessment process includes four activities distributed throughout the course and belonging to two different types:
- Two written essays, each worth 25% of the final grade.
- Two multiple-choice tests, each worth 25% of the final grade.
The written essays will assess students’ ability to understand, contextualize, critically analyze and present reasoned arguments about the epistemological frameworks studied. The multiple-choice tests will assess the assimilation of the main concepts, authors, traditions and problems covered during the course.
The virtual campus will be used to make readings, teaching materials and specific instructions for each assessment activity available to students.
At the time each assessment activity is carried out, the lecturer will inform students, through the virtual campus, of the procedure and date for reviewing grades. Grades will be communicated within a maximum period of three weeks. In the case of recoverable activities, the final grade will be available at least 72 hours before the recovery test.
Exchange students who request to bring forward an exam must submit a written document from their home university justifying the request.
Reassessment procedure
In order to take part in the reassessment process, students must have previously been assessed in a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to at least two thirds of the total grade for the course.
The reassessable activities will be the multiple-choice tests and the written essays. Reassessment will consist of a test or activity equivalent to the activity not passed, according to the instructions that the lecturer will communicate through Moodle. Activities in which academic irregularities have occurred will not be reassessable.
Not assessed
Students will receive a grade of “Not assessed” whenever they have not submitted more than 30% of the assessment activities.
Plagiarism, fraudulent conduct and irregularities in assessment
If a student commits any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded for an assessment activity, that activity will be graded with 0, regardless of any disciplinary proceedings that may be initiated. If several irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same course, the final grade for that course will be 0.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence technologies is permitted as a support tool in the work process, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution by the student in understanding, analysis and personal reflection. Students must identify the parts that have been generated or assisted by AI, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these tools have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI in an assessable activity will be considered a breach of academic honesty and may result in the activity being graded with 0 and not being recoverable.
UAB Academic Regulations
Bibliography
Gettier, Edmund L. (2021). Is Justified True Belief Knowledge? In Stephen Hetherington (Ed.), The Philosophy of Knowledge: A History. Routledge.
Link: https://www.routledge.com/The-Philosophy-of-Knowledge-A-History/Hetherington/p/book/9780367334971
Goldman, Alvin Ira (2022). Knowledge in a Social World. Oxford University Press.
Link: https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/0198238207.001.0001/acprof-9780198238201
Zagzebski, Linda Trinkaus (2020). Virtues of the Mind: An Inquiry into the Nature of Virtue and the Ethical Foundations of Knowledge. Cambridge University Press.
Link: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/virtues-of-the-mind/441A6BCB4C20950990F4BB525D49248E
Plató (Plato) (2018). Fedó (trad. Josep Vives i Solé). Edicions 62.
Link (PDF): https://www.biblioteca.org.ar/libros/147333.pdf
Fraser, Nancy (2008). Escalas de Justicia: Reimaginando el espacio político en un mundo globalizado. Herder Editorial.
Link: https://herdereditorial.com/producto/escalas-de-justicia/
Chakrabarti, Kisor Kumar (2010). Classical Indian Philosophy of Induction: The Nyaya Viewpoint. Lexington Books.
Link: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739142788/Classical-Indian-Philosophy-of-Induction-The-Nyaya-Viewpoint
Feng, Youlan (2019). A Short History of Chinese Philosophy (trans. Derk Bodde). Free Press.
Link (PDF): https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofch00feng_0
Graham, Angus Charles (2015). Later Mohist Logic, Ethics and Science. Chinese University Press.
Link: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/ics/21c/en/book_reviews.html?id=56
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2023). Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy. SUNY Press.
Link: https://sunypress.edu/Books/I/Islamic-Philosophy-from-Its-Origin-to-the-Present2
Wiredu, Kwasi (2020). Cultural Universals and Particulars: An African Perspective. Indiana University Press.
Link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2005s3z
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai (2021). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (3rd ed.). Zed Books/Bloomsbury.
Link: https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/decolonizing-methodologies-research-and-indigenous-peoples-3rd-edition/
Cajete, Gregory (2020). Native Science: Natural Laws of Interdependence. Clear Light Publishers.
Link (PDF): https://archive.org/details/nativesciencena00caje
Software
No specific software required.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |