XTO-21806 Philisophy of Science & Ethics in Tourism

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Studiepunten 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Contents:

This course offers an introduction to the philosophy of social science. It prepares students to be able to distinguish between, and identify the relevance of, many different ways in which knowledge about the social world more generally - and tourism in particular - gets produced. Specifically, it introduces students to a key series of dichotomies and dilemmas with which social scientists continue to grapple: natural world/social world, explanation/interpretation, facts/values and structure/agency.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- knows the difference between the ontology, epistemology and methodology of scientific research and is able to relate these concepts to tourism research;
- describe and compare the main philosophical approaches and interpret their influence on contemporary thinking with special attention for tourism;
- classify and order the history of specific persons, places, events and philosophies which have influenced the development and establishment of the disciplinary field of tourism;
- apply philosophical approaches to a previous personal research experience;
- indicate and discuss the most important ethical dilemmas in tourism;
- apply ethical principles in debates on contemporary tourism practices;
- compose an essay (in English) on a specific tourism issue and the way this can be related to one or more philosophical approaches.

Activities:

To be determined.

Examination:

Assessment components include two essays:
- a reflective essay on students' NFP research experience using the four main debates on which the course focuses (50%);
- a critical essay analysing research ethics in the study of tourism (50%).

Literature:

Mark J. Smith. (1998). The Social in Question. Published in association with The Open University. 352 p. ISBN-10: 0761960414.