Date: Thursday 14 February 2008
Time: 1-2pm.
Venue: Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Professor Arne Westad
History and the social sciences come from very different backgrounds in terms of their methodologies and ontologies. While historians (often) emphasise difference, communication, and narratives, most social scientists like comparisons, impartiality, and functionality.
How do these two traditions best interact in a great research university like the LSE? How do they help us explain the phenomena we are interested in understanding?
In this new series of lunchtime lectures, nine of LSE's most senior academics explain the latest thinking on how social scientists work to address the critical problems of the day. They survey the leading ideas and contributions made by their discipline, explain the types of problems that are addressed and the tools that are used, and explore the kinds of solutions proposed.
Arne Westad is professor of international history and co-director of the Cold War Studies Centre at LSE.
The next lecture in this series will be delivered by Professor Dick Hobbs on Thursday 21 February.