The School of Social Sciences and Humanities (SOSH) aims to instill in its students an interdisciplinary approach to the study of its subjects, fostering the diverse and all-encompassing perspectives necessary to understand the world in which we live. Through its programs, SOSH seeks to embolden students to view the issues in their societies critically and holistically, both in diagnosing problems and finding solutions.
In fulfilling this mission, SOSH students will not be confined to studying courses related only to their program of study. Rather, they will be required to register for a set of courses offered by the School and designed by specialists in the field of social sciences and humanities on the basis of interdisciplinarity. Faculty in the School, as well as visiting faculty will collaborate in the delivery of these courses. Additionally, SOSH students will be required to take at two courses from another program to further their exposure to other disciplines in the school. Please visit the "Programs of Study" page for further information.
As a result, students in SOSH will not only be taught by faculty from different disciplines, but will also be involved with their colleagues from different programs, fostering the interdisciplinary environment sought after in the School.
The following categories of courses are incorporated in every program in the school as a means of achieving the above:
1. Interdisciplinary Courses
All students in SOSH must choose two interdisciplinary courses. These courses are normally offered by two or more programs in SOSH and faculty from different programs collaborate in delivering the lectures and seminars. The list of courses offered will normally include the following or a selection thereof:
SOSH 673 Gender, Identity and Modernity in the Middle East: This course introduces students to the interrelationships
between gender, identity and modernity in contemporary Middle Eastern
societies. It provides an overview of the various debates, tensions and
transformations that underpin changing gender relations, power dynamics, and
social structures in the region.
SOSH 674 Critical Readings in Modern and Contemporary Aesthetics: Sound, Image, Text: This course aims to acquaint students
with the theoretical and methodological trends in the field of modern and
contemporary aesthetics. The course consists of two main sections. The first section,
will address the history of the development of aesthetics and the key issues
that formed its cognitive axes. The second part will address the three media components, sound, image and text, in terms of the main theoretical
trends that addressed them and the critical approaches that have emerged from them.
SOSH 675 Sociolinguistics: This
course is an introduction to social linguistics, and focuses
in general on the study of the different functions and purposes of language utilization in society. It deals with
many topics in sociolinguistics whilst focusing on the linguistic situation in
the Arab world. The course also aims to introduce students to the fundamental
concepts of sociolinguistics and how to use them as research tools in studying the
social reality in which we live.
SOSH 676 Political Economy of the Arab World: The Arab Uprisings have
brought into relief the old debate on the material- economic and
ideational-political origins of revolutions. Yet direct dialogue between
economists and political science has been sparse. This course attempts to remedy these lacunae
by fusing insights from both disciplines as regards the recent convulsions in
the Arab world. The course introduces historical inquiry of the origins and
major themes of the political economy of the Middle East and studies
contemporary social change and its attendant challenges.
SOSH 677 Comparative Cultural Studies: Theory and Application: This course starts with the argument that
understanding culture is key to understanding political, social, historical
aspects of human civilizations. Comparative Cultural Studies course will give
insight into cultural experiences and perspectives in media, art and literature
as well as other popular forms of expression.
SOSH 678 History of Ideas (description coming soon).
SOSH 680 Advanced Critical Thinking and Acadimic Writing (description coming soon).
SOSH 681 Power and Language (description coming soon).
2. School Core Compulsory Courses
All students studying in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities must complete the compulsory core course. This course is offered at the School level as a cross-disciplinary introduction to the study of fields of social sciences and humanities and are delivered as a series of lectures on selected topics by School professors and visitors. These topics address the origins, philosophical foundations, and development of the social sciences and humanities, their interaction with the natural sciences, the theoretical tools and research methodologies associated with these areas of study, and their impact on the development and evolution of various civilizations and societies.
Students will be expected to attend all the lectures delivered as part of these courses, and must successfully complete the course assignments as one of the conditions of graduation.
SOSH 601 Issues in the Study of Social Sciences and Humanities: The primary mission of this course is twofold: (1) to introduce the students at Doha Institute to a wide ranging spectrum of subjects, themes, and scholarly disciplines within the social sciences and humanities—including literature, poetry, drama, and the varieties of visual and performing arts, and (2) to interrogate the historical hold of western self-imaginings on the formation of humanistic knowledge and disciplines, which, knowledge-wise has led to the postulates of a posthumanism, while disciplinarily they have opened up to the culturally and historically informed acts of critical humanism. SEE FULL COURSE DESCRIPTION HERE.
