A conference on Interpreting Politics, History and Society in the 21st Century, will be held on Friday, May 1, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. by the Political Science Department at The New School for Social Research.

Since the middle of the 20th century, social science disciplines such as Political Science have focused their research on using quantitative reasoning and analysis to answer their research questions. Recently, however, new qualitative methodology has gained increased attention, breaking away from the “classical” quantitative research paradigm that has dominated Political Science and other social science disciplines since the 1960s. This expansion in research methodology, which includes discourse analysis, textual analysis, ethnography among others—borrows from sociology, anthropology, and philosophy—enlarging the scope of research and practice of political analysis. As political questions have grown more complex, scholars have turned to these new forms of research processes to address them.

This conference will bring together scholars such as Dvora Yanow, Carlos Forment, Julia Ott, and Timothy Pachirat have conducted alternative modes of research and seek to explore what can be gained from their particular approaches.

This free event will take place at the New Wolff Conference Room at 6 East 16th Street, rooms 906/913.