Summer School in Berlin
Linking Theory and Empirical Research
Berlin, July 15 – 25, 2019
We are delighted to announce the 9th Berlin Summer School in Social
Sciences. The summer school aims at supporting young researchers by
strengthening their ability in linking theory and empirical research.
The two-week program creates an excellent basis for the development of
their current research designs.
In the first week, we address the key methodological challenges of
concept-building, causation/explanation, and micro-macro linkage that
occur in almost all research efforts. We strive for a clarification of
the epistemological foundations underlying methodological paradigms. In
the second week, these methodological considerations are applied to
central empirical fields of research in political science, sociology,
and other related disciplines. In this second part of the program,
participants are assigned to four thematic groups according to their own
research topic. The thematic areas covered are: “External Governance,
Interregionalism, and Domestic Change”, “Citizenship, Migration, and
Identities”, “Social Struggle and Globalization”, and “Democracy at the
Crossroads”.
The program is characterized by a varied format comprised of lectures,
workshops, seminars, and a one-to-one consultation. During the summer
school, participants will also have the opportunity to present and
discuss their own work extensively. Participants will be provided with
hands-on advice for their research designs.
The school brings together a faculty of renowned international and
Berlin-based scholars. Among the confirmed international lecturers are
Phillip M. Ayoub (Occidental College), John Gerring (The University of
Texas at Austin), Hendrik Wagenaar (University of Sheffield), Anita
Gohdes (Hertie School of Governance), Felix Berenskoetter (SOAS
University of London) and Peter Hedström (Linköping University).
The Berlin Summer School was co-funded by the Berlin Graduate School of
Social Sciences (BGSS) at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the WZB
Berlin Social Science Center. Details on the location and tuition fees
can be found on our webpage www.berlinsummerschool.de.
The international summer school is open to up to 60 PhD candidates,
advanced master students, and young postdocs. The call for applications
is currently open. Applications can be submitted online via the
application form on the summer school webpage until April 15, 2019.
The decisions of the selection committee will be announced to the
applicants in April. If you have any further questions, please contact
the organizing team at summerschool.bgss@hu-berlin.de