The course introduces the latest methodological developments related to causal inference in the social sciences. The course begins with the basics of the formal theory of causal reasoning (by Judea Pearl) and its philosophical foundations. We will then explore more specific issues and methodologies, such as the concept of social mechanism, how to construct a good causal variable, quasi-experimental designs, field and laboratory experiments in the social sciences, and case-based process tracing. The course format is a reading seminar with recent methodological research articles as course material. In addition, each student will make a short presentation on an empirical research article related to the methodological topic in question. Default example articles are provided by the teacher, but students can also make suggestions based on their interests (such as their thesis topic).

Course outline:

1. Introduction
2. Foundations of Causal Inference I
3. Foundations of Causal Inference II
4. Foundations of Causal Inference III
5. Causal Mechanisms and social theory
6. Mechanistic thinking and statistics
7. What is a good causal variable?
8. Quasi-experimental strategies
9. Qualitative evidence and process tracing I: within-case
10. Qualitative evidence and process tracing II: comparative process tracing
11. Experimental social science: field experiments
12. Experimental social science: laboratory experiments
13. Summing up
14. Exam

Target audience: masters and PhD students in the social sciences and philosophy students interested in philosophy of science. Maximum number of participants: 12.