What is a social system, and how can Critical Realism help us study it in ways that deepen our understanding of its resilience, perseverance, and potential for transformation?
- Associate professor
- Associate professor
- Assistant professor
- Date
- Wednesday 25 Mar 2026, 11:00 - 12:30
- Type
- Seminar
- Spoken Language
- English
- Room
- Room 3.39
- Location
- International Institute of Social Studies
In this seminar, Dr Leigh Price (Associate Professor at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences) and Dr Karim Knio (Associate Professor in Political Economy and Governance at the International Institute of Social Studies) will explore different approaches to theorising and researching social systems. The discussion will be moderated by Dr Juan David Parra, lecturer at ISS.
Drawing on Roy Bhaskar’s philosophy of science, Dr Price will introduce a third generation of systems theory that seeks to identify the causal mechanisms sustaining social systems and proposes an ethical framework based on the principle of homeostasis.
Dr Knio will discuss how social theory can help explain the emergence and persistence of sociocultural systems across time and scale, highlighting the need for methodological approaches capable of analysing complex causation.
Together, the speakers will reflect on how different applications of Critical Realism can contribute to studying the mechanisms shaping the stability and transformation of social systems.
The seminar will include time for discussion and engagement with participants
