Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Methodological Obscurity: mapping methods training in graduate studies in International Relations and related areas in Brazil

Abstract:

Recent assessments of South-American scientific output have diagnosed a “methodological obscurity” in the field of International Relations: only a minority of published articles explicitly mention their research method. Given this situation, this article maps how methods have been incorporated into the training of International Relations graduate students. The goal is to better understand the relation between teaching and methodological awareness. We analyzed the syllabi of 30 graduate programs in International Relations and related areas in 15 Brazilian universities, at the Masters and PhD levels. We found that 90% of the programs offered one or more methods courses, accounting for approximately 30% of the workload. Although this amount has not resolved the problem of methodological obscurity, we argue that, alongside political science, the field is consolidating a curricular core in political methodology.

Keywords:
international relations methodology; epistemology of international relations; qualitative methods; quantitative methods

Universidade de Brasília. Instituto de Ciência Política Instituto de Ciência Política, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro - Gleba A Asa Norte, 70904-970 Brasília - DF Brasil, Tel.: (55 61) 3107-0777 , Cel.: (55 61) 3107 0780 - Brasília - DF - Brazil
E-mail: rbcp@unb.br