Course description

With fifteen professorships, a large number of lecturers, and several research fellowships and teaching assignments, the Department of Philosophy at the University of Cologne is one of the largest of its kind in Germany. It is involved in numerous research networks and projects and cooperates closely with other university departments and with institutions around the world. Because of the wide range of philosophical themes, schools and methods covered by the faculty, students can choose courses ranging from cutting edge epistemology to Arabic and Jewish philosophy and from didactics of philosophy to applied ethics.

The Master programme Knowledge and Society focuses on philosophical issues concerning the social, political, and technological context of knowledge acquisition and transmission. It combines rigorous academic training in analytic philosophy (epistemology) and experience with important areas in which the philosophy of knowledge intersects with other topics of societal concern, including (but not limited to) testimony, disagreement, implicit biases, resistance to evidence, science communication, trust, epistemic authority, feminist epistemology, epistemic injustice, epistemic bubbles and echo chambers, relativism, fake news, group knowledge and ignorance, propaganda and polarisation. It enables the next generation of humanities graduates to develop and transmit knowledge of key epistemological themes as they take up careers in academia, media, education, heritage, government and non-governmental organisations, and the private sector.

The study programme equips students with the skills to identify and individuate epistemological issues as they arise in real-world settings. It focuses on developing the ability to analyse collective knowledge generation processes and acquiring skills to recognize and evaluate the social mechanisms of knowledge transfer. Additionally, the programme teaches the ability to explore the role of knowledge in policy-making and gaining a critical understanding of social threats to knowledge. Students will master various epistemological approaches, tools, and theories for studying social, political, and technological phenomena. This includes acquiring the capability to analyse and discuss Western and non-Western philosophical sources, critically interpret them, and develop skills in studying the history of epistemology and its interdependence with other philosophical fields such as the philosophy of science, metaphysics, and moral philosophy. Furthermore, students learn to appreciate the diversity of perspectives, cultural expressions, social formations, and practices related to epistemology, and understand and critically reflect upon these phenomena using state-of-the-art epistemological tools and methods.

Course advice

The Departmental Advisors are available to answer subject-specific questions.

You can contact the Interdisciplinary Student Advisory Service if you would like to receive interdisciplinary advice, have specific questions, e.g. about subject combinations, recognition, change of location/transverse entry or graduation - or if you do not know who to contact with your questions.