Research at The Faculty of Social Sciences
Researchers at the Faculty of Social Sciences publish research related to a number of fields and contribute new knowledge on important social issues. The researchers build a network of contacts with society and businesses, and the dissemination of the results of their research forms a natural part of their work. The Faculty's research activities shall be economically and politically independent.
Organisation
Research and researcher education at the Faculty are organised according to disciplinary and interdisciplinary Departments and research groups. With significant research activities over time, the Faculty has developed a wide range of subjects within each academic discipline. Five disciplinary research fields have been selected for the strategy period 2011-2015 which involve all Departments and subjects.
In addition to extensive cooperation with other faculties at the University of Bergen, the researchers have a comprehensive cooperation network both at home and abroad. Cooperation between the Faculty Departments and other academic groups at the University of Bergen is often organised via the different departments in the research company Uni Research.
Target areas for the University of Bergen
For many years now, the University of Bergen has worked with development research and marine research as principal inter-faculty strategic target areas for research. The academic groups at the Faculty of Social Sciences have made important contributions to development research in total at the University, and to the position held by the University as an international university with a strong focus on cooperation with countries in the south.
In more recent years, the University of Bergen has introduced a number of inter-faculty target areas. Two of these are of particular relevance for our Faculty; Democracy and constitutional government and Region and regionalisation.
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Research related to development
Research related to development is a wide-ranging and complex research field. The Faculty has a long history within this field, and research at the different Departments comprises subjects such as globalisation, poverty, development of democracies, environmental change and resource management.
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Information, communication and culture
Methods and processes for communication play an essential role in political, economic, social and cultural processes in our society. The goal for this research field is to develop innovative academic groups by combining perspectives and insight from the traditions of human, social and technological subjects.
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Democracy and constitutional government
Democracy and constitutional government represent a fundamental subject for social sciences. Social change and the acceleration of legislation raise important issues regarding the conditions for participation in political debate, the distribution of power and decision-making processes.
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Welfare, working life and migration
The modern day welfare state is set to face a number of challenges in the future. Important subjects in this field include welfare models, government reforms, health care services, working life, migration and family politics.
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Climate change and social consequences and initiatives
Issues relating to the environment, resources and climate are of central importance for the future of our society, both locally and globally. This subject is a high priority research field for the Faculty in the near future.