The centre is linked to the Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS) and will receive strategic funding from the university for five years. According to the university leadership, the initiative is part of LiU’s long-term efforts to build internationally leading research environments.
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Analytical sociology seeks to understand and explain social phenomena by identifying the mechanisms and processes that drive developments in society. The research often combines theory development with empirical and data-driven methods.
The new excellence centre will enable greater investment in theoretical development, international collaborations and long-term research initiatives.
"It feels important to strengthen the theoretical side of the institute and create more room for questions concerning explanations and mechanisms", said Peter Hedström, Director of LECAS and Professor at Linköping University.
The initiative will also include international seminar series, visiting researchers, workshops and a new doctoral course on the foundations and future development of analytical sociology. Researchers from universities such as Columbia University, Cornell University, the University of Michigan and New York University are expected to participate.
Maria Brandén, Director of IAS, emphasised that the new centre builds on many years of collaborative work within the research environment.
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do not see LECAS as a new organisation alongside IAS, but rather as something integrated into IAS that will benefit the entire environment and enable us to raise our ambitions even further, she said during the inauguration.
The inauguration of LECAS took place in Norrköping and brought together researchers and guests from Sweden and international universities. The programme included presentations on analytical sociology, computational social science and the importance of excellence centres in developing strong research environments.
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