Sociology

The course examines the social, cultural, and political dimensions of migration and cultural diversity in contemporary societies. Students explore how intercultural interaction shapes identities, communities, and public policies while developing a deeper understanding of intercultural coexistence.

This course explores the debates of how Berlin is viewed through subtopics such as gentrification, inequality, and political polarization (e.g. on environmental and housing policy). Topics include how Berlin is often seen as left-leaning and progressive due to its multicultural image, the nuance of the city's socio-political landscape, the Berlin Wall's legacy shaping socio-economic divides between East and West, and influencing political positions. Students examine the political leanings of the city center and outside the transport boundary, historical changes including the integration of GDR infrastructure and the revival of Prussian heritage, alongside the gentrification of some areas, rising rent prices and the tensions on the role of the market. Students analyze global trends like the rise of far-right movements and neoliberalism rooted partly in historical East-West societal divides and how these conflicts reveal broader debates on societal value(s) and the common good. 

The course focuses on the main theories and debates in the postcolonial study of the intersections between racial formations, gender and sexuality, and cultural practices. Develop an understanding of race as a specific object of inquiry within postcolonial theory. There is an emphasis on introducing and sharpening key conceptual tools for analyzing the intersections between race and the social vectors of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, and culture. The course examines postcolonial global realities, paying close attention to postcolonial configurations of social and political relations and the ways in which various expressive forms have recorded and engaged with these postcolonial realities. Questions of power and global asymmetry, social inclusion and exclusion, and cultural representation and appropriation are addressed in our analyses of authors and cultural products that contest, transgress, and rearticulate national boundaries and social identities.

This course explores language as a social and cultural practice. It examines how linguistic variation is influenced by cultural diversity, linguistic communities, and social stratification. This course also offers a study of the relationship between linguistic competence and social competence as well as how discourse contributes to the social construction of meaning within different communities. It assesses the role of language policies in actual language use and in the social perception of languages. 

This seminar examines how social relationships shape individual behavior and collective outcomes, integrating perspectives from sociology and economics. It explores how networks, norms, and institutions influence decisions in areas such as marriage markets, immigration, and employment, with attention to public goods and strategic interaction using game-theoretic frameworks. By combining theory with empirical examples, the course shows how social structure and interdependence jointly shape opportunity, cooperation, and inequality.

This course builds an understanding of environmental issues as social issues by focusing on environmental justice. It explores the causes of environmental problems, how problems are understood and experienced by different populations, and how communities work towards fairer environmental futures.

The course examines generative artificial intelligence and its impact on culture, education, and society. Topics include AI-generated media, creativity and authorship, bias and inequality, ethics, work, politics, and the changing role of AI in everyday life.

The object of this seminar is to introduce students to theories of culture(s) or cultural theory. With theories of culture abounding, the class is only be able to discuss a selection of canonized texts. These texts – hopefully – help to enhance the understanding of how one has come to theorize culture(s) in the field of literary and cultural studies, as well as cultural history. Furthermore, the course tackles various angles of how one makes meaning of and through culture and how culture informs related fields of inquiry, such as, for example, media studies, philosophy, and sociology.

This course examines the intricate relationship between two of perhaps the most central concepts in the disciplines of political economy and economic sociology: Capitalism and Democracy. It will explore both the complementarities and conflicts that arise from the interaction of these concepts, tracing the ideational history of both, as well as the ideational history of the relationship between capitalism and democracy. Building on key classical perspectives from economic sociology and political economy, students develop a nuanced understanding of how capitalism and democracy have shaped, challenged, and coexisted throughout history, and explore their relationship to today's major political challenges.

This course offers an introduction to the study of the phenomenon of music. The general concept of sound and music are discussed, its manifestations in folk, popular, and art music as well as its context in community and commercial settings. Discussions center on Africa and beyond, keeping in mind the local and the translocal. As an introductory course, content engages the diversity of students’ life worlds and is cognizant of our African location. The course employs innovative teaching and delivery methods, including multilingual pedagogies and digital literacy, which allow more time for active engagement and the development of critical reading and writing skills in the Humanities. DP requirements: Due submission of all assigned work; at least 80% attendance at lectures and practicals. Assessment: Continuous assessment (essays, projects, tests, etc.) counts 100%.