Sociology

This course analyzes the nature, scope, and dimensions of social welfare based on knowledge of the forms of conception, guidelines and forms of operationalization, and assessment of the effects they present in society. Topics include: conceptualization of social welfare; historical development of social welfare; the welfare state; social welfare services; social welfare today; social welfare policy in Mexico; social welfare around the world.

The first part of the course focuses on history and culture, starting with a brief historical view of Danish society since 1800. It then analyzes culture from two perspectives: the history of ideas in Danish society and Danish cultural value systems. This entails a brief introduction to key Danish thinkers and cultural movements and their political impact, and an introduction to Danish cultural values and the development and changes of such values over the last 30 to 40 years. The second part of the course takes an institutional approach to the Danish political system, including its labor market structures and education system, by descriptions of specific societal sectors, drawing on theory about institutional orders and business regimes. Continuing with the institutional approach, the third part of the course focuses more specifically on the business sector leading to a discussion of key industries and types of firms in the Danish economy.

This course deals with the concepts of national and personal identities in conflicts. It explores how ethnic, national, and cultural group identity is connected to individual identity, how groups in conflict take part in a dialogue, and how the individuals comprising them do so. Topics include collective memory, ethnic and national group narratives, and ethos. The course integrates theory and practice, providing an opportunity to get acquainted with core theories, experience how group identity is formed, and how a dialogue between opposing sides is conducted. The course includes guest lectures of people, organizations, and institutions who deal with these topics.

This course focuses on the task of sociology to provide interpretations of the current situation and diagnoses of the times. The first part of the course defines the general meaning of diagnosis of the times and the role this kind of analysis plays in sociology. The second part identifies and distinguishes between various conceptions of social transformation and how modern societies have changed over time, with a study of the most recent structural transformations. The last part of the course focuses on the normative use of social diagnosis to conceive that not only persons but also societies can be understood as sick. The course accounts for how this kind of analysis can be used to evaluate and criticize social change and provides an opportunity to plan and perform research and carry out critical investigations of structural transformations of modern societies and institutions.

This course provides insight into the some of the most relevant social sciences and social scientific perspectives commonly used in global sustainability science. It introduces the field of social science – broadly the study of the relationship between individuals in their context within society – and its application to our understanding of environmental issues.This course discusses the skills needed to identify and apply some of the key social science concepts and theories that are commonly used in sustainability science. The first part of the course introduces the study of society, of society’s interactions with the environment, and of societal change, thus also demonstrating the specificity of a social scientific perspective on sustainability. The second part of the course examines various social processes of change in nature-society interactions, thus introducing and discussing a range of different, but often complementary theories that are commonly used to conceptualize change toward sustainability. The course is taught through interactive lectures and tutorials, and makes ample use of real world examples and case studies. The course involves diverse learning activities which include concept mapping, small group discussions, writing exercises, and hands-on critiques of students' own implicit assumptions about social processes that are critical for sustainability.

This course provides the tools to understand the intersection between religion, media, entertainment, and popular culture in the context of processes generally described as globalization. The course focuses on the formations of contemporary religious communities in various parts of the world, so as to highlight the differences between several religious traditions, the socio-political contexts in which they thrive, and the various means through which these religions are channeled to their audiences and adherents. The focus on media and popular culture includes anthropological understandings of religion, such as the effects that film, music, radio, and social media have in the shaping of power relations between groups of people. 

This course unravels many of our unquestioned assumptions around the world of work. It examines work as a domain of human activity, a site of meaning-making, a source of identity, a form of dispossession, and a mechanism for social and economic differentiation. Students use theoretical perspectives from sociology, anthropology, political economy, ecological economics, and feminist thought to explore debates around the role of work in human cultures and societies, as well as work as a site of exploitation, class-formation, inequality, and resistance.