Sociology

Recently, in the decades since the 1970s, millions of people from many countries and religions have flooded into Italy, sparking a profound change in the social fabric of the once homogenous Italian peninsula. This course reviews the key teachings and beliefs of several world religions present in Rome, and introduces undergraduate students to the principles and practices of “interfaith dialogue,” using local dialogue case studies and site visits to give context to our discussions. Students grapple with the complex nature of religious and social diversity in the Eternal City, and the concrete steps many inhabitants of Rome are taking to bridge social divides. Inspired by Enzo Pace, students learn to “deal with the unprecedented religious pluralism that has been increasingly characterizing life in Italy.”

The course teaches students about the process of social innovation, and how do develop and work within a temporary innovation system. It explores how processes of social innovation are used to address key societal challenges, focusing on topics such as housing and homelessness or development of nature-based solutions for sustainable cities. Students learn how to engage with key individuals within the fields of social innovation and social change in Ireland and abroad, including academics, practitioners and activists, and record and disseminate their interaction with them.

This course examines how social and cultural background impact health access and outcomes. It discusses providing tailor-made care in a multicultural environment. Topics include: beliefs about health and disease in different cultural groups; social determinants of health; transcultural nursing; cultural competence; biomedical model vs social model; impact of sexist, racist, and lgbtq-phobic violence on individuals and communities; intersectionality.

This general sociology course systematically integrates gender studies to revisit the important questions of this discipline. The course examines themes of family, school, work, politics, health, and sexuality through the lens of gender while integrating a certain number of fundamental theories. It discusses gender sociology texts based on concepts examined during the lectures, considers the relationship between public policies and contemporary debates, and develops axes on which to read the social world through the prism of gender: paying attention to gender inequalities in their different constructions and how gender is integrated into different categories of thought.

The undergraduate research program places students in research opportunites to conduct indpendent research under the supervision of a Chinese University of Hong Kong faculty. Students are expected to spend approximately 15 to 20 hours per week in independent research as well as attend lectures and labs.

This course provides a study of social changes and social problems. It examines who defines what a social problem is; why some social problems receive much attention, while others are ignored; and what the impacts are of defining social problems in a particular way. The course examines these questions drawing on case studies of contemporary issues, like poverty, inequality, health care, and education policy. It focuses on the following aspects: evidence-based analysis of the dynamics of social change; factors contributing to social problems; proactive and reactive measures in responding to social problems; and case studies of the dynamics of social change and social problems in Thailand and other countries.