Sociology

This course is part of the LM degree program. The course is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. The course aims at training students to apply gender studies’ key concepts and theoretical approaches to the analysis of a series of contemporary social challenges and transformations in the fields of culture, sexuality, work, technologies, and politics, amongst others. After completing the course, students can recognize gender as one of the basic principles organizing human society and culture, mobilize the gender studies’ concepts to produce critical knowledge, and apply a gender-sensitive perspective in imagining emancipatory strategies and policies. The course introduces students to the main analytical perspectives of gender studies by analyzing a series of key-concepts developed by literature in women's studies, men's studies, and queer studies. Lectures focus on key-concepts including gender order, intersectionality, heteronormativity, (positive) marginality, care, androcentrism, subjectivity, and performativity. These concepts are analyzed theoretically and, later, applied to the analysis of concrete social phenomena and contemporary social transformation. The course includes lectures, seminars, group readings/discussions, and movie screenings. Students who successfully complete the course, are better prepared to participate in and contribute effectively to the larger public conversation regarding the role of gender in society and are able to apply the critical tools of gender studies in their academic, personal, and work environment.

In this course, students critically discuss the role, function, and nature of the family in contemporary society as well as examining changing patterns of family life. The course also explores how social identities and different social positions (for example those related to class, gender, or ethnicity) impact upon the experience of family life. Families are also be discussed in relation to other areas of social life including education, the workplace, and the community. Students on this course engage with questions such as: To what extent does the nuclear family remain seen as the "ideal" family type? What are the experiences of lone parent families in contemporary society? How easy is it for families to balance paid work and family life? What is the relationship between the family and social policy? The course familiarizes students with contemporary research related to families and family life and equip them to critically evaluate this material.

This course introduces the main aspects of contemporary Korean society, including those pertaining to the family, gender, education, population, religion, economy, and popular culture. The course specifically focuses on topics and issues that figure prominently in the lives of the Korean people, such as the persistence of extended families, the rise of Christianity, education frenzy, population aging, low fertility rate, increasing ethnic diversity and multiculturalism, rapid industrialization, Seoul-based urbanization, and the rise of Hallyu as a global phenomenon. Each of these issues will be examined through sociological, historical, and comparative perspectives. 

This course studies social movements and interest groups, including theories, methodologies, and examples from throughout the world. Topics covered include models for social movements (psycho-social, rational action, cognitive, cultural, political), definitions and concepts (events, mobilizations and revolution, tolerance and repression, political action and violence), origins and causes of social movements, new social movements (ecology, peace movement, feminism, civil rights), pluralist and corporative models for the representation of interests, theories and classification of interest groups, interest groups and political decision making, and the globalization of social movements.

This course introduces the theoretical and methodological approaches of Disability Studies, an expanding field that is not yet well enough known in France. It is organized in twelve themed sessions focusing on conceptual models used in studying disability, the history of legislative and social policy for impaired persons, and representations of disability in literature, the arts, and new media. The course offers a particularly worthwhile addition to the skillset of students preparing for careers in law, public administration, education, or social work.

This course provides a basic overview of the role of sport in the Czech Republic from historical, sociological, and political perspectives. Students are acquainted with current trends in the society and their influence on the development and practice of outdoor activities. The main topics include the concept of Czech physical culture and the outdoor concept of “turistika,” a nation-specific type of hiking. The course also examines some contemporary sports-related issues from an inter-disciplinary perspective, including violence, cheating, doping, and technologies in sport.

This course discusses techniques and strategies to mediate and manage conflict.