Sociology

As a democratized, globalized and multi-ethnic society, contemporary Taiwan is rich in cultural diversity. Not only is Taiwan often influenced by international trends, but its domestic environment provides a fertile ground for social innovations; as a result, Taiwan’s cultural landscape is undergoing a process of permanent revolution. Multiculturalism is not a proclaimed future goal ahead of us, but is taking place in our daily life. This course follows Raymond Williams in viewing culture “not only as a body of intellectual and imaginative work; it is also and essentially a whole way of life.” In other words, culture should not be taken narrowly as a prized property monopolized by an elite group of people, but various ways of acting and thinking embraced by different groups. A survey on contemporary Taiwan’s cultures necessarily sensitizes us to the complicated nature of social groupings. Differences in ethnicity, class, gender, region, age, sexual orientation, religious belief, and life-style give rise to highly diversified cultural expressions, among which contention and cooperation co-exist.

This course examines the concept of the social structure of an advanced society, its institutions and key organizations, and social dynamics. It looks at main theories (authors, works and sources of basic information) that explain the functioning of societies of advanced capitalism and representative democracies. Topics covered include: structure and elements of the advanced capitalist society; forms of social inequality in welfare conditions; structures and activity of advanced capitalism.

The course enables students to develop an understanding of contemporary dimensions of citizenship as a way of thinking through how these shape and are shaped by cities.  This understanding includes an awareness of the different kinds of primary, secondary, and gray sources available for the study of cities and citizenship. The course uses case studies from the global North and South to explore the political, economic, social, and cultural processes that shape cities and citizenship as connected sites of people's sense of identity and belonging.

This course helps students to understand the dynamic and contextual meaning of health and wellbeing within a complex and globalizing world. Political, sociological, and ethical conceptualizations of health and wellbeing are explored to understand the current health and policy contexts for individual, families, and communities. The range of environmental, social, political, and individual factors that influence health and wellbeing are explored within the context of contemporary society to examine how health inequalities are produced, replicated and reinforced.

The seminar introduces sociological theories and methods that investigate the relationship between technology and society. The majority of the course is inspired by the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS). The texts are a mix of theoretical discussions, historical approaches, and ethnographic/situationalist research. The course explores concepts and topics such as sociotechnical systems, actor-networks, workplace studies, cyborgs, design, and sociotechnical imaginaries.