Sociology

This course provides a historical-conceptual understanding of campesino movements in Latin America and the contexts of the geographies in which they arise. The course is guided by three key units including land, territory, and life, each of which provides a sophisticated understanding through reading theory, lecture, group work,
presentations, as well as through hands-on learning in the field with campesinos in Mexico City. 

It is relatively easy to identify what we know about ourselves, others, our surroundings, or a given situation. But what are the processes through which we acquire and/or construct knowledge with which we operate as social actors? To answer this question, the course explores various sources of a) sociological theory and b) empirical social research on what certain groups of people know (also what they believe, what they doubt or reject) and how they know it. Cognition is discussed in a broad sense as social, cultural, mental, embodied, relational, and emotional.

This course examines gender in the global context. It focuses on gender relations as a subject of economic thought and analysis and explores the ways in which contemporary gendered patterns of employment, production, distribution and exchange have been shaped historically and institutionally.

This course questions the most generalized binary oppositions (State versus indigenous people, government versus community, etc.) that are loaded with moral values ​​(“bad” State versus “good” people) through readings and reflections that provide a complex understanding of the relationships between law, right, State, indigeneity and anthropology. The class becomes familiar with the history and institutionalisation of the rights of indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants by analyzing case studies that show the possibilities and limitations of new legislation at national and international level.  The course also examines the difference between multiculturalism and interculturality through different intercultural projects. 

This is a practical course covering the theory and practice of volunteering. The course focuses on understanding the minimum content for participating in community service and focusing on the practice of social service activities. Students learn how to plan and practice volunteer community service. Volunteer confirmation and volunteer diary must be submitted. 

Political sociology includes the study of the state, political institutions, social movements, nationalism, international relations, and many other areas. Given the broadness of the subfield, no two political sociology syllabi are alike. This course studies three main topics: the state, war, and democracy.  

The course begins with classical theory of the state and an introduction to some theories of state formation. It then proceedsto classic texts on war, as well as a recent synthesis of the sociology of war. Finally, the course concludes with a study of democracy, the readings of which span the Enlightenment to the late 20th century.  

Based on these texts, the class should begin to grasp a set of conceptual and theoretical tools that can help them understand how the world works today. What is society’s relationship with the state? How did modern states come into being? Why do wars break out? Are wars rational? Are they inevitable? What is the nature of democracy? Is it a system of government with continuing relevance? Is it worth defending?  

Building on the theoretical constructs and skills of earlier courses, students are introduced to Community Development from a political economy of welfare perspective. This course uses youth development and contemporary issues as a lens for learning about community assessment and intervention strategies. The course provides the basic concepts, theory, processes and skills required for culturally appropriate assessment of systems and situations at community level, and community development as a strategy of interaction within a framework of youth and youth development in South and Southern Africa. Course entry requirements: At least second-year status.

This course explores the history of social and political thought, focusing on an alternating set of formative texts and their authors. Global early modernity and the Age of Discovery saw the rise of various imperial powers, within and beyond Europe, as well as rapid economic transformation. The onset of modernity and the Age of Enlightenment further strengthened the secular state and witnessed the sustained critique of inherited political and moral ideas. These developments spawned new works of political, moral, and social philosophy that often became famous in their own day and have intrigued intellectual historians and philosophers ever since. The main purpose of this module is to investigate selected texts in order to ascertain their conceptual significance, but also to attempt to understand the historical circumstances in which they were born, and which they themselves influenced. 

What are the roots of our concern for the environment? What did environmental activism look like in the 1960s, the 1930s or even the 1870s? This course offers a survey of where environmentalism has come from and where it is going. This course provides students with a deeper appreciation for the history of environmentalism. We learn about links between the development of the sciences of the environment and environmentalism as a social movement. The geographical focus in this course is on Europe and North America. However, students also locate and interrogate how environmental concern and policy has developed in various parts of the globe. Students note the experiences and contributions of different identity groups. In doing so, they consider the impact of and reactions to European imperialism and postcolonial globalization. They also examine and critique the role of the United Nations and other international organizations in environmental affairs.

This course examines the rise of human rights discourse and its relationship to other discourses on suffering and social justice. It focuses on the experience of victims of human rights abuse and the politics of meaning. Students will engage in critiques of law as a reductionist discourse on the social by exploring the relationships between human rights and cultural differences such as gender, ethnicity, religion and indigenous cultures. The embodied self, social interdependency and the architecture of social institutions are the backdrop through which the course explores the tensions between universal and relativist understandings of human rights and their realization. Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of human rights, the global human rights machinery, and the ethics of humanitarian intervention, and will consider how sociologists have studied and written about human rights.