Sociology

This course focuses on the interdisciplinary studies fields of public and global health, especially the contribution made to them by social sciences like political economy and medical sociology. The course addresses how our health is shaped by factors such as class, gender, race, profit-seeking behavior, climate change, and technology; it also questions what constitutes "medicine" and what role it plays in society, and how health policy shapes and is shaped by these considerations.

This course provides an overview of what characterizes the field of the sociology of consumption, both in terms of the different main theoretical perspectives (e.g. consumer culture theory and practice theories), in terms of the multiplicity of themes (e.g. political consumption and media-consumption), and in terms of current discussions (e.g. representation of materiality). Students make a theoretical and empirically based analysis of a current consumption phenomenon of their choice.

This course delves into the shadows of the criminal underworld and explore the complexities of global crime. It is structured into three parts. The first section introduces the foundational theories, concepts, and terminology in global crime and justice. It covers the growing importance of knowledge production beyond traditional Anglo-American bases of power and how colonialism has shaped our understanding of the crime. In the second part, the course delves deeper into responses to global crime, from the controversial death penalty for drug trafficking to the rising militarization of borders. Students investigate how vulnerable populations can become ensnared within these complex frameworks. It untangles the complex and interwoven nature of global crimes through an in-depth study of trafficking in its many forms (human, wildlife, diamonds and antiques). This course investigates how global crimes can blur the boundaries between victims and offenders and shape borders through policing responses. Finally, it investigate state crimes, online ‘sleuthing’, and the phenomenon of ‘true crime’ consumption to illustrate how key social changes such as globalization, technology and media influence crime policing, perception and victims. Global crime offers a multidisciplinary, critical and comparative perspective in criminology.

This course introduces the major social changes occurring in global society and their impact on individual and collective identities. Students examine the role of identity, the value of coexistence with people of different ethnicities, races, ideologies, and religions, as well as the importance of dialogue in times of conflict, ideological polarization, and war. Texts and images within art, literature, philosophy, religion and economics are studied. Emphasis is placed on cultural theories, concepts, and methodologies and to understand society through a cultural lens.

This course examines the core vocabulary and approaches that are common in global development today. It covers strategies to stay up to date with the ever-shifting terrain of development practice, and develop the sensibilities to work effectively with a range of development partners. Students will gain critical insight into how to make development ‘inclusive’ for all people, regardless of gender, (dis)ability, sexuality, socio-economic background and so on.

In this course, students analyze and understand the connections between tourism and society and the demand of tourism and its impact on society. Topics include concepts of Tourism Sociology, interpreting social reality form a sociological perspective, and how to contextualize and explain social phenomena caused by tourism. 

Through this course, students identify the elements of cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, as representations of identity; understand the value that each society places on its own culture; examine the appeal that this type of heritage holds for tourists; and develop the ability to promote it within the tourism sector. Additionally, conserving and exhibiting heritage objects in museums, as well as in current exhibition methods, whether on-site or in museum spaces is discussed. 

This course examines representaions of American society through popular Hollywood films. Issues we examine include race, gender, class, sexuality and (dis)abilities. These films show customs, traditions, values and institutions in American society. They also depict cross-cultural dilemmas that people from different background face. In this way, the class aims to develop students' understanding of and sensitivity to the influence of culture on communication in different social settings.

This course explores key issues within the sociology of family. In particular, it focuses on how perceptions and experiences of family shift over space and time. Students develop an understanding of key sociological perspectives on the role of the family in society. The course explores the social construction of family, and how the definition of it developed over time. This understanding of diverse family and household structures include topics such as same-sex parents, lone-parents, divorced/step families, adoption and reproductive rights of Irish women. It considers how these changes impact individual and family relationships.

This course examines the main cultural manifestations of the United Kingdom and the United States, focusing on the principal geographical and social features, as well as the events and processes that have shaped the social and cultural development of both these English-speaking countries since 1945.