Sociology

This course examines the historical trajectories and contemporary interpretations of the concepts of race, ethnicity and nationhood. Through critical engagement with classical and contemporary theories of race, ethnicity and nationhood, the course examines the role that these play in the construction of social and political identities, and in the development of the modern nation-state and nationalist politics. The course also investigates the co-constitutive relationship between interpretations of race, ethnicity and nationhood, and historical and contemporary migration. Emphasis is placed on the role of migration in the constitution of the modern nation- state, the relationship between migrant and minority politics, and the manner in which contemporary migration continues to be affected by discourses of race, ethnicity and nationhood.

This course examines the ethical, environmental and social problems associated with consumerism, and examines in detail some of the creative, ingenious and determined responses to these problems.

This seminar examines the historical emergence and theoretical foundations of property and wealth through the combined lenses of sociology and economics. It explores how ownership, inheritance, and taxation have been theorized and institutionalized from early human societies to contemporary capitalism, and how these processes have produced and sustained social inequalities, including gendered disparities.

This course provides an opportunity to examine current youth policy debates and how they have been framed and organized in different cultures, particularly in East Asian and Western contexts. Students focus on various social problems and challenges experienced by young people, compare welfare systems and how they are shaped by different cultural values, and discuss policy measures and welfare organization in a range of topical youth issues, including housing, poverty and inequality, work and education, and social connections in the "digital age."

This course takes an interdisciplinary approach by introducing contemporary development issues in the Global South. It draws on literature from Political Science, Economics, History, and Sociology. The module explores and analyzes the intersection of politics, history, sociology, governance, and economics in relation to development in the Global South. It does so by investigating the influence of colonialism, governance, culture, institutions, conflicts, and external forces on the development trajectories in the Global South. Empirically, the course addresses important questions such as: What is the connection between colonial history and development in the Global South; Why have some countries within the Global South developed faster than others since the WWII; What has been the impact of institutions on development in the Global South; What has been the impact of natural resources on politics and development in the Global South; Are there forms of corruptions compatible with development in the Global South; What is the role of foreign aid and foreign direct investments in development, including the China-effect in the Global South? e module also introduces students to important political economy theories such as Neo-patrimonialism, Corruption and Clientelism, Developmental state, Decoloniality. It achieves all the above by offering space for a diversified body of literature and perspectives.
 

This course provides an introduction to research methodology with an emphasis on experimentation. The goal of this course is to teach students how to turn an idea into a good research question and then turn that question into rigorous research studies. To do so, we survey a variety of basic and advanced research techniques, including experimental, behavioral, observational, survey, and physiological methods. Students participate in discussions to understand the applications of each class topic to their research interests. Finally, students design their own studies that utilize methodological approaches.  

Topics include Having and testing ideas, Operationalization and issues of validity, Statistical power and correlational design: measurement construction, Experimental design, Repeated sampling, Survey, Unobtrusive measures and observation, Inducing and assessing emotions, Physiological methods, Dyadic and group designs, Meta-analysis and cross-cultural research, Presenting and publishing research. 

In this course, students design a social research project; understand the principles and assumptions associated with qualitative research; select and justify the most appropriate research method to answer particular research questions; discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various research methods; distinguish and apply suitable types of analysis to varying research designs; apply appropriate ethical standards to research design; and understand issues of power, inequality and exploitation in qualitative research.

This seminar introduces feminist theories that aim to decentralize the predominantly English-speaking discourse on feminism. It includes texts written in languages other than English or French, with a focus on German-speaking and Latin American feminist works. Decentralization is understood broadly: The course examines feminist perspectives from the peripheries, such as rural areas in contrast to urban centers, and the global south in contrast to the global north. Through these diverse viewpoints, the seminar seeks to expand the understanding of feminism beyond dominant frameworks and critically explore intersections of gender, race, and class.

This special topics course covers everything from TikTok trends to influencer politics, this course examines social media as both technological systems and cultural forces that reshape how people communicate, form identities, build communities, and engage in public life. The course explores the interplay between platform design, user behavior, and broader social structures, developing critical frameworks to analyze digital culture's impact on contemporary society.

This course provides students with the tools needed to understand how domestic violence and abuse was and is now understood in public debate and what the key theoretical underpinnings are to understand domestic violence from a social science lens. The course explores how legislation within different jurisdictions has evolved to reflect new research evidence and changes in public debate, and it critically reflects on what the social policy response to domestic violence is and has been in different settings. The course focuses primarily on the UK context with potential for exploring other countries as case studies.