Sociology

An annexed territory and the only colony of settlement in the French Empire, Algeria was officially a part of France, and its loss represents not only a dramatic territorial amputation (more than twice the size of metropolitan France) but also a traumatic symbolic and ideological shift. Long repressed, cloistered and today fragmented and manipulated, the painful and sensitive memories of the colonization of Algeria and the subsequent War of Independence have contributed to the construction of a deeply divided society in France. This course examines the multiple relations between Franco-Algerian history, memory, and minority identities as represented in contemporary France (Algerian immigrants and their "French" descendants, Sephardic Jews, Harkis, Pieds-Noirs, mixed-race individuals). Other groups of people living in France participated in the Algerian War, such as conscripts, professional soldiers, porteurs de valise (French who supported the Algerian nationalists), and all claim different and often conflicting histories. The course material consists of scholarly texts (articles from different disciplines), literature (three novels), and a few films. The course examines how these different resources elaborate memorial discourses carrying public claims of Franco-Algerian identity. The different minority stances often contradict the official French (and, incidentally, Algerian) narrative(s) while being in conflict with the State’s interest. Through interdisciplinary critical readings, this class studies in depths the concept of "representation" and its several meanings: the mental representation (memory of a historical trauma), artistic representation (literature, films), historical representation (conventional narratives and non-conventional approaches), and political representation (representativeness). The analysis of diverse forms of discursive practices about the French colonial past in Algeria, leading to contemporary processes of minority identifications and "community" dynamics in France, allows the class to deepen its understanding of current debates about “wars of memory” and “competitive victimhood” in French society, while reflecting upon issues of citizenship and possible ways to think of conflicted identities as a legacy of colonialism and immigration.

While questioning the relevance of the concept of the "Iranian world," this course provides fundamental knowledge in the political sociology of contemporary Iran and Afghanistan, from a comparative perspective. The course considers together the political, economic, and cultural developments of these two states over a long period, from the fall of Isfahan in 1722, under the blows of an Afghan invasion, to the fall of Kabul in 2021, via the Anglo-Persian war of Herat in 1856-1857 and the concomitant upheavals of 1978 and 1979. Methods of comparative politics are combined with those of connected history to better understand the "Iranian world" as a whole, as well as each of its two major components, highlighting their differences as much as their similarities. The comparative study of Islamic currents of thought in the two countries forms an important part of this course. This includes a focus on the Arab world, as well as the Indian subcontinent. Finally, while the course focuses on Iran and Afghanistan, it also includes Tajikistan, the only other state where Persian is the official language. The course includes a visit to the Guimet Museum.

This course provides a sociological perspective on economic, social, and political processes, focusing especially on global social change and sustainable development. Students acquire the knowledge required to understand and critically examine the discussions pursued about the global social change that marks modernity, focusing especially on the post-war period. The course includes four modules, this is the third module: Global Sustainability and Environmental Sociology. The module focuses on sustainability and environmental sociology. Based on the classical and contemporary theories addressed in the first module, the third module provides a specialization in contemporary sociological perspectives on sustainability and environmental issues. Different aspects of sustainability and environmental challenges are reviewed based on different perspectives of the theory of science and the social sciences, aiming to provide a detailed understanding of how environmental problems can be framed and understood from different social and political perspectives. Furthermore, the module considers different types of political and social action to achieve change, such as different political solutions and changes in consumption, and everyday life/lifestyle.

This course contains subject matter focusing on class, race, and gender inequalities in education, and offers an overview of education systems and educational policy. It offers a guide to some differing perspectives in the approach to studying education in its sociological, political, and policy context. 

This course introduces the sociological study of tourism with a focus on Ghana. It examines the evolution and development of tourism as a global phenomenon, the motivations behind travel, characteristics and destinations of tourists, tourist attractions, types of tourism as well as the socioeconomic and sociocultural impact of tourism on the recipient country. The course also examines state institutions and private organizations in the tourism industry. The global dimension of tourism are examined within relevant sociological frameworks.

This course mainly considers various gender relations of the contemporary Japanese society from sociological and cultural perspectives. Students are expected to understand and critically analyze the basic characteristics of gender relations in Japan through various readings and class discussion. Students are expected to have critical perspectives on “normal” everyday life upon completion of this course. 

Students are introduced to environmental sociology with a focus on the interactions between human societies and the natural environment. By focusing on this two-way interaction, the course examines key theoretical perspectives, debates, and issues within environmental sociology. The course considers interdisciplinary perspectives examining a range of topics such as environmental inequality, sustainability, public attitudes towards climate change, renewable energy, consumption, pollution, environmental social movements, climate-induced migration, green crime and transformation to "green societies."  These issues are examined at multiple levels, including rural and urban, local, and global, and from different perspectives of key stakeholders. 

This course provides a sociological perspective on economic, social, and political processes, focusing especially on global social change and sustainable development. Students acquire the knowledge required to understand and critically examine the discussions pursued about the global social change that marks modernity, focusing especially on the post-war period. The course includes four modules, this is the fourth module: Social Sciences Methods. The module focuses on social sciences methods and aims to provide basic knowledge of statistical analysis and awareness of different methods of qualitative analysis. Furthermore, emphasis is placed on the operationalization of issues and the testing of different theories based on the course content.

This course examines the main sources, concepts, and contexts associated with critical and cultural theory. It discusses some structuring concepts of the modern experience and international system such as capitalism, mass culture, public sphere, social criticism, crisis, neoliberalism, and patriarchy, among others.

This course introduces the issues associated with demographic growth, which has accelerated very significantly over the last half century to soon reach eight billion individuals today. It covers the issues of population geography which vary around inequalities in the distribution and evolution of the population; the challenges of sometimes too rapid growth in the urban population; and the consequences of increased life expectancy. The course studies new societal behaviors to decipher the issues associated with the evolution of pronatalist and matrimonial behaviors. Population migrations, although they are no longer the source of new settlements, constitute a major aspect of this course, and are examined under demographic, societal, and political facets. Finally, the course examines the environmental consequences.