Sociology

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.

This course is divided into two parts: civilization and literature. The civilization part covers the history of Australia since the beginning of the 20th century. It studies the major events that shaped Australian identity: the world wars and their impact on Australia's place within the British Empire, the major stages of indigenous activism, and the socio-cultural impact of immigration. The literature part of the course introduces the main paradigmatic change of 1980s Britain: the advent of shifting, plural, unstable identities. Hanif Kureishi’s THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA is the perfect introduction to these themes and also, at the time, brought a new light on the political and cultural period. The importance of drama and television writing is also discussed. Additional topics include Thatcher’s Britain, postcolonialism, marketing marginal voices, suburbia, and the pop scene.