Sociology

What makes a group of people feel like a nation? Who decides who belongs—and who doesn't? Why do national borders, myths, and identities still matter in a globalised world? This course explores how nations are formed, imagined, and contested—from ancient legends to modern passports, from cultural traditions to nationalist movements, and offers tools to understand how nations shape the world we live in.

This course examines the unique political economy of the United States in drawing primarily—but not exclusively—on comparative political economy (CPE) scholarship to explore how the American economy functions, how it compares to its (mainly European) peers, and why it remains so. The course consists of three interconnected main parts. The first part discusses the basic logic behind the comparative analysis of capitalism and trace the ideational roots of contemporary approaches in comparative political economy, providing a foundational understanding of key debates in CPE. The second and third part of the seminar are dedicated to the dominant theoretical frameworks for the comparative analysis of capitalism in the last decades, with a particular focus on the United States. By integrating theoretical perspectives with in-depth comparative analysis, this course equips students with the tools to critically assess the evolution of the American model of capitalism, engage critically with contemporary economic challenges, and understand how national political economies mediate and respond to the global forces shaping today’s capitalism.

This course provides students with a general overview of social inequalities in health at the individual and population level and how they differ across time and place. It spans topics from sociology, public health, epidemiology, and demography to explore the various factors that produce and exacerbate health inequalities. Emphasis is placed on first building foundational knowledge about health inequalities and its determinants, including understanding how health is defined and measured, and what are the factors that influence health at the individual (e.g., socioeconomic status, family structure) and population (e.g., cultural norms, welfare systems) levels. The course then discusses how health changes over the life course and over time. A central focus throughout this course is on contextual differences, so readings cover a range of countries and populations. Students are expected to critically engage with scientific articles selected by the instructor and are encouraged to contribute relevant articles for discussion in class. A solid understanding of quantitative research methods is essential for the successful completion of this course.

This course offers a critical introduction to the sociology of revolution. As revolutions involve the dismantling of social orders and the remaking of new ones, revolutions are ripe for sociological exploration. Yet revolutions remain relatively absent from sociology curricula today. This course intervenes by guiding students through a global sociological history of revolutions spanning 200 years: from 1789 to 1989, before concluding by assessing 21st revolutionary movements in the aftermath of the putative 'end of history'.

This course sheds light on how markets emerge and the actions needed to create a market. It also explains the role of institutions, networks, and culture in shaping markets. Lastly, Third, it shows the way in which markets are organized and has distributive effects. Understanding that specific actions are needed to create a market and the different ways in which markets can be shaped counters an understanding that takes markets as granted and market competition and the ensuing consequences as something natural. The course covers the various challenges associated with creating a market: challenge of cooperation, challenge of competition and challenge of establishing value, ability to explain how different mechanisms contribute to solving these challenges, and applying the concepts discussed in class to current issues in concrete markets.

This course offers an overview of sociological approaches to law as social relationships and social institution. It gives an overview of theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues discussed in the Sociology of Law as a sub-discipline. The themes of the course include questions of justice, law enforcement, legal professionalism, everyday 'life' of law, social norms, and social change. These topics are scrutinised through both socio-legal and sociological methods. Drawing on theoretical approaches in legal studies, the course offers a variety of definitions of law that are then critically assessed with sociological tools. Hence, the broader question of the course is: What is law? What forms does the law take in our societies? How does law constitute the societies and do societies constitute the law? In other words, during the classes, we look at social, political, and historical aspects of the formation of justice as we know it.

The course covers literature in the Sociology of Law from classic authors (Marx, Durkheim, and Weber) to contemporary debates (feminist jurisprudence, queer criminology, etc.).

The course examines the history of Chile from its foundation until present times. It focuses on the history from the social angle and with a feminist, intersectional and decolonial approaches. It identifies three historical periods: Creation of Chile, Welfare and Neoliberal states. The course proposes students to reflect on the role of the social worker in relation to the history of Chile and the importance of knowing this history for working in this profession.

This advanced course guides students through key contemporary sociological debates, presenting major theoretical and analytical paradigms and exploring how these are developed and tested through empirical research. The course tackles complex questions about inequality, justice, emotion, creativity, violence and belief, highlighting the tension between micro-, meso- and macro-level explanations. Students also discover how sociology is practiced across different countries and intellectual traditions, gaining comparative insights and deeper reflexivity about their own place in society.

This course offers an in-depth critical analysis of right-wing populism, emphasizing its theoretical foundations, historical evolution, and contemporary empirical manifestations. Students explore the ideological underpinnings of right-wing populism, its intersections with nationalism and authoritarian tendencies, and its broader implications for democratic governance. Through interdisciplinary scholarly literature, critical media analyses, and collaborative discussions, the course examines how right-wing populist movements emerge, sustain, and transform within diverse political systems and cultural contexts, focusing particularly on case studies from Europe and North America. Special attention is also given to the relationship between right-wing populism and pressing global issues such as climate change, fostering awareness of how environmental concerns are framed, instrumentalized, or denied within populist rhetoric. Upon completion of this course, students can clearly define and differentiate between key concepts including right-wing populism, radical right, and extreme right. They are capable of analyzing and critiquing the core ideological dimensions of populism and identifying the underlying factors that drive the emergence and rise of right-wing populist movements. Additionally, students evaluate the impact of digital communication technologies on populist rhetoric and political mobilization. They are also equipped to conduct comparative analyses of right-wing populist phenomena across different national contexts and critically assess the consequences of right-wing populism on democratic institutions, civil society, civic norms, and environmental discourse.

This course gives students the tools to analyze, research and respond to real world issues such as globalization, crime, social justice, community breakdown, and racial, sexual and indigenous inequality.