Sociology

Topics include contemporary debates on sex work, sexual, and emotional labor, trafficking, and sex tourism as well as debates of the sex industry and sociological questions concerning structure and agency, and the articulation of gender, race, and class and globalization.

This course charts terrorism’s shifting signature by examining its impact upon London’s modernization. Students discover a city that has been subjected to rapid technological change and new political ideas, that are both wholly alien and eerily familiar. They encounter London as a symbolic target for post-colonial violence and a fulcrum through which terrorist action and state policy are aligned. Approaching the subject through a variety of disciplinary perspectives, students are exposed to a diversity of cultural texts (from novels to films, photographs to monuments) as well as a range of London archives that will contextualize each terrorist incident. These external resources prove invaluable for the final assessment, where students produce a digital e-portfolio exploring three of the terrorist events examined in the module. 

This course goes beyond the classroom to explore Tokyo, both past and present. Engaging in a variety of field experiences that deepen understanding of smaller communities and neighborhoods within the city, the course explores local customs and traditions, food culture, social institutions of daily life, environment and architecture, and more! The course aims to promote language and culture skills through field observations and task-based encounters with Japanese people. Important note: This course features several out-of-class field experiences during the semester.

This is an introductory course tracing the genealogy of Western masters who established sociology over the past 100 years or so, from Durkheim, Weber to Baudrillard, Goffman, and Bourdieu. It oversees their research, theory and thoughts, providing students to gain a three-dimensional understanding of the constant interrelationships between society and sociology throughout history.

The course gives an introduction to the Nordic context and an overview of how the concept and implementation of gender equality has developed and is currently practiced in the Nordic countries. The main focus is on the period after the 1970s, and themes that are taught relate gender equality to: gender equality as a concept; the women's movement and state feminism; work-life balance and gender equality ideals; access to work and politics; Nordic gender equality in an intersectional perspective; men and masculinities: change and continuity; gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights; gender-based violence; gender, climate, and indigenous rights. Moreover, dilemmas and paradoxes concerning gender equality in the Nordic countries are a central theme, as well as the attempt to answer questions as: How can we understand changing gender norms in the Nordic countries, and to what extent is it possible to identify a Nordic model of gender equality?

This course analyzes a selection of works by Western writers and film directors from 1990s to the present, with the exception of Ishiguro’s short story) which are set in East Asia and/or contain characters from East Asia. It explores the answers to the following central questions: Is the portrayal of East Asian people and cultures in each of these works fairly accurate, or is it conforming to biased existing discourses? Are there correct and incorrect ways to present East Asia in literary and cinematic works?

The course aims to apply logical reasoning to our examinations of racial and cultural issues and to learn to think for ourselves, instead of allowing existing discourses to think for us.

This course provides an appreciation of the use of drugs in relation to the cultural and social environment of societies past and present. How drugs are employed today, watershed "drug" discoveries and their impact on society (for example contraceptives, antibiotics, vaccines, psychopharmacological agents), the issue of drug use in sports, "social" drugs and the "pill for every ill" syndrome will be discussed. Particular attention is paid to “controversial” drug-related societal issues within each topic. For example, the role of pharmaceutical industry will be examined to determine if the tendency to “bash” big Pharma is justified or if decriminalization of drug use will be a more effective means of curtailing drug abuse.

The course introduces computational approaches to model human behavior and social phenomena. Core concepts in computational social science are covered, such as observational studies (what types of data exist, possible biases, and how to use data for modeling), basic concepts and techniques for running experiments (asking vs. observing, natural experiments, simulations, validity, and generalization) and discuss key issues such as ethical considerations. The course has both a theoretical and a practical perspective, where you learn basic principles and also how to apply them in practice in three main areas: social network analysis; text analysis; agent-based modeling, and simulation.

This course takes on artistic imagination and activism to better understand contemporary social issues. It examines traditional western art history with a critical lens and introduces local issues, cultural sentiments, and historical contexts around Socially Engaged Art. Students learn from artists, the social implications of art, and explore creative solutions for social issues. 

In Germany and Europe public debates on migration, migrant and ethnic communities and religion play a big role in politics and society. This course first analyzes the concepts of race and racism, looking at historical and contemporary moments as well as developments of racism in society. Further, it examines the various uses of terminology in the field and particularly elaborates on the concept of ‘intersectionality’, studying racism and discrimination from this angle. After gaining the theoretical lens for this course, students engage with clear examples of different forms of racism and discrimination such as Antisemitism, anti-Black racism, anti-Muslim racism or anti-Gypsyism. These examples are analyzed and contextualized by looking at structural and societal problems of racism. Finally, students visit and hear from activists in Berlin dealing with the problem of racism and discrimination. Additionally, the course looks into how governments and policy makers try to tackle racism within their own societies. Students learn from this course the different concepts and forms of racism and are able to apply this knowledge in future discussions by critically questioning processes and events in politics and society.