Sociology

The course provides a study of of Korean society and culture through a sociological perspective. In addition, this course helps students acquire relevant methods to understand diverse societies and cultures in the globalizing world

The course is an introduction to social theories in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The course draws reflections and theoretical comparisons between how humans engage in meaningful interactions with other humans and with social robots. The course begins with an overview of the standard and contrasting accounts of social cognition and its development, spanning from the Theory of Mind, embodied and situated approaches, and neural mirroring theories. Mainstream research paradigms to investigate human-robot interactions will be also presented. Finally, the course advances some current psychological and philosophical critical issues related to ethical, relational, and functional issues of using social robots as partners in human daily interactions.

This course examines the tremendous impact of social media on many walks of life, with a special emphasis on how social media have been transforming the profession of journalist and how the public now consumes news and information. It also offers a look beyond the field of journalism to consider how social media and online communities are profoundly affecting the ways in which young people form their identities and then how those identities develop later in life. Special sessions tackle the influence of social media on the construction of identity, and on the relationship and community building. Many of these issues are discussed in the context of Central and Eastern Europe and the Western experience of social media is compared to the situation in the post-communist world. The course addresses many questions related to social media, including the definition of social media; the role of social media in the formation of community; the role of social media as a uniting or dividing factor; the differences in the consumption of social media in Central and Eastern Europe; the role of social media technologies in constructions of youth, gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality; the effect of social media improving on the state of journalism; changes in the role of the journalist with the advance of social media; and others.

The course explores the concepts of lifetime, intersectionality, and ethno-gerontology in the creation of interventions that contribute to psychosocial well-being and overall health in old age. It discusses the contributions and implications of those three concepts in the design and implementation of psychosocial interventions for the elderly. 

This course introduces the main themes, concepts, and perspectives of sociology. It defines sociology, and examines the theories and methods researchers use to answer sociological questions. It discusses the fundamental social processes and concepts (culture and socialization, social structures, and social inequalities); social institutions (family, education, gender and religion); and environment and social movements.