VSFS:BA_Soc_1 Sociology 1 - Course Information

BA_Soc_1 Sociology 1

Extent and Intensity

2/1/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Guaranteed by

Mgr. Jitka Cirklová, M.A., Ph.D.
Subdepartment of Social Sciences – Department of Social Sciences – Departments – University of Finance and Administration
Contact Person: Dita Egertová

Prerequisites

There are no pre-requisites for this course.

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is offered to students of any study field.

Course objectives

This course is meant as introductory. Its primary objective is to strengthen interest of students in sociology and increase their motivations in the study of modern societies. To meet this objective, the course will provide a broad overview of major theoretical perspectives, theories, and concepts while focusing on their application to everyday life. Discussions on sociologically relevant non-scientific materials (including documentary movies, news and public debates) as well as the results of the most recent cross national comparative research projects will help students to understand the role of culture, values, religion, family, socialization, education, social and cultural capital, social structure and inequality in modern societies. The ultimate goal of the course is to develop student’s own 'sociological imagination'.

After completing this course, students will be able to:
View people’s behavior from a sociological perspective.
Develop students’ own sociological imagination and apply it to current social trends, problems and situations.
Understand main trends in the development of sociology and link them to principal historical changes from traditional to post-modern society.
Identify the most important sociologists and their major contributions to the field.
Understand the three major sociological perspectives (functionalist, conflict, and interactionist) and apply them to the explanation of human behavior.
Understand the role of religion, culture and values in society, and explain socialization process and the role of family, school and other institutions in it.
Understand the nature of social inequality, explain the role of social and distributive justice norms in the legitimization of inequality, describe meritocratic vs. egalitarian ideologies of distributive justice.
Explain the main steps of research process and recognize appropriate research procedures.

Learning outcomes

Basic theoretical knowledge, orientation in problems and context of monitored topics. At the same time, the practical skills and skills of applying the acquired knowledge in a real environment of professional activities. The learning outcomes are the support and development of the profile of the educated practitioner.

Syllabus

• 1. Sociology and its perspective 2. Development of sociological thinking 3. Theoretical and empirical sociology 4. Sociological research 6. Culture, identity and community 7. Social inequality: class, race and gender 8. Family and intimacy 9. Organizations, institutions, bureaucracy, government, power and politics 10. Institutions, government and power 11. Globalization, social change and social transformation 11. Sociology applied in marketing and marketing communication Overview of study topics: • 1. What is sociology and sociological perspective? What is sociological imagination and how to apply it to everyday life? The most topical issues in contemporary societies and their reflections in public and policy debates. The discussion based on the documentary movie “Inequality for All”. • 2. Development of sociology. The most influential predecessors of sociological thinking (John Locke, David Hume, Thomas Hobbes, and Alexis de Tocqueville) and their contributions to the development of sociological thought. Founding fathers of sociology (August Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim), major sociological perspectives and their most important representatives (Karl Marx, Max Weber, Georg Simmel, George Herbert Mead, Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton, Charles Wright Mills, Ralph Dahrendorf, Peter Berger). • 3. Theoretical vs. empirical sociology. Is there a gap between the two approaches to sociology? Why do we need social theories? What are the main types of social theories? Can social theories be built and developed without being exposed to empirical evidence? Can personal experience serve as empirical evidence? Is sociology a science at all? Public sociology and its legitimacy in modern society. Difference between theory and paradigm. Why is sociology a mutliparadigmatic discipline? Macro-sociology and micro-sociology. • 4. Sociological research. Specific features and methods of social research compared with natural sciences. Main differences between quantitative and qualitative research. Main steps of sociological research. Principal components of sociological research project. Ethics and politics in social research. Understanding and interpreting elementary results from sociological research. • 5. Culture and its role in society. The most important elements of culture: language, norms, sanctions, values, stereotypes, prejudices. Dominant culture, subcultures, countercultures, and cultural diversity. Acculturation and assimilation. Multiculturalism, its advantages and potential threats to social cohesion. • 6. Socialization. Main agents (institutions) of socialization process in modern societies. The role of family, school and social environment in forming “socialized personality”. The role of heredity in social development (nature vs. nurture). Anticipatory socialization and resocialization. The most recent research evidence on the role of social background in life-success. • 7. Human needs, values and value orientations. Main differences between needs and values. Hierarchy of human needs (Abraham Maslow). Where do the values we share come from? What is the role of values in society? Structure of values and their empirical assessment (Shalom H. Schwartz). What is the role of religion in the formation of value orientations? Are there differences in values and value orientations among nations? Geert Hofstede and its cultural dimensions theory. Comparing nations’ cultural dimensions using Hofstede’s model. What is European Values Survey, and how can we use it to understand society we live in? • 8. Social inequality. When a difference becomes inequality? Is social inequality inevitable? The relationships between inequality and life-chances. Main dimensions of social inequality in modern societies. Objective vs. subjective (perceived) inequality. Legitimization of inequality. Inequality and norms of distributive justice. Meritoratic vs. egalitarian norms and ideologies of distributive justice. The relationships between norms of distributive justice and political orientations. Various forms of capital (economic, social, cultural) and their role in the reproduction of inequality. The main factors determining getting ahead in life in different societies - the results from comparative research of inequality (International social survey program, module on Inequality). • 9. Social structure, stratification and mobility. Main dimensions and elements of social structure. Position, role and status. Ascribed, achieved, and master statuses. The meaning and definition of socio-economic status. Open and closed stratification systems. Social stratification from the functionalist and conflict perspectives. Two main perspectives applied on the explanation of status attainment process (allocation vs. socialization). The main approaches to the definition of social class. Social and class mobility, types of social mobility (objective mobility, subjective mobility, collective mobility). Historical development of social mobility. The relationship between mobility and democracy. Middle class, its main segments, and its role in modern society. Research evidence on class structures and mobility of contemporary societies (class images ) • 10. Organizations, institutions, bureaucracy, government, power and politics. Main differences between organizations and institutions. Basic social institutions and their role in the transmission of society’s values. Sociological concept of bureaucracy. Types of social and political systems: democracy, socialism, and communism. Power and main types of its legitimacy. Political ideologies, parties, and voting behavior. Traditional and contemporary political issues and cleavages. Difference in believes about the role of government in contemporary societies (using data from the most recent ISSP survey Role of Government). • 11. Globalization, social change and social transformation. What is globalization? Main dimensions of globalization. Advantages (gains) and disadvantages (threats) of globalization. Main types of social change: evolution vs. revolution. Social transformation and sociology of transforming societies, the notion of “refolution”. Dahrendorf’s concept of social transformation in post-communist countries (theory of three clocks). Reproduction or circulation of elites in transforming societies? • 12. Sociology applied in marketing and marketing communication. How sociology and social research can contribute to marketing? Main topics and research questions directly linked to marketing (social structure and inequality, reference groups, patterns of behavior, values, life-styles, individualization, etc.). Methods of sociological research used in marketing.

Literature

required literature
• The Sociology Book - Big ideas simply explained. Dorling Kindrsley, A Penguin Random House Comp. 2015
• Mills, C. W., ʽPrivate Troubles, Public Issuesʼ, in Giddens, A. and Sutton, P. W.. (eds.) Sociology: Introductory Readings. Cambridge: Polity Press, pp. 5-8.
• Weber, Max. (2001) The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. London: Routlege, pp. xxxi-xxxv, 116, 121-124.
• Elias, N. (2000) The civilizing process. Revised Edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, pp. 365-374.
• Adichie, C. N. Americanah. London: 4th Estate, pp. 220-221, 325-327, 346-347.
• Crompton, R. (2011) ʽThe Rise, Fall and Rise of Social Classʼ, in Giddens, A. and Sutton, P. W.. (eds.) Sociology: Introductory Readings. Cambridge: Polity Press, pp. 154-160.
• Goffman, E. (1969) ʽThe characteristics of total institutionsʼ, in Etzioni, A. (ed.) A sociological reader on complex organizations. 2nd edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pp. 3212-338.

recommended literature
• Fulcher, James and John Scott. Sociology. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2011.
• International Social Survey Programme: http://www.issp.org/
• European Values Study: http://www.europeanvaluesstudy.eu/

not specified
• A Sociology Experiment web www.sociologyexperiment.com Section for students
• Popular Sociology web www.popularsociology.net

Teaching methods

Each topic will be covered by an interactive lecture and seminars -a followed by a discussion o based on presentations of students’ assignments.

Assessment methods

The prerequisite for obtaining credit is the presentation of a selected sociological topic / problem, using adequate professional resources. The presentation should be within 20 minutes. Presentation of the selected sociological problem takes the form of a defense The prerequisite for obtaining credit is submitting assigned works on a selected sociological topic/problem, using adequate professional resources. The presentation should be within 10 minutes. Anticipated participation in lectures and discussions is 75%. Students who do not meet this requirement will have to write a supplementary essay at the end of the semester to be allowed to sit the final test. Assignments are obligatory and must be turned in (uploaded to the homework vault) at the due time. Students who do not turn in all assignments will not be graded. Also, there will be a midterm assignment deadline which is a prerequisite for taking the examination.

Language of instruction

English

Follow-Up Courses

• BA_Soc_B2 Sociology B 2

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 12 hodin KS/semestr.

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