Subjects

This course is open ONLY to the students of the Social Sciences BA study programme.

The course will take place in an in-class form.

The course looks into major sociological themes in two ways; first, the focus is on level of analysis embracing disciplinary agendas, institutions, organizations, social structures, interactions and communications. The task here is to clarify and critically discuss how these levels of analysis can account for social phenomena and how a specific phenomenon can be narrowed down and analyzed through different levels of analysis. The second set of themes represent contemporary perspectives for analyzing today’s complex societies, both picking up on classical sociological approaches and engaging with recent developments in the formation of sociological knowledge.

Last update: Balon Jan, PhDr. Mgr., Ph.D. (15.09.2023)

Course Objective
1. Understanding of the aims and possibilities of sociological analysis.
2. Capability to use selected sociological concepts and to apply them to observed social reality.

Last update: Hájek Martin, doc. Mgr., Ph.D. (24.07.2020)

Requirements:

1. Students are expected to read the required reading(s) for each seminar. If there are two or three required readings rather than one, students are expected to read all of them.

2. Students are encouraged to actively participate in the seminars by posing questions of clarification or bringing up problems for discussion.

3. Students are expected to write three short position papers (300-500 words each) on three different seminar topics. The chosen topics should be evenly distributed across the three blocks of the course, i.e. for each block one paper. The papers should include a summary of the main points of the required reading(s), a critique of these readings, questions of clarification, and possible questions for discussion. It is compulsory to attend the seminar, if you have prepared your position paper for it.

To enable the organization of the in-class discussion, papers must have two clearly identified sections:

1) A summary section entitled "Summary";

2) a critique section entitled "My Comments and Questions".

Papers that do not have this structure and contain different points scattered throughout the text will be rejected and will not count towards the student’s grade. The position papers should be submitted through Moodle no later than on Friday in the week previous

4. Each class will be opened by a student presentation. It should be focused on the topic of a respective class. The goal is not to summarize readings, but to bring up problems for discussion.

5. At the end of the semester students should submit a 2500-word long final paper on a topic relevant to the course.

Assessment methods:

1) Presentation - (around 15 minutes long) – 20 points max

2) Position papers – 30 points (10 points each paper)

3) Term paper: 50 points

Students must reach more than 50 % for their position papers and term papers.

Grading System

- 91 - 100 points: A

- 81 - 90 points: B

- 71 - 80 points: C

- 61 - 70 points: D

- 51 - 60 points: E

- less than 51 points: F

Last update: Balon Jan, PhDr. Mgr., Ph.D. (02.10.2022)

The readings are accessible in Moodle: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=10124¬ifyeditingon=1

Obligatory reading:

Week 1 : Intro/Sociology: A multiple paradigm science (JB)

Ritzer, G. (1975) “Sociology: A Multiple Paradigm Science”. The American Sociologist , 10(3): 156–167.

Week 2: The Social-Facts Paradigm (JB)

Lee, D. (1994). “Class as a Social Fact.” Sociology , 28(2): 397–415.

Week 3: The Social-Definition Paradigm (JB)

Guess TJ. (2006). The Social Construction of Whiteness: Racism by Intent, Racism by Consequence. Critical Sociology. 2006;32(4):649-673.

Week 4: The Social-Behaviour Paradigm (JB)

Homans, G. C. (1958). Social behavior as exchange. American Journal of Sociology, 63, 597–606.

Week 5: Analysis of Social Institutions of Modernity and Late Modernity: Socio-economic Dimension (OC)

Harrington, A. Modern Social Theory: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 16-24 (modernity and its dimensions), 41-50 (Marx), 286-288 (Beck and Giddens).

Marx, K. and F. Engels. 1848. Manifesto of the Communist Party. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/Manifesto.pdf, excerpt (pp. 14-26).

Week 6: Analysis of Social Institutions of Modernity and Late Modernity: Political Dimension (OC)

Harrington, A. Modern Social Theory: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 64-76 (Weber), 292-299 (globalization).

Weber, M. 1919. Politics as Vocation. http://anthropos-lab.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Weber-Politics-as-a-Vocation.pdf, excerpt (pp. 1-6).

Week 7: Dean’s Day: no class

Week 8: Analysis of Social Change and Stability: Civil Society and Associations (OC)

Harrington, A. Modern Social Theory: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 51-58 (Durkheim).

Putnam, R. 1995. Bowling Alone. http://www.socialcapitalgateway.org/content/paper/putnam-r-d-1995-bowling-alone-americas-declining-social-capital-journal-democracy-6-1-, pp. 65-78.

Week 9: Analysis of Socialisation and Family (DN)

Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1967). The social construction of reality . London: Allen Lane. pp. 147-166.

Week 10: Analysis of Social Structure and Inequalities (DN)

Bourdieu, P. (1998). Practical reason: On the theory of action Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 1-18

Week 11: Analysis of Social Role of Language and Communication (DN)

Mooney, A. & Evans, B. (2015). Language, society and power: An introduction . Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 1-19.

Week 12: team work at distance: term papers preparation

Week 13 (January - the exact date will be specified): Final seminar with a discussion of the term papers. (DN)

Recommended reading:
Any Introduction to Sociology textbook published 2000 and later. For example: Sociology by Anthony Giddens, Philip W. Sutton. Polity Press, 2017.

Last update: Balon Jan, PhDr. Mgr., Ph.D. (03.10.2021)

Course Syllabus

This course is open only to the students of the Social Sciences BA study programme.

The course will take place in an in-class form.

PART I: THE DISCIPLINE AND ITS PARADIGMS

Week 1 (2 October): Intro/Sociology: A multiple paradigm science (JB)

Ritzer, G. (1975) “Sociology: A Multiple Paradigm Science”. The American Sociologist , 10(3): 156–167.

Week 2 (9 October): The Social-Facts Paradigm (JB)

Lee, D. (1994). “Class as a Social Fact.” Sociology , 28(2): 397–415.

Week 3 (16 October): The Social-Definition Paradigm (JB)

Guess TJ. (2006). The Social Construction of Whiteness: Racism by Intent, Racism by Consequence. Critical Sociology. 2006;32(4):649-673.

Week 4 (23 October): The Social-Behaviour Paradigm (JB)

Homans, G. C. (1958). Social behavior as exchange. American Journal of Sociology, 63, 597–606.

PART II: SOCIETIES AND THEIR INSTITUTIONS

Week 5 (30 October): Analysis of Social Institutions of Modernity and Late Modernity: Socio-economic Dimension (OC)

Harrington, A. Modern Social Theory: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 16-24 (modernity and its dimensions), 41-50 (Marx), 286-288 (Beck and Giddens).

Marx, K. and F. Engels. 1848. Manifesto of the Communist Party. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/Manifesto.pdf, excerpt (pp. 14-26).

Week 6 (6 November): Analysis of Social Institutions of Modernity and Late Modernity: Political Dimension (OC)

Harrington, A. Modern Social Theory: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 64-76 (Weber), 292-299 (globalization).

Weber, M. 1919. Politics as Vocation. http://anthropos-lab.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Weber-Politics-as-a-Vocation.pdf, excerpt (pp. 1-6).

Week 7 (13 November): Reading week: no class

Week 8 (20 November): Analysis of Social Change and Stability: Civil Society and Associations (OC)

Harrington, A. Modern Social Theory: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 51-58 (Durkheim).

Putnam, R. 1995. Bowling Alone. http://www.socialcapitalgateway.org/content/paper/putnam-r-d-1995-bowling-alone-americas-declining-social-capital-journal-democracy-6-1-, pp. 65-78.

PART III: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND ITS CONSTRUCTIONS

Week 9 (27 November): Analysis of Socialisation and Family (DN)

Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1967). The social construction of reality. London: Allen Lane. pp. 147-166.

Week 10 (4 December): Analysis of Social Structure and Inequalities (DN)

Bourdieu, P. (1998). Practical reason: On the theory of action Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 1-18

Week 11 (11 December): Analysis of Social Role of Language and Communication (DN)

Mooney, A. & Evans, B. (2015). Language, society and power: An introduction . Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 1-19.

Week 12 (18 December): team work at distance: term papers preparation

Week 13 (January - the exact date will be specified): Final seminar with a discussion of the term papers. (DN)

The final version of the detailed syllabus is published on Moodle: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=10124¬ifyeditingon=1

Last update: Balon Jan, PhDr. Mgr., Ph.D. (15.09.2023)

Please note that the course is not opened to students of the following undergraduate sociological programmes: (1) Sociologie se specializacemi a (2) Sociologie a sociální politika

Last update: Numerato Dino, doc. PhDr., Ph.D. (14.09.2020)

Tento kurz není určen pro studenty českých bc. sociologických studijních programů: (1) Sociologie se specializacemi a (2) Sociologie a sociální politika

Last update: Numerato Dino, doc. PhDr., Ph.D. (14.09.2020)