Social Sciences and Method: Sociology

ECTS : 3

Volume horaire : 30

Description du contenu de l'enseignement :

The course is designed to introduce students to the sociological study of society. Sociology focuses on the systematic understanding of social interaction, social organization, social institutions, and social change. Major themes in sociological thinking include the interplay between the individual and society, how society is both stable and changing, the causes and consequences of social inequality, and the social construction of human life. Understanding sociology helps discover and explain social patterns and see how such patterns change over time and in different settings. By making vivid the social basis of everyday life, sociology also develops critical thinking by revealing the social structures and processes that shape diverse forms of human life.

Compétence à acquérir :

• Show the relevance and reality of structural factors in social life
• Place an issue in a larger context (identify systemic elements; identify stakeholders; list unintended consequences)
• Describe, explain, and predict aspects of social problems
• Debunk individualistic explanations of behavior and identify social patterns
• Recognize the difference between dispositional and sociological explanations
• Recognize the difference between empirical and normative statements
• Identify and offer explanations for social inequality
• Analyze labor force issues 
• Perform a content analysis of texts or news to identify possible sources of bias
• Critique the media
• Transform a topic of interest into a researchable, sociological question
• Describe the elements of the scientific method in the social sciences
• Understand basic elements of an ethical code of conduct for social scientists
• Unpack the ¿causal nexus¿, e.g., correlation, time order, elimination of alternative explanations
• Interpret descriptive statistics
• Evaluate the methodological processes and limits of research (e.g., bias, generalizability)
• Critically assess web sites and electronic resources
• Set up a data table properly and read and interpret a table correctly
• Distinguish levels of analysis
• Posit intervening factors and spurious relationships in social life
• Show awareness of probabilities and contingencies
• Recognize that counterfactual anecdotes do not invalidate sociology
• Understand the intersection of biography and history
• Take the role of the other

Bibliographie, lectures recommandées :

• Haralambos, M., Holborn, M., Chapman, S. and Moore, S. (2013)  Sociology Themes and  Perspectives 8TH ed  London: HarperCollins.
• Nado, A, 2004.Crtical Whiteness studies and the Challenges of being a White ally’  Borderlands e-journal, volume 3 number 2 
• Scott J, 2014. Oxford Dictionary of Sociology, New York, USA: Oxford University Press