Sociology

Teacher(s)

Zitouni Benedikte;

Language

Dutch

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

Distinguish between the major currents of sociology as it is practiced today. He or she will be familiar with several founding texts and the theses presented by some of the discipline's key authors. He or she will be able to recognize the scientific and political stakes involved in any sociological research and, in turn, begin to use the tools of sociology to make sense of current events and, more generally, of social phenomena.

Content

The course is an introduction to the field of sociology taught by the professor throughout the Fall Term (13 weeks, from September to December). During the lectures, the professor presents some founders referred to today (Emile Durkheim, Max Weber and the Chicago School). Next, she presents more recent theoretical endeavors shaping the field: Critical Sociology (Pierre Bourdieu, Loïc Wacquant, and others), Symbolic Interactionism (Howard Becker, Goffman, and others) and Actor-Network-Theory (Antoine Hennion, Bruno Latour, and others). Each time, the lecturer points at the paradigmatic as well as the conceptual choices made by the authors that are being discussed.

Overall, through this conceptual and empirical explorations drawn from the field's classics, and through the compulsory reading  of a book, the course aims to introduce students to the following societal phenomena : the ways in which social backgrounds shape individual trajectories, the impact of historical and collective genealogies as well as the persistence of class inequalities. The course must also allow students to find their way and learn to differentiate several processes and mechanisms of exclusion such as norm-imprinting, institutionalisation of inherited values, social reproduction, stigmatisation, disqualification of some practices over others, amongst others.

Teaching methods

Lectures on during which students must take note. Students must also read a compulsory book at home. Overall, the lecturer will take time in order to tackle issues and questions raised by the students via mail or in class. 

Evaluation methods

Closed-book exam. 

Other information

This is a Dutch-taught course.

Bibliography

La bibliographie sera précisée lors de la première séance ex cathedra. 

Teaching materials

• Le syllabus du cours (les modalités d'acquisition seront indiquées à la rentrée).
• Un livre obligatoire (les références seront données à la rentrée).

Faculty or entity

> ESPB